The Newb's Guide to Repasting Your G73

I’ve seen many people ask how to repaste and the answer is pretty simple, watch the BTOTech video. What originally brought me to this forum was my own overheating G73. I knew I needed to repaste but the BTO video simply was not detailed enough to give me the confidence to do it myself. It was Chastity's repaste that convinced me I needed to repaste and Gorwell’s repaste post that finally mustered my courage to actually do it.

Still I thought it would be good if there was a place where newbs like myself could see everything they needed to see and judge for themselves if they could do it or not. That is the purpose of this post. I am not trying to replace to the BTO Video, only fill in the holes so that people will have the guts to fix their own computers. I think ASUS overall has excellent service, but they do use cheap paste and the fact of the matter is you can lower your temps significantly if you re-paste yourself and use a quality paste like Innovative Cooling Diamond 7. If you are considering a re-paste and have watched the BTO Video, but still have questions read on.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tp90M_N6dzs This is video I am trying to supplement. It is an excellent video but it is hard to see the fine details, plus they do not tell you how to re-paste.

I highly recommend you read the following.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/asus-gaming-notebook-forum/506044-chastitys-repaste-experience.html Details why everyone here is using ICD7 to repaste and what kind of results you could get.
http://forum.notebookreview.com/asu...11600-my-repaste-experience-pics-success.html This post has excellent pictures and details how easy it is to break your speaker cable.
http://www.innovationcooling.com/applicationinstructions.htm How to apply ICD7
http://www.svc.com/icd7.html Where to buy ICD7 http://www.frozencpu.com/products/7..._Carat_Thermal_Compound_-_15_Grams.html?tl=g8
http://forum.notebookreview.com/asu...475907-asus-g73-series-disassembly-guide.html G73 Disassembly Guide

Given all this PLEASE understand that you can ruin your computer if you try this. My goal is to give you a detailed example is what is involved so that you can make an informed decision if repasting is right for you.

If you have ever changed a cars oil, built any sort of computer, repaired anything electronic, then you can probably do this. If you read this post and are still confused or concerned, be very careful. I don't want you to ruin your $1500+ computer. I paid $750 for my G73 on craigslist, so it is a little easier for me to take risks with it.

 

Here is what you’ll need if you want to repaste.
1 Medium Sized Phillips preferably with a magnetic head
1 Small Flat Head for prying the keyboard tabs and unlocking the little latches on cables
A quality set of tweezers
A tube of Innovative Cooling Diamond 7 or 24 (the number is the quantity not quality)
A ruler and template to show you how small 3-5mm truly is.
And some sort of cleaner, I used alcohol preps, but any lint free cloth will work. Q-tips and alcohol will work fine.

I also recommend making a chart to place all your screws in. This will help you make sure you don’t loose any or forget to put them in. It also serves as a guide for re-assembly. Here is what mine looked like after disassembly.


BEFORE YOU START, unplug your AC adapter and remove your battery. It wouldn't hurt to hold down the power button for 30 seconds to make sure everything is discharged.

Now the BTO Video is pretty self explanatory up until 3:15 seconds when you remove the keyboard.
There are 5 keyboard tabs, insert flat head screw driver, push away from your body (toward the screen) to unlock tab. If you are in the right spot the keyboard should pop up slightly. Repeat 4 more times.



When peeling off keyboard pull from the base where it is still attached. Don’t bend the keyboard. Use a firm but gentle upward pressure until the tape gives. The 1st time is supposed to be very stiff. Since I was not the first to remove my keyboard I cannot comment on how hard it is, but now that it has been done at least twice it is very easy to remove and it doesn’t get damaged.
Once the keyboard is removed lay it down over the track pad like so.

Now unlock the 2 ribbons. One for the Backlight the right and one for the Keyboard on the left. (unlock top and bottom of each). Remove ribbons and keyboard.





