Stock Thermal Paste quality?

Hoping to get info from anyone who has purchased a G series, tested temps for CPU and GPU then reapplied aftermarket paste and retested on a new unit. I looked through the forums but the best I could find was before and after results after the laptops were a year or so old which the results could vary based off how dusty/dirty the fans were prior to cleaning.

Thanks

 

My G73JH paste was horrible, got 5-6°C lower temps after replacing it with MX-2 paste.

 

Gio77, I think you'll have a hard time finding a G series owner who knows the temp difference between the stock and aftermarket paste (e.g. ICD 7) because almost most of the time, they started measuring their temps when dusts have already plagued their fans and heat sink fins.

 

I'd say you can expect it to be off poor quality in that it will degrade faster than quality pastes. Also it is typically applied with a distinct lack of care and finesse! With my G73JH on stock paste brand new I got idle temp on GPU (stock CPU never heated up so ignored it) of 53C, load around 85C. I airdusted my fans and used a pipe cleaner on the rear heat sinks to keep it relatively dust free, after a year or so idle was up to 60C and load (Furmark) 90C.

Repasted with a decent paste, idle dropped to 49-52C and furmark 78C. A year and a half after applying the quality paste idle is 51-54C, furmark 79C.

So, leave stock and clean fans till it degrades, then repaste with a good paste. Do the repaste when you're in warranty incase you stuff up!

 

Without any actual knowledge personally, and I will say others lack that also. I doubt the OEM is "crap". I think as mentioned above the application is a major factor in unsatisfactory thermal performance. I think in the production they just can't do as well as someone who spends more time and care. Now do not get me wrong I do think they might use a paste that is more forgiving in sloppy application than the high end we can get.

I bought my Asus from XoticPC and had it repasted with ICD. I can't give numbers but I have a level of trust. The technician even if he/she has production demands I think less stress and more time to do properly than OEM. I also think since an upgrade from them they need/want to do correct. I think other trusted vendors would do the same.

Thermal paste does degrade and user repaste might be a warranty issue for some. That is to bad as in and of itself it should not void warranty. Xotic as a Asus vendor is authorized to do and they sort of have taken over some thermal issues if I have. They will fix if a failure. If I did repaste myself and was not the issue I trust them to pass along to Asus. Pick a good vendor that has the time to care and will back you up.

I liked SpicySI's anecdotal input. If you are comfortable doing yourself I think might be an option. If you are not I get back to go to a vendor like Xotic and pay the $35.

 

Thanks for the input guys. I have no issues or worry in doing the work myself as I also plan on lapping the stock heat sinks. I have verified with the vendor that I got it through that this will not void warranty but should I damage anything as a result of performing the work then that would (also not worried). Only reason I'm interested in changing the paste is due to my last machine death just at a year old due to heat issues. I have read especially that the G73's had paste that would dry out in as little as 3 months and the last thing I want is dried out paste and an overheating laptop again. If anyone does have this info that would be greatly appreciate but as others have mentioned might be hard to come across. Was hoping to have a reference compared to the work I'm planning on doing.

I might pick up some sandpaper today as I'm out,and tackle this job this weekend. If I do I'll post pictures also before and after results.