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Reapplied Thermal paste on 2010 13" MBP
- Thread starter AlphaDogg
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mulo
macrumors 68020
sure, the GPU stays at a cozy 66-69, while the CPU is toasting at 87-90 degrees, celsius of course.
I suspect some of the heat from the CPU is spilling over to the GPU as they use the same heatsink.
Here is proof that they don't care about aftermarket thermal paste. Suddenly, my MBP stopped going to sleep when the lid was closed. I tried to reset the SMC, but it would not reset, as the control key also did not work. So I took it in to apple. The genius who I dealt with is a very friendly one, who I have dealt with in the past. He said that the topcase would (for sure) be replaced. I was having issues with the battery only holding 90% capacity after ~250 cycles. And, the hard drive would beep when the machine is moved (other HDDs in the same computer do not do that). So, I had the genius put that in the notes. I called apple today, because the repair status page showed that it was "On Hold - Need Information. Please contact AppleCare." The AppleCare rep who I spoke with told me that the repair depot was replacing the battery, topcase, hard drive, and possibly the logic board. Basically, a new computer except for the bottom panel, display assembly, and superdrive.
The repair status has just changed to this:
😀. All of this is proof that apple doesn't care about aftermarket thermal paste.
Cheers,
AlphaDogg
The repair status has just changed to this:
Cheers,
AlphaDogg
Please, when you go trough the hassle of removing the logic board, PLEASE CLEAN IT with some compressed air, from an air compressor or from a can.
All that dust does not necessarily do anything bad to the cooling, but when there is enough dust it keeps getting into connectors and wrecks havoc. I blast every part of the computers i take apart, takes me a minute or two, but it's really worth it. Watch out when blowing air at the keyboard from an air compressor - aimed correctly you can blow off the keys (Confirmed on Macbook Pro types of keys)
Also, please do not use compressed air at optical drives.
// Per.
All that dust does not necessarily do anything bad to the cooling, but when there is enough dust it keeps getting into connectors and wrecks havoc. I blast every part of the computers i take apart, takes me a minute or two, but it's really worth it. Watch out when blowing air at the keyboard from an air compressor - aimed correctly you can blow off the keys (Confirmed on Macbook Pro types of keys)
Also, please do not use compressed air at optical drives.
// Per.
I was thinking about doing that, but I did not have any compressed air at the time. And, I do not own an air compressor. Just food for thought. And as for all of that gunk stuck in the speaker, it appears as if they replaced the speaker under warranty. See the attached picture:
I forgot to update this thread, so I will now! I have already had my second repair done on this MBP. There was dust under the display's glass overlay. I took it to the genius bar, and the genius told me that they would have to send it off to a repair depot. I said fine. So about 5 days later, I got it back with a new display.
"But what does this have to do with this thread?" you may ask.
It is important to this thread, because the only reason that technologically savvy people wouldn't want to do this is because it could possibly void the warranty.... This is proof that they don't care about the thermal paste.
But... They haven't touched the logic board, and therefore they haven't seen my thermal paste... But since it has already been in for repairs, I will just tell them (if I am asked if I reapplied thermal paste) "No, I have not touched the thermal paste inside my precious MacBook Pro! I don't even know what thermal paste is! Whatever thermal paste is in my MacBook Pro, they put in at the repair depot or manufacturer. I have not touched the inside of my MBP!"
This is not trying to cheat them out of a warranty or anything like that because:
1. I bought 3 years of AppleCare.
2. The users manual for my MBP says:
Yes, I have already damaged my MacBook Pro by reapplying thermal paste (control key stopped working and sleep sensor stopped working), and I was fully prepared to pay the repair costs, but the genius said it would be free.
"But what does this have to do with this thread?" you may ask.
It is important to this thread, because the only reason that technologically savvy people wouldn't want to do this is because it could possibly void the warranty.... This is proof that they don't care about the thermal paste.
But... They haven't touched the logic board, and therefore they haven't seen my thermal paste... But since it has already been in for repairs, I will just tell them (if I am asked if I reapplied thermal paste) "No, I have not touched the thermal paste inside my precious MacBook Pro! I don't even know what thermal paste is! Whatever thermal paste is in my MacBook Pro, they put in at the repair depot or manufacturer. I have not touched the inside of my MBP!"
This is not trying to cheat them out of a warranty or anything like that because:
1. I bought 3 years of AppleCare.
2. The users manual for my MBP says:
This (in my opinion) means that if I open up my MBP and damage it, that damage is not covered by AppleCare... And to all of you people who have installed OptiBays, you know exactly what I am talking about.
