I striped a screw while removing the logicboard...

[tatical]

I saw a post a while back when someone replaced the thermal paste on their MBP and had good results (at least I think the results were good). So anyway, I decided to give it a try with my Mid ’09 MBP (15” @ 2.8 GHz). It was running noticeably hotter when using the 9600M GT. I rarely use the 9400M.

When I tried to remove a screw from the motherboard I striped it, but I feel it was over tightened though. It reminded me of when I stripped my PS3 HDD screw, but in that case the screw was so tight the screwdriver was twisted & warped. Yeah, the screw was that tight! I had to use a vice-grip to remove it. I couldn’t find an easy solution online for such a tiny screw in a laptop, so I went to Sears and purchased Screw-Out. It worked like a charm I was super nervous using my DeWalt power drill on my Mac, but I didn’t really have a choice (the tiny Screw-Out bit requires a drill chuck).

That was the only issue I had while working on my laptop. as for the striped screw, I just left it out. I was going to buy a replacement, but the screw didn’t look like it was necessary. I’ll replace it if I have to bring it in for service.

After removing the heatsink, i found there was way too much thermal paste used. If the factory workers can’t apply thermal paste properly, Apple should have them use thermal pads instead. As for replacing the thermal paste, I normally use Arctic Silver 5, but I chose not to use it this time. AS5 has been out for a long time and I felt there should be something better by now. I used GELID Solutions’ GC-Extreme because it was a top performer & easy to work with (almost chose Tuniq TX-3 though).

After properly applying the new thermal paste the my MBP runs much cooler & the fans don’t throttle up nearly as much as they used to. The CPU is about 20 degrees lower now (down form 105 to about 84 at 100% load!). I watched the Conan O’Brian interview by Google @ 720p Flash (not h.264) and although it did heat up, it didn’t get nearly as hot as it normally does and I didn’t hear the fans at all (iStat showed that they sped up a little though). For me, it was worth the time and trouble, it runs nice and cool now.


Striped screw:

Striped screw closeup:

Tool of choice for screw removal:

Striped screw removed:

The heatsink with factory applied thermal paste:

CPU, GPU, & Chipset with excessive thermal paste:

Chips, Cores, Dies, whatever you wanna call them, they're clean:

Fresh Thermal paste (I think I could have done better...):

Heatsink buffed with thermal paste:

The results (numbers are from iStat Pro):

 

[l.a.rossmann]

I find when my wihatools screwdrivers fail me(which is very, very rare), a Xcelite 175M comes in handy as a screw remover. It is the most important tool I own.

 

[AndrewCjDuong]

I guess I should try this when my warranty goes away. But 105 degrees on the CPU? I thought with an Intel CPU it shuts down from overheating when it gets to 100 degrees.

 

[Tom71]

Waiting for someone taking apart their 2010 models to see how the thermal paste situation stands now.

How did you clean the mess up? That's something I'm really interested. I can imagine it's the most difficult/delicate task...

Tom

 

[DesmoPilot]

I guess I should try this when my warranty goes away. But 105 degrees on the CPU? I thought with an Intel CPU it shuts down from overheating when it gets to 100 degrees.

TJ Max is 105c for the intel chips, that's when the CPU starts downclocking, under volting etc to cool itself; doesn't start melting or whatever til ~120c.

With that said; I still can't believe how horrible the thermal paste application is on these things. Real shame it voids the warranty or else I'd do it in a heartbeat.

 

[AndrewCjDuong]

Yeah the thermal paste that most companies put on his horrible. I use to work at a computer store and when we built computers, we'd wipe off the standard Intel and AMD thermal paste and use arctic silver thermal paste.

 

[murdercitydevil]

Waiting for someone taking apart their 2010 models to see how the thermal paste situation stands now.

How did you clean the mess up? That's something I'm really interested. I can imagine it's the most difficult/delicate task...

Tom

I (and I think at least one other poster) did this already. My thread is called "The Thermal Paste Application Endeavor" or something gay like that. Apple hasn't improved their QC in that area one bit as the pictures will show.

 

[brand]

I’ll replace it if I have to bring it in for service.

Good luck finding an exact replacement.

