Imac G5 Tear Down (thermal paste ect)

[tom vilsack]

Imac G5 17" 1.8GHz Rev A:

-Wanted to see if I could reduce temps with good cleaning and thermal paste redo.
-Using ifixit and "arctic sliver mx-2" I reduced cpu temp on average from 67c to 55c.
-This and a good cleaning of fans ect really helps in reducing heat and noise!

ps: will probably order a new cpu fan from ebay as these are know for being somewhat loud.

Here are some pics...if you have any questions,feel free to ask.

 

[jrsx]

Wow I didn't realize thermal paste alone could take that much heat down.

 

[tom vilsack]

Yes the default thermal paste was a mess! Besides being old and hard,it looked like it was put on with no attention to detail at all! (was over the sides of cpu ect)

ps: on a side note,these older G5's are so much easier to work on then any ones that followed....sure wish the new modern Imacs were this well designed.

 

[ScottishCaptain]

Just FYI...

That motherboard is an extremely ESD sensitive component. By placing it on your carpet, you've run the risk of frying the entire board. Honestly, I'm surprised you didn't break your system doing so.

Circuit boards (and other computer parts) should never, ever, ever be placed on a bare carpet.

-SC

 

[tom vilsack]

Just FYI...

That motherboard is an extremely ESD sensitive component. By placing it on your carpet, you've run the risk of frying the entire board. Honestly, I'm surprised you didn't break your system doing so.

Circuit boards (and other computer parts) should never, ever, ever be placed on a bare carpet.

-SC

I've taken apart lots of ibooks,powerbooks,pc laptops ect all in same place and never have I had any issues.Good tip for others,but for me it's a non issue.

 

[fhall1]

I've taken apart lots of ibooks,powerbooks,pc laptops ect all in same place and never have I had any issues.Good tip for others,but for me it's a non issue.

You've been lucky (and careful I guess)....seeing all those parts laid out on plastic on a carpet made me shiver too...I spent the first 17 years of my career in microelectronics reliability and saw many examples of what static electricity can do to integrated circuits.

 

[tom vilsack]

Update:

Rev A Imac's 17" are known for having "Loud" cpu fan! (when it speeds up can sound like a jet engine)....I came up with this fix,and it really helps!

-remove Midplane ( http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/iMac+G5+17-Inch+Model+A1058+Midplane+Assembly+Replacement/972 ) then to remove cpu fan you have to take out to right speaker (facing back) screws...then take cpu fan out of plastic case/holder thing it sits in (this is the darn thing that really ramps up the sound/and heat!)...then to hold just the fan in place I put a couple pieces of weather stripping on either side and taped into place,and also put tape around medal hinge so deaden any vibration sound (will upload pictures)....what a different in sound! I would say the sound is now almost completely gone! And as a bonus the cpu temps run slightly cooler!

ps: I also added a ssd,but did keep the harddrive fan/sensor in place as this fan is always quiet.

What once was a hot and annoyingly loud Imac G5 is now a great quiet/cool computer