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Reapplied Thermal paste on 2010 13" MBP

AlphaDogg

AlphaDogg

macrumors 68040
Original poster
May 20, 2010
3,417
7
Ypsilanti, MI
I have a similar thread in the MacBook forum, that is not to be confused with this thread. It is referring to a completely different computer that I own.
SUCCESS! After meticulously disassembling my MBP, I have successfully applied Arctic Silver Ceramique to the CPU and GPU. I took pictures of the original application of paste, but I mistakenly forgot to take pictures of my paste application. I am noticing a difference of approximately 10º-12ºC, idling. The difference between the original paste application and my new paste application is about 2º-5ºC, under load. I know that is not much, but the fan speeds are about 3000rpm lower than before the paste application, under load. The fan speed while idling is the same 1990-2000rpm as before the new application of paste. The whole reapplication process took about an hour (including taking apart the MBP).

Now on to the pictures:
DSCN0787.jpg

This is a picture of the MBP's Logic Board with the original thermal paste application.

DSCN0788.jpg

This is a picture of the MBP's heatsink/heatpipe with the original thermal paste application.

DSCN0790.jpg

This is a picture of some of the scraps of the original thermal paste that I took off with a lint-free cloth and rubbing alcohol. It came off of the cloth.

DSCN0791.jpg

This is a picture of the heatsink/heatpipe with all of the thermal paste removed.

DSCN0794.jpg

This is a picture of the logic board without any thermal paste.

DSCN0796.jpg

This is a picture of the logic board with the heatsink/heatpipe attached.
 
alust2013 said:
What were temps before and after?
Click to expand...

The temps are/were as follows:
Before (Idle)-145ºF/62ºC
Before (Under Load)-210ºF/99ºC
After (Idle)-125ºF/52ºC
After (Under Load)-175ºF/80ºC

Edit: Now, with 3 tabs open in Google Chrome, I am at 121ºF
 
AlphaDogg said:
The temps are/were as follows:
Before (Idle)-145ºF/62ºC
Before (Under Load)-195ºF/91ºC
After (Idle)-125ºF/52ºC
After (Under Load)-175ºF/80ºC
Click to expand...

Good to know. I must have gotten a good application to begin with. Mine Idles around 120-125 with 130s while browsing
 
I just rebooted. After being on for 15min, the CPU is going between 115ºF and 117ºF.

Edit: After being on for 45min, the CPU is going between 121ºF and 125ºF
 
Nice Job again Alpha... lol


My CPU: 160F | 6196rpm

Should I send you my Mac and let you work with it? ROFL
 
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/532.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0.5 Mobile/8B117 Safari/6531.22.7)

Quick question: why did you choose the ceramic paste over other types of thermal paste? Maybe you know something I don't.
 
Hi AlphaDogg

Could you post your heatsink temperatures and CPU temperatures
- under full idle (all programs closed)
- under full load (2x yes > /dev/null entered in Terminal, wait 5 mins)

I'm interested to know how the thermal paste is affecting heat transfer from CPU die onto heatsink

By way of comparison, my C2D 2009 13" MBP with stock paste has the following
- idle, CPU about 40 C, heatsink about 35 C, difference always 4-5 C
- full load, CPU about 95 C, heatsink low 70's C, difference always 20-23 C (this is after 10-15 mins at full load)
ambient 20 C

Thanks
 
Hey. How is the contact between CPU/GPU and heatsink? Is it very close or is there a gap?

The reason I'm asking is that one time I have dissasembled HP laptop and after taking of the original paste/thermal pads there was ~1mm gap between GPU and heatsink. Meaning that I had to find just the right thickness piece of copper for it...
 
Mine idles around 104, i'm using CoolBook to under volt the proc. If your temps are bothering you, might try that in addition to your paste job.
 
Will these procedure void your warranty? I used to do this when I was a gamer back then with windows.
 
DePaulBlueDemon said:
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/532.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0.5 Mobile/8B117 Safari/6531.22.7)

Quick question: why did you choose the ceramic paste over other types of thermal paste? Maybe you know something I don't.
Click to expand...
It's because I saw great reviews for it, and it's all that I had.

Evofreak23 said:
Will these procedure void your warranty? I used to do this when I was a gamer back then with windows.
Click to expand...
If you do not leave any evidence, it will not void your warranty. I did not bend the plastic tab that you pull on to remove the battery. I made an effort to not leave any evidence. (I have a triwing screwdriver to remove the battery).

snaky69 said:
How so? Magnuson-Moss warranty act protects you in this case. And secondly, how would they even be able to tell?
Click to expand...
Exactly.


greythorne said:
Make a tutorial for this so that i may follow and do the same. Sounds good to me
Click to expand...
I used the tutorial from www.ifixit.com
 
hmmm mine same model as yours doesnt come close to those temps I guess maybe I am lucky or maybe coz I use SMC fan, I dont even remember how much my temps are but my at at 2708rpm my normal load/idle temp is 30 to40+ deg c. When I am watching movies or doing lots it goes up to 60 deg c then i turn it to higher rpm to cool it down a bit.

I guess it depends alot on the unit, I had the 15" before and it does get hot.
 
This is the temperatures and fan speed under 2x "yes > /dev/null" processes after 15min.
2xyesdevnull.jpg


This is the temperatures and fan speed under idle after 15min.
idle.jpg
 
My MBP13 2.4 hovers around 40C idle. Your 62C idle is very interesting. Where do you live? What are your ambient temperatures? Were these temps taken when the mbp was on a bed or something?
 
vant said:
My MBP13 2.4 hovers around 40C idle. Your 62C idle is very interesting. Where do you live? What are your ambient temperatures? Were these temps taken when the mbp was on a bed or something?
Click to expand...

No, not on a bed. I live in Denver, CO. My ambient temperatures are always around 67-72ºF.
 
Do you have any accessaries like a palm guard or a keyboard protector?
 
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