use local authorized service company rather then apple store. they are more friendly and glad to have your business. doubt they will make any fuss or even notice that you replaced the thermal paste.
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15" MacBook Pro (SB) Thermal application/guide
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use local authorized service company rather then apple store. they are more friendly and glad to have your business. doubt they will make any fuss or even notice that you replaced the thermal paste.
That's a very good point and one I didn't think about, thanks for the suggestion. Even if they did notice, I can always say I asked a Genius to redo it for me.
Obviously I don't plan on needing to use the support, but you never know. The big expenses are logic boards and screens, other stuff like hard drive or RAM I'd probably sort out myself (I've already upgraded the RAM to 8GB myself in any case and will probably do the same with the hard disk too).
Logic boards come with paste pre-applied because the CPU/GPU is already soldered on, there's no point in having someone remove it for upgrades and such. They may be qualified to replace a logic board, but there's only so much they can do (and disassembling the logic board isn't part of it, there aren't any serviceable parts there).
If the paste and heat sinks are pre-attached, that would certainly explain why people who have had a logic board swap after redoing their own paste were not questioned. It would also explain why the replacement board had the same large blobs of paste, as it would have come from the same factory as the original and not reapplied by a Genius.
Thanks for the info guys, I think I will look at extending my Applecare (once I have the cash
)thank u everyone here for the guide
i finally got my new macbookpro 2.3 i7 this past monday. just finished applying the new TP. i used IC Diamond as my TP (http://www.innovationcooling.com/overview.htm).
want to thank all u guys for putting up the helpful tips!
my mbp was built between June 27th and July 3rd from Shanghai. (from coconutID)
my general opinion is that the original TP on the MBP has generally been improved. The TP on the processor and GPU wasn't as bad as some other people. Lastly, the main reason why I think the TP has improved because the TP on the thunderbolt controller has been vastly improved from the pics that people posted.
for other people that want to try replacing the TP, it's honestly not that bad. JUST BE CALM AND GO SUPER SLOW. if you go super slow it will be really easy.
also iFixit's heat sink replacement guide for the 2011 mbp is pretty good if you want high res details.
for me I replaced the TP on the GPU, CPU and the TP controller. didn't touch the bridge because I don't have any thermal pads. for now i'm running all the apps on my mbp just to cur the TP.
here are my pics:
original TP
original TP
original TP (notice super clean controller... the TP pad was on the heatsink)
original TP on the heatsink of the controller
cleaned
thanks!
i finally got my new macbookpro 2.3 i7 this past monday. just finished applying the new TP. i used IC Diamond as my TP (http://www.innovationcooling.com/overview.htm).
want to thank all u guys for putting up the helpful tips!
my mbp was built between June 27th and July 3rd from Shanghai. (from coconutID)
my general opinion is that the original TP on the MBP has generally been improved. The TP on the processor and GPU wasn't as bad as some other people. Lastly, the main reason why I think the TP has improved because the TP on the thunderbolt controller has been vastly improved from the pics that people posted.
for other people that want to try replacing the TP, it's honestly not that bad. JUST BE CALM AND GO SUPER SLOW. if you go super slow it will be really easy.
also iFixit's heat sink replacement guide for the 2011 mbp is pretty good if you want high res details.
for me I replaced the TP on the GPU, CPU and the TP controller. didn't touch the bridge because I don't have any thermal pads. for now i'm running all the apps on my mbp just to cur the TP.
here are my pics:
original TP
original TP
original TP (notice super clean controller... the TP pad was on the heatsink)
original TP on the heatsink of the controller
cleaned
thanks!
has anyone tried going to the apple store, complaining about heat issues, then mentioned the poor thermal paste application that came with their new mbp?
my point of view is that we just bought brand new computers for $1800-$2300 so shouldn't we not have to open them up to fix them before using it?
my point of view is that we just bought brand new computers for $1800-$2300 so shouldn't we not have to open them up to fix them before using it?
I tried that. They offered to re-apply thermal paste. The "genius" guy I talked to in the morning did that in the afternoon and even called me back to give me the results (temps after re-application). It got temps down from 100°C to 93°C on full load (all 8 virtual cores maxed out with a custom script).
While I appreciated that it was quick and the result was positive. It wasn't enough for me, as it just didn't seem normal to reach such high temperatures. So I decided to re-do it myself, and discovered that he actually butchered the thermal paste job, like in the factory
. He specifically told me he's used to do that all the time. Well, see for yourself... in this post, with pictures and detailed results (the "before" pictures show his job).If I was you, I'd try asking a "genius", you may well have better luck than me. You don't have anything to loose, except for time. Only if you still aren't happy, do it yourself.
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"dumb" question...
what happens if the CPU hits 100C (2011 sandy bridge)...
can the MBP continue to run or would the CPU's safety mechanism automatically shut down the computer?
asked in another way... can it continue to run if the temp is hitting up to 101C?
just curious. i left Handbreak running for 30 mins on my 2.3 Ghz i7, and one of the cores hit a max of 99C (after TP replacement)... but it never went up to 100C.
also a great utility for temperature monitoring instead of iStat: http://www.bresink.com/osx/TemperatureMonitor.html
the good thing is that this keeps a history of temps for all ur sensors... even gives you a real-time chart.
what happens if the CPU hits 100C (2011 sandy bridge)...
can the MBP continue to run or would the CPU's safety mechanism automatically shut down the computer?
asked in another way... can it continue to run if the temp is hitting up to 101C?
just curious. i left Handbreak running for 30 mins on my 2.3 Ghz i7, and one of the cores hit a max of 99C (after TP replacement)... but it never went up to 100C.
also a great utility for temperature monitoring instead of iStat: http://www.bresink.com/osx/TemperatureMonitor.html
the good thing is that this keeps a history of temps for all ur sensors... even gives you a real-time chart.
