Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Horrible Thermal Paste in Brand New MBP
- Thread starter nikhsub1
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
i don't think its an issue solely on how much was used but what kind was used as well. Some of those pics show that the excess is really around the die not on the die itself.
I'm not saying doing the job yourself doesn't improve it what i am saying is people need to stop moaning there is to much.... many factors affect the temp including the way the die and sink were mated, the coumpound used, how much was used etc etc. I think amount is one very small factor of a few seen here.
Was their no Yellow tape to remove?
I'm not saying doing the job yourself doesn't improve it what i am saying is people need to stop moaning there is to much.... many factors affect the temp including the way the die and sink were mated, the coumpound used, how much was used etc etc. I think amount is one very small factor of a few seen here.
Was their no Yellow tape to remove?
Please can I ask a stupid question?
What are the three chips with thermal paste on, going from the edge of the logic board towards the middle?
What fits in the large space next to the DVI connector? I had always assumed that was the graphics card?
Not sure but i think a fan and speaker go in that space. From left to right i think we have:
Nvidia chip, Northbridge chip and Intel Core 2 Duo chip
Please can I ask a stupid question?
What are the three chips with thermal paste on, going from the edge of the logic board towards the middle?
What fits in the large space next to the DVI connector? I had always assumed that was the graphics card?
the graphic card is onboard, it's probably one the 3 chips you talk about. the space near the dvi connector is for the right side fan.
Please send an update when you apply artic asswipe on the chips. I really want to see the fabled 20 degree celcius reduction that this fabled paste can produce. I have no idea where that heat goes. Maybe artic asswipe opens a tiny dimesional wormhole into Africa and pumps all its heat there. All MBP's run hot. They always have. The only way to make this machine cooler is to stop using an alum case and make the case larger to allow more airflow.
Yeesh, so hostile. If you want to disregard the benefits of a good application of a good thermal paste, then I guess that's up to you...but you do realize that the thermal paste does actually do something, right? I mean its not magic, but the coating shown in the "before" pictures on the original post certainly isn't going to dissipate heat as well as the coat in the "after" pictures. You may be skeptical about a real-world 20-degree drop in operating temperatures...but someone would need to break the laws of physics before you saw no reduction at all.
Errrrrrrrrr.........errrrrrrrrrrr....... NO!
Aluminium helps with heat dissipation up to 20 times more effective than plastic and 2 times that of steel..... sorry what would you make it out of that would keep it cooler?
Wow I'd love to do this to my MBP, but there's no way in hell I'm taking apart my brand new $3000 computer
Yeah, I've gotta echo this sentiment. Maybe in a year or so when I decide to take it apart anyway to pop in a bigger and faster hard drive I'll remember to check the thermal paste on the chips, and maybe that'll help offset any additional heat from the drive, but I don't think I'm gonna risk voiding the warranty on a brand spanking new MacBook Pro. And I'm even saying this knowing I'm fairly confident in the steadiness of my hand and working inside delicate electronics.
Definitely an interesting find, though. I believe there was another thread that claimed something similar, but its interesting that this might be a widespread problem that, if it had been remedied, could have fixed some of the high-temperatures complaints.
I dont want to open up the whole thermal past discussion again but I would like to make one point. If you suspect you machine is running too hot Apple should be the one to fix it. If not how will they know there is a problem. How will they be able to improve their newer products. If I buy a new car and there is a problem it goes back to the dealer to be fixed I would not do it my self. From what I read my machine is running as designed which is most of the time in the 50c and in the high 70cs under lots of stress. If you think you have a hot machine let Apple know about it. No one can improve if they dont know what is wrong.
Well said..... they do have people that scour the internet looking at this kind of thing but until people return them....officially report them and it costs them something they won't act.
No wonder my Macbook runs at an average temp of 64 C in comparison to the MBP which runs at 54 C according to members here. Geez, thats a big difference!!!
Ok, without wanting to risk sounding even more dumb:
Why does too much thermal paste cause the heat not to dissipate as well as it could do? I'd have thought that, while too little paste could leave a too small an area in contact with the heat pipes, too much of the stuff wouldn't really make a difference
Maybe the excess paste gets very hot and insulates the chip rather than continuing to conduct heat away? No idea...
Why does too much thermal paste cause the heat not to dissipate as well as it could do? I'd have thought that, while too little paste could leave a too small an area in contact with the heat pipes, too much of the stuff wouldn't really make a difference
Maybe the excess paste gets very hot and insulates the chip rather than continuing to conduct heat away? No idea...
