G60VX - Arctic Silver 5 - Chipset?

Hi Everyone.

Last night I decided to open up my laptop and re do the thermal paste. I cleaned off the old hard stuff from my CPU and heatsink, and after it was completely clean, applied a skim coat of arctic siliver 5 to the die. CPU done.

I left the GPU alone because it's temps weren't concerning me that much.

Here's the part where I am worried about. I did the same thing to the Chipset, becuase they share the same heatsink, so at the time I thought "why not". Except the chipset was using a thermal pad instead of thermal paste, so NOW I'm wondering if the reason they used a thermal pad originally is due to the space between the heatsink and the chipset. Anyway...after playing for a while last night, and then letting my computer rest overnight, here are the temp reports.

My chipset is now 44C after idling several hours. And it Tops out at 62C while playing WoW (Dalaran seems to be the only place I can go to make it get this high). Average temps were in the mid 50's.

CPU was idling at 30C and 28C after several hours, and it topped out at 47C

GPU last night seemed to have the biggest change, eve though I didn't touch it. It was idling at 54C after several hours. And topped out at 70C


With these temps. I'm mainly still concerned about the chipset...Should I have just left it alone? The problem is I never really paid any attention to what the chipsets temps were before I opened it and repasted...so I have no idea what the "normal" temps for it are. And what are some signs that would tell me that somethings is wrong with the heatsink/chipset thermal transfer?

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

 

Always replace thermal pads with another pad, and never use thermal paste were you should not.
Get another thermal pad for the chipset and never re-use a old one.

 

Can you be a little more specific? I don't think this chipset would be considered something to never use thermal paste on. There's a die, there's a heatsink...arctic silver 5 seems like a good thing for those 2. The main concern I had was whether or not there is a gap between the 2. The majority of websites I have seen say to always prefer paste to a pad when possible.

Where should I go to get a new thermal pad? what kind should I get? Are there different kinds?

 

Just get a copper shim. Paste>copper>paste>heatsink. Works better than a pad.

 

So basically, in a simpler way I'm asking if anyone else has ever done what I did, and if not....look at my temps chipset temps and tell me if thats hotter than yours.

 

Only put thermal paste on the CPU and GPU die.
It sounded like you put it on a place it should not go.
Don't put thermal paste were thermal pads went originaly, it's a bad idea.

 

As IKAS V suggested, TIM on CPU and GPU die only. However, if you want to take it one step further, you can put TIM on the GPU memory as long as you replace the thermal pads with a copper shim. You may also want to use a non-conductive TIM such as ICD7 instead of AS5.

 

The chipset was is a IC, just like the processor, so it's not considered a place it does not go.

I read through CitizenPanda's thread about how he replaced his CPU...and based on what I read, it seems that he did the same thing I did, except he thought he was repasting the GPU, when he was actually repasting the chipset.

Here are his quotes that led me to this conclusion:

"it shares one heatsink & fan between the GPU & CPU"(this is wrong, the CHIPSET and the CPU share the same heatsink, not the GPU)




"I just tossed in a good helping of Shinetsu Microsi to the CPU. Took off the crappy pad from the GPU and did the same."(The GPU doesn't have a thermal pad, the CHIPSET does)

Here are some quotes from some computer building specialist at techsupportforum.com

Me: Basically to put my concern simply. If there was a gap in between the heatsink and the chipset, then i would be seeing much higher temps right?

TUMBLEWEED: Yes, you would, especially the way a laptop is confined in there. I always used in my workshop 63c as the cutoff as too hot (although I knew a few degrees more would not damage always), so if that is the highest you go with strenuous gaming, I would not worry about it at this time. Later on, I just dropped it to 60c to streamline my advice.

Like I say, I think you did a nice job of cleaning and reassembling if you are in that temp ballpark. Enjoy the rig and if it give you issues, then hit us back for assistance.

