G53JW (GTX 460M) repasting GPU question

Hi guys,

So yesterday I decided that it was time to take apart my laptop and give it some TLC that it so sorely needed. I repasted the CPU with no problem, but when I took the GPU off, I ran into an interesting dilemma.

My heatsink looked like this: http://grayfoxelectronics.com/images/100_2628.jpg

There were heat pads on the outside, and this gummy blue paste, which goes over the VRAM modules. I thought it was just thermal paste that happened to still be in very good condition, so I cleaned it off and applied some thermal paste to the VRAM modules and GPU and mashed it back together. I noticed that this paste had a very strange consistency when I was cleaning it off, but didn't give it too much thought.

As I was screwing the GPU in, I realized that the gummy blue paste might have been melted thermal pads (do thermal pads melt like that!?). With the heatsink screwed all the way in, most of the VRAM modules were touching the heatsink, but one or two of the VRAM modules have a <1mm gap between the heatsink and the top of the chip. It's just enough that I can see the thermal paste being squished flat.

So the question is, do I need to get thermal pads to place over the VRAM modules? I'm worried that if I get thermal pads, the pads will push the heatsink up off the GPU. Can I just use a larger blob of thermal paste to help bridge the gap?

Edit: I guess the real question is, how big of a gap is too big for thermal paste to bridge?

 

You are right, I have had those blue pads melt and go gummy in an old Dell gaming laptop. Not sure if you need 0.5 or 1mm pads, but think it's the former.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk

 

Would 0.5mm thermal pads actually be better than thermal paste? It seems like at that thickness, a good thermal pasting job would be superior.

 

I don't know of any laptops using paste on anything other that the GPU and CPU die. The paste is to fill a small gap, and won't work on a large one. Definitely get some new pads, had a quick look and seems that 0.5mm is the way to go. After all, if you need 1mm on a chip you can just double them up.

Best to wait till you get pads sorted before using laptop as you don't want to burn out a vram chip!

Even if the paste seemed to be filling the gap, with time and heat it would cure and contract creating a gap again.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk

 

The question is what consists of a large gap? It's frustrating because my VRAM modules touch the heatsink except for 2 of them.

I'll try re-seating my heatsink and see if I can get all the VRAM modules touching the heatsink. If I can't, then I'll use the thermal pads. Thanks for the advice man!

 

0.5-1mm is a large gap.

 

Okay, well with everyone's advice, I ordered thermal pads. I got 0.5mm ones. Hopefully they'll do the job!

 

You want all the components to just make contact with the heatsink, this means the heatsink can rest as close as possible to the core. You may find different components have different gaps and you will need to stack it for some, take your time and double check your work.