I tried that. They offered to re-apply thermal paste. The "genius" guy I talked to in the morning did that in the afternoon and even called me back to give me the results (temps after re-application). It got temps down from 100°C to 93°C on full load (all 8 virtual cores maxed out with a custom script).
While I appreciated that it was quick and the result was positive. It wasn't enough for me, as it just didn't seem normal to reach such high temperatures. So I decided to re-do it myself, and discovered that he actually butchered the thermal paste job, like in the factory
If I was you, I'd try asking a "genius", you may well have better luck than me. You don't have anything to loose, except for time. Only if you still aren't happy, do it yourself.
Sorry, but that's just stupid to assume what the Genius did was bad. A seven degree drop is significant. Have you ever put on thermal paste yourself then peel the heatsink off afterwards? I'm sure your application would end up looking like the same mess of the first reapplication.
While you did get a slightly better improvement, so did the Genius. If you want to be anal about it, you can probably get it down to 79 degrees high all the time so technically your application and choice of paste can be improved upon further as well. Honestly, all of the above are within the normal range of temperatures and your Mac would have been fine with or without the tweak.
I have. Several times, on a 13" and 15" 2011 MBPs (as well as desktop PCs). I'm not saying I do an excellent job at applying thermal paste, but I certainly do it a lot better than what I've seen from the "genius".
Even with his -7°C improvement, fan noise was still unacceptable. It was obvious it could be improved upon.
My way (and a bunch of other people's on this very thread), not only is the hardware clean afterwards, but temperatures, and most importantly, heat conductivity, are both improved. Reduced temperatures and fan noise have spoken for themselves.
After seeing the mess that was in there (in my opinion at least, I am anal about cleanliness), I'm glad I cleaned up after him. This alone was enough of an achievement for having gone through the trouble myself.
I think you missed part of the point. Re-applying thermal paste is more about improving heat conductivity of the heat pipes (thus increasing the efficiency of the fan's work), than it is about decreasing temperatures. Though from the former comes the latter. I see better temperatures as a bonus rather. The end result is a quieter computer, with temperatures further from the limit.
Of course I could have left it as-is. I'm sure the MBP would still be fine 5 years from now. But I'm also anal about noise, especially when it can easily be avoided. Why settle for a loud machine when a relatively simple operation (easier on the 15" than on the 13" though), when done properly, can get you a quieter, fresher (as in, less sweaty for the hands), generally more enjoyable experience?
I got rid of it... Sold because of one major annoyance: graphics switching. After I was happy with the thermal behaviour of this MBP, I got more and more annoyed with another problem, graphics switching while on battery. I put up with it for months until I realized I shouldn't have to. The 13" MBA would be just the perfect answer while still fitting my requirements. And it is indeed. Now that I made the switch, I sure am glad I did
.That's correct.
The Thunderbolt and southbridge controllers are covered by tiny heatsinks (if they can be called that: see iFixit teardown, step 10) so they shouldn't generate much heat.
However, if you want to be thorough and do them too (they're easily accessible anyway), you can't apply thermal paste since the gap between the chips and the "heatsink" is too big (between 1 and 2 mm). You will need thermal pads of the appropriate thickness.
I got rid of it... Sold because of one major annoyance: graphics switching. After I was happy with the thermal behaviour of this MBP, I got more and more annoyed with another problem, graphics switching while on battery. I put up with it for months until I realized I shouldn't have to. The 13" MBA would be just the perfect answer while still fitting my requirements. And it is indeed. Now that I made the switch, I sure am glad I did
what was so annoying abt the graphics switching? just curious... thanks
u can do the TB controller if u want. i did it for mine. the TB's thermal pad is EXTREMELY thin so you can use Thermal paste if u want to.
i didn't touch the Southbridge controller because i didn't have any thermal pads and it's much thicker than the thermal pad on the Tbolt controller.
If temps exceed a certain point the CPU will shut down. I think it's 130C
On another note. DId anyone use Arctic Ceramique as their TP or are most people sticking AS5? Also is it better to just apply directly to the heatsinks or is chip die better?
It shuts down at 100*C.
Also, I used Arctic Cooling MX-4 b/c it performs the same as AS5, but without the cure time. Also, apply to the CPU.
wow!
just did this last night and the results are amazing so far. before i was at 45-47C idle, and now im at 33C! I just put a pea size on and spread it evenly and not too thick. Here's my screenshot:
So far with little web browsing its around 45C and with HD video it was around 67C. Im guessing the temps should be lower, but over all....much quieter and cooler.
Thanks for the help and gl everyone else who tries this.
JUST TAKE YOUR TIME AND DO IT SLOWLY...baby it if you have to. Also, let your TP cure. Last night my temps were higher like it was stock, but after letting it settle and cure, its a crazy result.
just did this last night and the results are amazing so far. before i was at 45-47C idle, and now im at 33C! I just put a pea size on and spread it evenly and not too thick. Here's my screenshot:
So far with little web browsing its around 45C and with HD video it was around 67C. Im guessing the temps should be lower, but over all....much quieter and cooler.
Thanks for the help and gl everyone else who tries this.
JUST TAKE YOUR TIME AND DO IT SLOWLY...baby it if you have to. Also, let your TP cure. Last night my temps were higher like it was stock, but after letting it settle and cure, its a crazy result.
What's ur Mbp spec? And which thermal paste did u use? Did u apply pea size on both the gnu and CPU? I would do pea size on gpu but not CPU as the die style is different.
I just updated my sig. I used pea sized on both and then spread it thin. Just used some extra thermal paste from my desktop cooler...think it was chilltec silver
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Did you spread the paste yourself into a thin layer or squished it with the heat sink ?