DB: If I'm right the thermal paste should take some time to set up (cure or what ever) and when it does you should see your temps drop a few degreese. The reason they used a thermal pad was to cut down on production time when they assembled the lap top. Using paste instead of the thermal pad or tape wont affect the performance of the pc, unless you globbed it all over the chip set. If you are still concerned just monitor the temps for a week and make sure you keep it on a well ventalated surfface.



So Yes AS5 is conductive, but you only supposed to apply a thin skim coat of thermal grease to an IC anyway, no matter what kind, for proper thermal conduction...so as long as you aren't slathering it on the IC then it's conductivity shouldn't be an issue.

I appreciate everyone's input. Could someone answer my question though about temps? Are my temps comparable to yours? That's the concern I have at the moment.

 

Lies! Copper shim-and-paste sandwich > thermal pad.

However, What Ikas says is generally true. The gap between the heatsink and chipset is fairly large, so a thin layer of paste won't make optimal contact. So you should either use a thermal pad or a shim.

By the way, your temps seem fine. As of typing this, my CPU cores are 38/38, chipset is 45, and GPU is 50 (which is higher for the GPU than what I'm accustomed to; I'm usually in the low to mid forties.

 

OK MAN!
I forgot about the copper shim thing.For some reason I thought he was asking something else.
Thermal pads are there for a reason.
I guess if MR.Forge says it's OK then it's OK..lol

 

Anything Ikas says is OK is also OK, but only if Forge agrees. If Forge disagrees, it becomes semi-OK. If David agrees with Forge, Ikas becomes not-OK and Forge's position becomes OK.

If David disagrees with Forge, both Ikas and David are automatically wrong.

See? It's simple!

 

Did I just loose 20 IQ points? because I have no idea what you just said!

 

lol ok so my temps are ok then...i just figured if it was making poor contact then it would end up getting hotter than what it is...what kind of temps are you guys seeing during gameplay? Here's a shot of my gameplay temps



IGNORE THE CPU TEMPS...the settings are off on HWmonitor. My CPU temps at this time were actually 41C/38C respectively.

So after looking at those temps...is that fairly normal for the chipset temp? If so, then that means it must be making sufficient contact, correct?

Where can i buy copper shims at? And how many should I use? Do they come in different thickness?

 

Temps look fine, although I don't usually look at my chipset numbers. Mine doesn't go above low 60s, but then again I'm undervolted on the CPU, modded along the backplated, plopped on a Zalman, and using a copper shim.

GPU looks good.

As for the CPU, why do you think the temperatures are off? Have you not corrected for TJMax?

Oh, and the HDD temperatures are a bit high, but not bad.

Just according to plan. First David, then Ken, then Chaz, then the guy with the weird Kwad-something name, and then the world.

 

yea i haven't had my Chipset temps go above low 60's either...and I have no cooling mods done at all...so i guess it's making good contact.

How can i get my HDD temps down?

Yea my CPU temps are off because im too lazy to modify the file...i just open speedfan for a sec when i want to see my cpu temps...they stay around 40c under load and 30c at idle.

 

Never knew you had an evil agenda for being on NBR! ><

There's not much HDD mods you can do, but on the software side, disabling index search will help in reducing HDD load, ergo may reduce HDD temps.

 

So everything is OK???

Just go with it, he's on a roll.lol

I would not worry about the HDD temps are fine and the other hardware temps look good too.
Not too hijack this thread (but I am)I have a crazy idea, here it is.
I found a great deal on a nvidia 285M( under $150, my bro swapped his out but that's a story for another time) would it be to crazy of a idea to put one in a G60VX?
I know TPB is 10W higher than the 260GTX but if it fits should I buy it?
It seems too good a deal to pass up and I would try every mod to control temps and yes FORGE use Cooper sheet shims and more than likely add the mini heat sink for more surface area cooling.
Any input would help, or just shoot my idea down and tell me I'm crazy

 

I use Tuneup Utilities and yea it turned off all that indexing and unnessecary load actions to speed up performance. It's a really great program.

