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    M17x R1 thermal interface material replacement

    Discussion in 'Alienware 17 and M17x' started by TiMN8R, Apr 26, 2011.

  1. TiMN8R

    TiMN8R Notebook Enthusiast

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    edit: (see update below)
    Hey guys,

    I need a little advice with respect to replacing thermal interface material.

    Currently, I'm running a 2.53GHz dual core (P8700), no OC, and two GTX260M's in this machine, and have recently become worried by HWiNFO32's temperature reports: 60.0C, 62.5C, 65.5C idling, for CPU, GPU0, GPU1, respectively. Under stress (any FPS or RTS game, really), the CPU will go to the mid 80's, and the GPUs will both go up past 105C at peaks, and average around 100C. In fact, Portal 2 (single GPU application for some reason - dunno what Valve was thinking) got me up to 109.7C at a peak on GPU0, the left-hand one, a few days ago. I had that edge of the laptop hanging over a table with a fan blowing straight at it from below, and the whole thing was propped up on a 1/2" thick aluminum flashlight, so airflow shouldn't be the issue here.

    Needless to say, this is beyond dangerous levels, at least it would be for a desktop, which is what I'm most accustomed to. I can't find what the thermal limit is on these things, but I doubt it's even supposed to be near 105C, as that was Fermi, which raised quite a stir when it was released. This is... G92 architecture? No matter; it's not made for 100C temps.

    SO! Long story short, when the T.I.M. arrives (AS-5 is what I ordered - can't find the MX's online for some reason), I plan on replacing the CPU's, and both GPUs' contact material. But what about the GDDR3? And the 9400m/northbridge? Although their temperatures aren't dire, these could probably use help too, for longevity's sake. These use thermal pads, not just a paste, to bridge a physical gap between heat sink and contact, correct? I've never dealt with pads before. Assuming that I don't want to deal with replacing them, can I just slap the same ones back on, and have them perform the same? Or will they be damaged after being separated, once I pull the heat sinks off? Would the T.I.M. be able to bridge the gaps? Are these gaps small enough for that? What should I do if that's not possible? (I assume get new ones. In that case, who should I buy replacement thermal pads from? I have no experience whatsoever with any brands of thermal pad, so I have no idea how they perform. All advice is most welcome.)

    Thanks for the help/suggestions!
    ~TiMN8R
     
    TiMN8R, Apr 26, 2011
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  2. TiMN8R

    TiMN8R Notebook Enthusiast

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    Update: I found what I needed in a different thread. Thanks for looking!
     
    TiMN8R, Apr 26, 2011
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