 

[kny3twalker]

Good luck finding an exact replacement.

Children in china put these together. I would leave it out and act dumb if ever questioned.

 

[brdnboy]

I (and I think at least one other poster) did this already. My thread is called "The Thermal Paste Application Endeavor" or something gay like that. Apple hasn't improved their QC in that area one bit as the pictures will show.

This has been an "issue" since the days of PowerBook's and iBook's. I'm sure Apple knows that it irritates customers by now, they just have a different view on the situation. There have been theories that Apple does this on purpose to insulate the processor, delay temperatures at the sensors from rising and thus delay fans from spooling up and making noise (making the notebook quieter). Even Apple service manuals tell techs here in America to apply this much paste, so i assume factory workers in China are doing as instructed. No matter what its pretty silly this simple issue is still an issue. For the price of a MacBoo Pro, you think Apple could spring for some AS5 and proper training for the factory workers. Until then, it is up to us to DIY.

 

[cyclical]

Looking at the photos in various threads on this forum, it seems that while there is a lot of paste used, most of it ends up squeezed out to the sides anyway. So I'm wondering – is quantity really the issue, or is it the type of paste that is being used (that is resulting in the temperature decreasing after re-pasting) ?

 

[murdercitydevil]

Looking at the photos in various threads on this forum, it seems that while there is a lot of paste used, most of it ends up squeezed out to the sides anyway. So I'm wondering – is quantity really the issue, or is it the type of paste that is being used (that is resulting in the temperature decreasing after re-pasting) ?

It's a mix of both. If there's too much paste, it reduces the effectiveness of heat transfer between the actual chip and heatsink. The reason thermal paste is even used is to fill in the microscopic imperfections in the surfaces, therefore only a very thin layer is necessary. And I'm sure they use the cheapest stuff possible to lower costs.

 

[Ahngau]

And I'm sure they use the cheapest stuff possible to lower costs.

Well, either I screwed up on applying the thermal paste or they actually used good stuff for the 2010 macbook pro 13".

I am using Arctic Ceramique. The full load temp (with 2 yes > /dev/null terminals) is just 1C lower (84C) than before at same ambient temp.

And I actually did it twice to ensure I applied it right. Result is the same.

Guess I am no better than the factory worker in China.

 

[murdercitydevil]

Well, either I screwed up on applying the thermal paste or they actually used good stuff for the 2010 macbook pro 13".

I am using Arctic Ceramique. The full load temp (with 2 yes > /dev/null terminals) is just 1C lower (84C) than before at same ambient temp.

And I actually did it twice to ensure I applied it right. Result is the same.

Guess I am no better than the factory worker in China.

Ceramique is really intended more for non-metal surfaces, such as ram chips on GPUs. It's definitely not the worst, but you're probably better off using something like MX-2. Could be something else entirely though.

 

[Tom71]

Children in china put these together. I would leave it out and act dumb if ever questioned.

WOW

 

[Ahngau]

Ceramique is really intended more for non-metal surfaces, such as ram chips on GPUs. It's definitely not the worst, but you're probably better off using something like MX-2. Could be something else entirely though.

True, ceramique is not the most efficient one but I use it because it has the shortest break-in/particle-alignment period (just 25 hours as oppose to 2-300 hours).

...let me see if I can get my hands on some MX-2 then.

 

[tatical]

Good luck finding an exact replacement.

I did a quick google search already, I've found logicboard screw sets for as little as $15, & complete MBP screw sets for about $45. I was just about to buy the logicboard screws, but then I realized that the one screw didn't really hold down much anyway.

BTW, after applying the thermal paste the CPU (at 100% load) took much longer but did get up to 100 degrees (for a few seconds). The fans don't throttle up at all until about 90-95 degrees, the temp stops at 100, then drops to about 85.

 

[AlphaDogg]

Waiting for someone taking apart their 2010 models to see how the thermal paste situation stands now.

How did you clean the mess up? That's something I'm really interested. I can imagine it's the most difficult/delicate task...

Tom

To you, I say Click here!!!

To the people who will criticize me for reviving an old thread, I say this: if I can post information that is relevant to both the thread and the time period (kind of), why not revive a thread?