One thing that bothers me though...Even though my GPU temps stay in the 60's for the most part...My palmrest still gets warm...not hot, but warm, and that's enough to bother me becuase I hate heat. Does that happen for you guys? How can I prevent this? The Zalman NC2000?

 

Well, check to see whewhich HDD bay your HDD is located. If it's in the bay next to the GPU, move it over to the other one.

Although if you continue to fascinate me with your fantastically fascinating avatars, I'll become too distracted to do much of anything.

LOOK ITS A MUNKY

No, everyone is wrong, including me.

Not going to work. Asus uses a weird format for their GPUs--reversed slot, or something--and thus it won't physically fit.

Plus you have to add in BIOS issues and cooling.

I'd say just give up on that path and start adding in moar coppah.

 

CRAP!
See that I did not know and I thank you for that.
Saved me some money!
I'm OK with my temps on the GPU, I just wanted more power.MMMhahaha!
Under full load they only reach mid eighties now so it is what it is and accept them for it.
Man, I'll just have to wait for the real refresh when the new models come out.
And stop picking on David's avatars I find them extremely cool.
Is that a rubik's cube he's holding???

 

Well, to squeeze more power out of it, you need to overclock. Overclocking produces more heat, so if you don't want your laptop to become a space heater that can frag n00bs at 100fps, do your best to keep it cool.

I'm not picking on them. They really do fascinate me.

 

The heat on the palm rest is most likely caused by the hard drive and since there are no intakes beneath the HDD compartments, it's difficult to efficiently cool the drives with a laptop cooler. This isn't to say a cooler won't work, just that you'll probably see temps decrease more so on the CPU and GPUs rather than the HDD.

Thanks IKAS That thing is supposedly an iphone

 

Ok what size spacer do i need? Forge can you help with this? Apparently my GPU needs one too...I repasted it and then checked for contact and my heatsink was still clean after i laid it down on the GPU...so for now i just got extra paste sealing the gap but i know that won't do....can you link me to the shims i should buy? 1.5cm x 1.5 cm - 1mm thick...that sound right?

 

Did you screw in the heatsink after repasting to check on contact area?
Sometimes just placing the heatsink over it doesn't give you an idea if the contact is good or not, you have to put some pressure on it to spread the thermal paste everywhere.I push it in it twist it a bit to help spread it evenly, that usually does the trick.
Sorry I can't help with the shims I never use them.

 

That was my 2nd guess
The new one is great too, what's that a bazooka your holding now. Lol
@David
Any info on the new smaller gaming laptops coming from ASUS or are you just going to tell me to wait for Computex?
C'mon I know you know!
You know everything about ASUS laptops

 

I know that some copper mods were successfully done with using 1.5mm thick copper shims on the actual GPU die of some Dell laptops. Not sure if this would be the same on the memory though. Will need Forge's confirmation on this.

That bazooka is suppose to be a guitar! ><

Smaller gaming laptop from Asus? Huh? What? Lots of CUDA cores? Something 11, you say? What are you talking about?

 

Lol.
I knew that I was only teasing
So from what your saying is we might be seeing a new 11 something inch laptop with a new Nvidia GPU besides the 335M you get with a AW M11x.
Interesting.
Anything on the junior G73?
Seems I'm getting the itch for a new 15" gaming laptop from ASUS.
One question on that DX10 or DX11?

 

no no no! Ah... you were so close

swap dx and inch around

 

How about you PM me and just let me know?
Grrrrr.
I know wait for Computex.lol
You going David?

 

Nah, I wish I could go

 

0.0216''/16 oz/0.55mm is what I used on my GPU, and it makes full contact. You could get away with a thick layer of good-quality paste, like MX-3, ICD7, or Shin-Etsu X23, but if you want the best, do a copper shim.

I thought it was Frenzy from the Transformers movie.

An 11-incher with DX15? EGAD!