Yes, I have already damaged my MacBook Pro by reapplying thermal paste (control key stopped working and sleep sensor stopped working), and I was fully prepared to pay the repair costs, but the genius said it would be free.
Has the quality of the thermal junction declined at all? It has been quite a while since you posted this thread, and I think it could be helpful to the people reading this forum to know how the quality of the thermal paste/junction is after all this time. This may be the deciding factor as to if I decide to do this myself... If it is still as good as it was when you applied it, I will probably go ahead and do it myself!
ryannel2003
macrumors 68000
One thing I noticed when I bought my used MacBook was how the fans were running all the time. Just booting the computer up caused the fans to run at full blast; same thing when opening the browser in Google Chrome. I opened the case to take a look at everything and I noticed that the previous owner had been inside the computer and the heatsink was barely screwed down. If I had some thermal paste I would have re-applied that to, but once I screwed the headsink down tightly the computer has been silent. The only time the fans do come on is when I'm watching YouTube videos or similar Flash-type videos.
It might be worth it to go to Microcenter/Fry's/your local computer shop and purchase some Arctic Silver 5 or Ceramique and crack open your MacBook to reapply thermal paste. Especially because it is so easy to reapply thermal paste on the multibody (?) MacBooks than it is on the Unibody ones. What are the typical idle temperatures of your heatsinks (1 and 2) and your CPU?
ryannel2003
macrumors 68000
Right now with just Google Chrome open both heatsinks are running around 120 degrees. The CPU seems to settle anywhere between 110-140 degrees depending on what's happening. When I first got the computer before I screwed down the heatsink, the CPU was running at 170 during light web browsing.
Some useful info for people who might reapply thermal paste and want to put back the stock paste before they take it in for repairs: the stock paste is either Shin-Etsu G751 or Shin-Etsu X23. They both look the same, so it doesn't really matter. But the AS Ceramique is white, while the Shin-Etsu is gray. The AS5 paste is also a silvery color, which is a detectable difference from Shin-Etsu.
nikhsub1
macrumors 68030
It's probably the G751 which I have been using for years - I used to thermal test CPU waterblocks and have used just about every paste under the sun. I settled on using Ceramique for testing as it does not need a break in period and is very stable - this would be my paste of choice when doing what you did. I did this to my 4 year old 17" MBP I see that most use AS 5 paste, they will likely be sorry in a year or so - it literally dries up and becomes dust. Anyway, good job on that. And just to add to the warranty issue, I have had my logic board replaced 3 times in that machine due to the 8600 failing, yes, 3 times. I have reapplied paste each time except for the last and no warranty issues whatsoever.
Shin Etsu is excellent paste, very very good the issue is that it is not applied properly. It's not even that there is so much as the excess just squishes out the sides, its the fact that it is not applied correctly in the first place.
temps
If your temps are high then what I did was to check my heat sinks fins that the fans blow through i hadn't cleaned my computer in the 3 years that i owned it so i took the cover of to be greeted by an army of dust particles that had invaded the fins that the air flows through and my fan was doing nothing to help cool my CPU and GPU i would recommend to take the heat sink of whip out the vacuum cleaner and a paint brush and give the fins a good clean and make sure not to bend any i also recommend to use a tiny dot when you are applying the thermal paste (just my opinion you can use your preferred method if you wish) also get the free app smc fan control it is the best program that you can get to keep your CPU and GPU nice and healthy it allows you to control the fan speed because the apple fan speed controller works but the CPU must first reach near 100c for me until it bumps of the lowest of 2000rpm but thermal paste replacement really helps a lot
If your temps are high then what I did was to check my heat sinks fins that the fans blow through i hadn't cleaned my computer in the 3 years that i owned it so i took the cover of to be greeted by an army of dust particles that had invaded the fins that the air flows through and my fan was doing nothing to help cool my CPU and GPU i would recommend to take the heat sink of whip out the vacuum cleaner and a paint brush and give the fins a good clean and make sure not to bend any i also recommend to use a tiny dot when you are applying the thermal paste (just my opinion you can use your preferred method if you wish) also get the free app smc fan control it is the best program that you can get to keep your CPU and GPU nice and healthy it allows you to control the fan speed because the apple fan speed controller works but the CPU must first reach near 100c for me until it bumps of the lowest of 2000rpm but thermal paste replacement really helps a lot