The Notebook Review forums were hosted by TechTarget, who shut down them down on January 31, 2022. This static read-only archive was pulled by NBR forum users between January 20 and January 31, 2022, in an effort to make sure that the valuable technical information that had been posted on the forums is preserved. For current discussions, many NBR forum users moved over to NotebookTalk.net after the shutdown.
Problems? See this thread at archive.org.

    Re-applying thermal paste on the Macbook

    Discussion in 'Apple and Mac OS X' started by sp00n, Jun 15, 2007.

  1. sp00n

    sp00n Notebook Deity

    Reputations:
    512
    Messages:
    1,684
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    55
    I just spent the time to clean out the old thermal paste and put in some new Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Paste in my 2.0Ghz Core 2 Macbook. Let me tell you, I let out a huge sigh of relief when the laptop was finally put back together. I'm currently running Prime95 Stress Test to break-in the new thermal paste. I'll let you guys know whether or not the new thermal paste made a difference.

    AS5 Thermal Paste Temps:
    Idle: 45C
    Load: 84C

    Final words: Unfortunately, I didn't do any benchmarks before applying the new thermal paste, so I don't have any comparisons. However, the 45C idle temperature seems pretty reasonably cool. According to the Intel Mac Temp database, ( http://tinyurl.com/yp457w) my idle temp seems to be lower than most of the Macbooks.

    Pic of stock TP:
    [​IMG]

    You can't see it in the picture, but there was a lot of thermal paste left over on the CPU/GPU heat sink.
     
    sp00n, Jun 15, 2007
    #1
  2. sp00n

    sp00n Notebook Deity

    Reputations:
    512
    Messages:
    1,684
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    55
    While running Prime 95 in Parallels XP, the laptop is still amazingly responsive. This CPU is amazing.
     
    sp00n, Jun 15, 2007
    #2
  3. PR0DiGY

    PR0DiGY Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    1
    Messages:
    184
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    haha I hate thermal paste =\

    my PC runs at like 60 when its idle, and around 68 under heavy load..

    I kinda broke the heat sink, when I was taking it out to check if it even has thermal paste, I broke that stupid plastic thing and one is stuck in there, I tried so hard to take it out until I heard a crack.. now I put something heavy on the fan/heatsink or the CPU goes over 100c!!!!

    Which means the comp lays on its side, what a waste of money on the case


    Anyway, tell us how it goes :)
     
    PR0DiGY, Jun 15, 2007
    #3
  4. sp00n

    sp00n Notebook Deity

    Reputations:
    512
    Messages:
    1,684
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    55
    It's at about 80C running Prime 95 in Parallels. I expect the temps for the first couple of days to be higher, but should be lower once the paste breaks-in.
     
    sp00n, Jun 15, 2007
    #4
  5. PR0DiGY

    PR0DiGY Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    1
    Messages:
    184
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    OK, keep us updated :)

    Yay 100 post's...
     
    PR0DiGY, Jun 15, 2007
    #5
  6. teknerd122

    teknerd122 Notebook Evangelist

    Reputations:
    33
    Messages:
    332
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    This is just beyond my comprehension.
     
    teknerd122, Jun 19, 2007
    #6
  7. sp00n

    sp00n Notebook Deity

    Reputations:
    512
    Messages:
    1,684
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    55
    I've finally updated the new temperatures.
     
    sp00n, Jun 19, 2007
    #7
  8. chem

    chem Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    1
    Messages:
    47
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    15
    Nice report, and nice screenshots! Macbooks only have 1 fan, right? I think that's one reason they get hotter than a properly thermal pasted MBP under load. Let us know if your temps under load cool down any over the next week or whatever. :)
     
    chem, Jun 19, 2007
    #8