 

Well Like I said, I'm useing Arctic Silver 5, which everyone has a different opinion on what the "best" paste is. I originally applied a thin layer as normal...and only one of the corners made contact...so i squeezed a bit more on the center of the die, then pushed down and lifted and saw it made more contact...so I added a little bit more and squeezed it down and it then made full contact and didn't spill over the sides of the IC so I laid it back down and screwed it in.

Now my temps are a little confusing. Let me sum it up with some before and after.

BEFORE GPU TEMPS DURING GAMEPLAY (WoW)
Peak 74C - 76C
Average 65C - 68C
Low 63C

AFTER GPU TEMPS DURING GAMEPLAY (WoW)
Peak 73C
Average 66C - 69C
Low 65C

So as you can see...the peak is lower, but the other 2 are higher...not quite understanding that..maybe it's becuase I haven't given it a chance to cure and "break in" the new paste? Label says it takes 200 hours and many cooldowns and heat up cycles to reach final consitency and thus be broken in.

What confuses me the most is that it didn't have a spacer before...it just had a layer of compound straight from the factory...so how was it making contact then, and not now? Maybe the layer they put on was thicker than I realized?

Oh and FYI the Chipset seemed to be making decent contact even without a shim.

Or it could just be OCD...do you guys think im making a big deal out of nothing, or "sweating the small stuff" as they say?

 

I have a G50vt-x1 from BB and need to make the GPU cooler, gets about 103c in borderlands. It got to 110 and throttled before i cleaned out dust. I have ordered some TIM to replace all the old stuff with. Do i need to get a thermal pad or a shim to put on the chipset or is it fine?

 

Sorry to bump the thread, but I have a similar issue as Milo above with a G60vx (GPU idles around 60-65c, peaks at almost 100 during heavy load). I just picked up some arctic silver and was going to apply it today but found this thread. One thing I don't quite understand: If I buy a thermal pad or copper shim, do I...

a) apply a layer of thermal paste between the GPU and the shim, and again between the shim and the heatsink? Or
b) do I just insert the shim between the heatsink and GPU and call it a day?

Thanks in advance.

 

Shim sandwich. Thin layer on the die, put the shim on top, and then a thin layer on the copper.

 

Alternatively, you could try undervolting your GPU. I have written a guide for it.

Link in my signature.

 

I put paste on mine and got contact with everything no problem. GPU is now in "ok" temperature zone and cools of much faster. Nothing to worrry about.

 

Thanks for the quick responses. Tomorrow I'll go make myself a shim sandwich with extra mayo and lettuce (hold the hots).

 

How are some people's needing shims and some arn't?? How is it that it didn't have a shim before and it was making contact before? The only thing that makes sense is that somehow we people who need shims are just reinstalling the heatsink incorrectly. But I don't see how that is...the only thing that comes to mind is the thermal pads on the memory chips are thickening up or bunching up or something, keeping the heatsink from resting flat like it should.

Well anyway I have a question...I just got this copper sheet, it's not .5mm thick, but if I use a couple layers with paste in between each, it will be thick enough. Do you guys think I should do that or just leave the thick paste I have on there alone since my temps are ok?

 

Laying a thick layer of paste also works. I just don't think that's the optimal solution.

Your copper sheet should be fine.

 

Here's another question...What I'm gonna do is get ICD7 and just use that. But what about my ram chips that all those thermal pads are touching? Last time I checked. The thermal pads for the most part stayed clean...i had to push some of them back into shape because they curled up while I was working...one of them got a little buggered up, and another got a bit of dried thermal paste on it so i cleaned it with alcahol......but exactly how important are these things? Important enough to keep them but not so much where I should replace them every time I take off the heatsink? How do I know if there is a problem with them? Is my ram going to burn up if I don't have clean new thermal pads?

 

Are you sure your not asking about the memory on the GPU?
I've never heard of anyone putting a thermal pad on the RAM.