Ok, without wanting to risk sounding even more dumb:
Why does too much thermal paste cause the heat not to dissipate as well as it could do? I'd have thought that, while too little paste could leave a too small an area in contact with the heat pipes, too much of the stuff wouldn't really make a difference
Maybe the excess paste gets very hot and insulates the chip rather than continuing to conduct heat away? No idea...
From this site, apparently the thermal paste itself is not as good a conductor as the heatsink itself so it is better for heat dissipation for the thermal paste just to provide a good interface between the hot part and the heatsink, not for the thermal paste itself to do the cooling.
Lots of good info at that link, by the way.
Ok, without wanting to risk sounding even more dumb:
Why does too much thermal paste cause the heat not to dissipate as well as it could do? I'd have thought that, while too little paste could leave a too small an area in contact with the heat pipes, too much of the stuff wouldn't really make a difference
Maybe the excess paste gets very hot and insulates the chip rather than continuing to conduct heat away? No idea...
Thermal paste is only there to mate the die to the sink..... it gives greater contact.... the surface of the sink actually has tiny pits (your eyes cant see) and the TP fills those giving greater contact between die and chip. If its too think it hinders heat transfer as heat has to go through paste before it gets to metal..... this is not meant to happen.
As i say though.... the excess in these pics is not on the die itself particularly, more around it....
I'm not sure if I want to do this. I have my fans frunning 300rpm higher then apple had set them to initially at any point in time. My MBP idles at 50 and hits 68 at full load. That's fine and dandy for the hardware but its still hotter then I would like it. I am debating taking my 3 month old MBP apart and reapplying the paste. I did it with my previous dell inspiron and it wasn't so bad. I'm wondering how much more complex the assembly of the MBP is.
Tutorial on the breakdown? Hmm don't think I'm doing this again! I used a diamond paste that is a prototype for a startup company, it is not available. If that was not available I would use Arctic Ceramique instead.
Seems it is not quite 20c after she has warmed up and burned in some. More like 9-12c idle but load has been reduced by ~16c or so.
GPU, northbridge and CPU. Next to the dvi port are speakers.Please can I ask a stupid question?
What are the three chips with thermal paste on, going from the edge of the logic board towards the middle?
What fits in the large space next to the DVI connector? I had always assumed that was the graphics card?
To clean I used ArtiClean Thermal Paste Remover and the Thermal surface purifier. Made by Arctic Silver.
You are correct, however, there was quite a bit too much ON the chips, I don't know how much mount pressure there is between chips and sink... but probably not that much. My hobby is computer thermal management
I test waterblocks to cool CPU's in my spare time (what little time there is) so I have lots of experience with 'bad' mounts and different pastes etc.Here is my 'test station'
and here is my 'work' machine LOL.
Umm OK, you just made my ignore list
I don't recommend people start doing this... Unless your machine is running really hot and as someone said TAKE IT TO APPLE! I can't help myself but to take things apartWow I'd love to do this to my MBP, but there's no way in hell I'm taking apart my brand new $3000 computer
Yes exactly - there was way too much between chip and sink though. WAY too much.
You shouldn't have too! If people learnt to stop being lazy and used google they would find it.
My hobby is computer thermal management
That makes two of us then.....
Yes I agree, most people should take it to Apple - but like you, it's also my nature to want to take things apart to see how they work .. which is why it's very tempting
Regardless, I won't be taking my MBP apart anytime soon.So how hot does it run? CPU and GPU are what I'm most interested in, both while idle and while under load.
What's the NB Marking?
@nikhsub1, nice work. I agreed with reapplying the thermal paste. I did it on my previous CD MBP, it drops about 18C (on idle) 15C (on load) immediately after using AS5 thermal paste.
Just curious if you had chance to note down the NB marking? Was it 965PM (8W) or 965GM (13.5W) ? If it is latter, the TDP is much higher than 965PM which consequently produced much higher heat even after reapplying the thermal paste. You may also read the chipset info from Intel Chipset Tool or CPU-Z (under motherboard tab).
@nikhsub1, nice work. I agreed with reapplying the thermal paste. I did it on my previous CD MBP, it drops about 18C (on idle) 15C (on load) immediately after using AS5 thermal paste.
Just curious if you had chance to note down the NB marking? Was it 965PM (8W) or 965GM (13.5W) ? If it is latter, the TDP is much higher than 965PM which consequently produced much higher heat even after reapplying the thermal paste. You may also read the chipset info from Intel Chipset Tool or CPU-Z (under motherboard tab).