OK Good, if you can do that you can do the rest too! Set aside your keyboard. Now remove the 4 Under keyboard screws just like in the BTO video.
Now the hardest part….
There are two Ribbons with easy latches, I’ll just show one because they are the same.
Lift the black latches on the two ribbon connectors. Then use tweezers to remove the two ribbons.


When removing the speaker cable be very careful, it is easy to break (read Gorwell’s post on this, he has excellent pictures). Gently pry up with a small flat head screw driver on each side, I found the side closer the screen released more easily. Look at the pictures to make sure you understand what you are prying on before you try. Also be careful if you use tweezers because I almost ripped my wires off when the tweezers slipped. That is why I recommend using the screw driver to slowly pry.




Remove service panel, check for thermal pad (like BTO says too!)
Remove card reader card.
Remove the 3 motherboard screws, 2 on the right, 1 in between the two cables.
Lift cable immediately left of the fan straight up.


Use tweezers to lift up the tape on the ribbon to the left of this. Then while holding the tape, pull the ribbon straight back toward the monitor, it should come right out.



Now the two ribbons on the bottom in the middle. For the right one lift the tab and slide out the ribbon as you did with the earlier latches.

For the left one remove the tape and pull the ribbon back toward you. Be especially careful putting it back together. If it doesn't seat all the way, it won't work.

Remove the blu-tooth cable if you have one. I don’t so I cannot comment on it.
Remove Fan Screws x6 just like the BTO video says. The top left screw may be hidden behind some tape, just move it aside.
Place a towel over your screen to protect it.

Pry pastic on Right side (so that the VGA port clears) and flip the motherboard over onto the screen. I cannot describe it better than BTO does. Watch out that none of the cables catch on anything. You may need to set the screen down flat on the table as mine slid off the computer.
Once the MB is flipped, you will see the GPU heatsink on the right side.
Loosen the four screws holding it on (they are mounted on springs and do not come out). Notice the numbers next to the screws, this is order you retighten them in. Gently pull the heatsink off of the GPU.

If you loosen the tape on top of where the fan connects to the heatsink, you can flip the heatsink over without having to move the cables connected to the fan. Be careful when you move the heatsink because if it is still connected to the fan you might pull on the cables.




Now take your q-tips, lint free cloth and alcohol or whatever and clean the old paste off the of the GPU die and the heatsink. I used alcohol preps from a hospital. Once they are both clean they should look like this.


UPDATE I've repasted 3 times now, once with a 7mm ball, once w/a 5mm, and once with a 3mm. Each time my temps were identical. I don't think it matters what size it really is. Personally I'd recommend 3-5mm but it probably doesn't matter. See this for screen shots. Now get out your ruler and contemplate the meaning of a 5mm ball. I applied too much the first time so I wanted to do it over. 5mm is literally the size of a pea. My first time I probably applied 7mm, I am hoping using less will lower my temps even more (after testing I learned it did not). I measured it out and made a template just so I could get it right.
I am using Innovative Cooling Diamond 7 (24 is the same just a bigger tube). I cannot comment on the performance of other thermal compounds. The only other one I have used was in the year 2000 when I overclocked my Pentium III 600E, and I have no idea what it was. ICD7 works great though. It took my G73 from 89C in furmark on stock paste to 83C w/ICD7
Now this stuff is very thick and hard to work with. I tried heating up in a coffee cup with hot water to make it easier to work with, but it didn’t really help. Maybe if I had left it in the water longer. Keep the cap on so water doesn’t get in the syringe, you don’t want water on your GPU when you seal it up.

Now apply your thermal compound.

I am probably closer to 5.5mm than 5mm, but hopefully that is ok. My 5mm template looks pretty close. If you apply too much use tweezers and an alcohol prep to remove some (or a q-tip as others have done).
Now reapply your heatsink. Chastity recommended giving the HS a little twist. She has great temps, so I’m gunna try that too (I couldn’t do it, not enough room). Then apply the screws and tighten in the order of numbers.

Once your heatsink is back on put the fan back onto the heat vents with the supplied tape.
Now flip your motherboard back over. If you set the screen on the table lift it back onto the edge of the laptop so the cables are not stretched. Guide the heatsink vents back into the body housing. Watch out for cables, especially the two that go on top of the motherboard, if they get stuck underneath, you’ll have to take the board back out again. Also if you removed the heatsink from the fan, be sure it is seated correctly and taped down tightly or it will affect your temps.
Once everything looks aligned, pry the right side of the body and gently push the VGA port in. Check your fans and make sure they are in place, mine had to be pushed down and adjusted. Also make sure the motherboard cables don’t get stuck underneath.

NOW it is time for reassembly!
It may help to watch the BTO Video in reverse 1 minute at a time and follow that along.
1) Now reinsert the 6 fan screws.
2) Now reconnect your 4 motherboard cables on the top. The top right one just snaps on. The two taped ribbons slide in and then you put the tape back down. Be sure they are all the way in. Mine looked like they were in but were NOT. DOUBLE TRIPPLE CHECK! The bottom right is just like all the other latches we did. Make sure it is in the up open position. Take your tweezers, grab the blue part of the ribbon, slide it in, then push down the latch.
3) Now put back the 3 motherboard screws. Two on the right side, one in between the top 2 cables.
4) Put the card reader plastic back in.
5) To reapply the service panel insert the side closest to your first then push it down until it locks into place. Make sure nothing is sticking out and gets caught in it (this shouldn’t happen, if you have a loose cable that is in the way check your connections). Push down around all the edges to make sure it is on right.
6) Now gently reconnect your speaker cable and the two blue ribbons. Should be easy by now. Use your tweezers to make sure the latches are up and open. Slide in the cable while holding the blue part with your tweezers. Then close the latch with your finger. Be careful with the speaker cable, I did it by hand and then gave it a gentle push with my mini flat head to make sure it was in. One slip and you’ll rip the wires so be careful!
7) Now put the 4 under keyboard screws back in.

Rewind your BTO video to 4:00 minutes. That is where we are.

8) Now place your keyboard upside down on the bottom of the G73 with the F keys on your side like so…

If you removed your keyboard carefully it should just need some minor straightening.
Flip over the small backlight wire (gold side up) before you connect it. Once you flip the keyboard back on it should be aligned correctly. Use your tweezers and slide the two cables back into place and then push the locks to the right.

The left cable has locks on the top and bottom. I had to hold my keyboard up perpendicular to the G73 body to get enough slack to connect the cables.

9) Once the cables are connected, insert the bottom of the keyboard (side closest to you) and lay it back down. Push in the 5 tabs and give the keyboard a firm rubdown to reseat the tape.
10) Now remove your towel/T-shirt etc and flip the monitor back over into the pins near the heat vents.
11) Spin the G73 180 degrees so you can more easily access the screws.
12) Put back the 6 long silver screws and the 2 regular screws (the 2 regular ones go on the outside).
BTO Video time 2:34.
13) Once the hinge screws are in, put the rear cover back on. It just snaps on. Push down on all the edges and the tops of the hinge to make sure it is seated correctly.
14) The rest is super easy. Flip the G73 back over and insert the 3 Memory and WiFi screws.
Insert the two screws which go under the hard drive. Put the HDD back in and screw them in. And if you are like me and have only 1 HD bracket (but 2 HDDs), put your jury-rigged cardboard back in place.
Now put the 10 main body screws back in.
Then 2 battery screws.
The 2 DVD tray screws go in on the right.
Slide the DVD back in and put the DVD retaining screw back in.
Put the HDD cover back on, back first, snap it down, and put in the two screws.
Put the battery back in and STOP, take a deep breath. You are DONE! Now pray it turns on and everything works OR you will freak out!
DAMN, mine won’t even power on, what did I miss! Ahhh! The wifi wires are touching the reset button! Too bad it took me 90 minutes and a reassembly to figure that out!

Working on the rest I just wanted to be sure my photo were working correctly. I will add links to BTO and many other posts.

 

Very nicely done mate! Will help a lot of noobs here ^^.

 

Thank you for this. Now I have the guts on repasting it by myself. I'm just waiting for my ICD7 to arrived.

 

Thanks a lot dude, let this guide sticky at top of the forum please.

 

Don't forget to put a big red warning line on top of the post: Do it on your own risk .. not taking any responsibility ...

No1 should do this if having no experience with small electronics repair.
A falling screw can short the motherboard out for good, static electricity can too.
And might be a good idea to invest 10$ to more professional tools

Nice work with the photos and tutorial.

 

Since the finish on the GPU heatsink wasn't amazing, I also tinned it, according to Innovation Cooling advice. May want to add that to your guide.

 

Thanks I'm not done yet, still have a lot of work to do. I want to put links to all my sources and cite all the posters who contributed. I have to go eat now though.

 

Thanks for this. Hopefully I'll be getting an new G73 from Asus soon, and I'll keep this in mind if I'm going to repaste.

I'll admit that I'm a "newb" and am quite wary of opening this thing up. But...I'll think about it.

 

I was going to call it the "Idiot's Guide" but I looked "Newb" up in the dictionary. I means "a beginner who is willing to learn", as apposed to a Noob which a derogatory name. Since I figure I am a beginner and I am willing to learn, the words suits me, as least as far as my G73 is concerned.

 

Question : Did you spread the paste or no?? which is better? spreading it or not?

 

It is my understanding that using a ball is the best method, at least with ICD7.

 

Nice job ValkerieFire

 

All I can say is "Holy Crap"

Asus sure did not design the G73 for ease of dis-assembly. Good guide for someone who has never done anything like this before.

 

Very nice indeed. I'm a step closer to repasting... now finding time ...

 

Will definitely try this someday, great guide.

 

Very nice +rep

 

Wow dude! You did great! Thanks. Now I'm waiting for my icd7 to arrive from states. +100000rep!

 

Thank you for this. I've only done one repasting job with an HP Mini 311. I still have a tube and a little of AS5 so I'll use that until I'm out. I can't believe how fast this original paste degrades! I've only had the laptop for about 3 days, and my Loaded temps are 88C after a while of playing Bad Company 2. I'm going to wait till I hit 90 before I attempt it.

Thanks again.

 

I wish Asus had made the VGA so easely acceseble like in the Clevo models
I wan't to repaste it, but the risk is too high, so many things that can go bad

 

not really.... i did mine for 35 mins.... just be realy careful with speaker cable..and everything is just unscrewing... thats it... also, the hardest part for me.. is removing keyboard because of the double-sided tape...

 

This seems quite scary. Is it a good idea to practice with my old XPS M1530 first?

I think a repaste is pretty much inevitable, even though my G73 is only one week old.

G73JH is so hard to disassemble, compared to my old Dell. And i used to be so scared to repaste my M1530. Now, my G73 is a total nightmare to repaste compare to that.

I did electronics before, i hope the past experience dealing with amps helps.

 

It honestly isn't is hard as it looks. If you follow the instructions and GO SLOW, it is easy. 35 minutes is for someone going very fast, IMO. Give yourself a good 2-3 hours for your first time. It may take less, but you shouldn't rush.

 

thanks for the great guide, bookmarked

 

Is there room for heatsinks?

 

Alright, thanks.

Gonna buy a tube of IC7 then.

 

I just repasted today, but I didn't get any significant result. I applied the paste twice, seeing that after my first attempt my temps only dropped by 5 degrees. But even after the second repaste, my temps are only 6 degrees lower than before (I used to have 104 degrees when playing MoH and now I have 98).
I have to say that I am really dissapointed. I spent almost 6 hours ensuring that I do everything absolutely right, but it didn't work for me.
Anyways, thanks for the guide. It was very helpful. I wish better luck to anyone else who attempts repasting.

 

What paste did you use?

 

Arctic Silver 5
It's the best one available in my country.

 

Personally, I think AS5 is not a goodmatch for the G73 Heatsinks, since they are not lapped, and the viscosity of the paste is thin. I would try getting a TIM that is thicker.

 

Just wanted to say thanks to everyone who has contributed to all the repasting threads...

Just finished repasting a couple of hours ago, so far so good... I never ran furmark but i knew i needed it... also I had to clean the laptop from the inside so its done...

And I gotta tell you, Fans are just not kicking in as they used to... and the lap just fells cooler... amazing

 

A big thank you to everyone who posted their experiences and guides, it was all a huge help.

Repasted recently, and while it wasn't the best repaste possible, I personally thought it was decent enough, for now anyway.

84C is the highest I saw in Furmark after a ten minute session, and it wouldn't go any higher than that. That's a far cry from the 101C I was seeing before. I haven't even broken 82C in Crysis after an hour or so, vs the 95C I was getting before. I suppose I would have been a member of the 95C club. It idles at around 47C - 50C (cycling ), compared to 56C before repasting. I'm fairly happy with my results, even though I probably put a little too much paste on (6mm - 7mm, rather than 5mm).

 

congratulations to everyone who repasted their g73 succuessfully.. question... are you guys leaving ur back cover off?? is that bad?? i tried it open while my cooler is runnng and it makes my temp lower... i know that it will take more dust.. but i can manage to clean it monthly... anyone does the same??

 

While the instructions for how to disassemble didn't help that much since I had the video to follow, the reassembly instructions at the end sure made things easier at 1am lol.

Strange enough, my temps where decent for a factory paste job, but then again they didn't appear to use paste on my, it looked more like a thermal pad and it flaked away like one also. Before gaming temps where around 88c now 77c. Perhaps asus has changed to thermal pads? certainly would get rid of user error for applying thermal paste.

 

Ok, I repasted with IC Diamond this time and I got exactly the same result. Peak temperature = 100 degrees. I am absolutely certain that I did everything right. What can be the problem? It's getting frustrating...
edit: just ran Furmark and got 110+ degrees and a shutdown

 

Can you maybe give us some more info than, some screenshots with AMD gpu tool with the thermal sensors running, gpu-z, and whats ur ambient temp?
You got the screws on tight?

 

you probably repasted wrong... if u did it right, u should be getiing no morethan 90C on furmark... do it again and make sure to do it right.. also make sure everything is placed correctly and screws are tightened up..... post screenshots after uve done it again...

 

YEY! Im done repasting my g73. Idle temps from 72c to 60. Do you think this can be lower? My room temps are 28-30c. I live in the philippines.

 

May be helpful to some: If you're looking for a good way to keep track of all the screws and which order they go in, use an ice cube tray and work left -> right, top -> bottom.

 

your 5mm pea looks huge

 

Would it be worth lapping the blocks to a prestine shine? I've been so outta the game for so long (damn army).... I feel like a noob again.

 

Hi,

By doing this Repasting don't we loose the warranty?

 

Some people have suggested lapping the heatsink with 800gritt sand paper (double check that I could be wrong on the #). I didn't do it, but it couldn't hurt. If I did it over again I would probably lap the HS some.

Only if you break something. Otherwise is ok, you don't have to break any seals to get to the GPU (the CPU is different). The most important part in not breaking something is go slow. It takes a good 3 hours your first time.

 

how many times should we do that?
You probably mean once every year... I will probably forget anyway, and for me it will always take 3 h.

 

WOW!

Excellent guide my friend in Greece is now wanting to do this im glad i never got the JH IMO what a fiddle.

Sweet he can re paste and we can finally play MW2 FFS!!!

 

I don't know if you ever NEED to redo it, I did it twice because I wasn't happy with my temps from the first repaste. I should note the second repaste made no difference in my temps. If you do it right the first time you should only have to do it once.

 

Correct Repasteing will just make your machine hot-ER but will ensure a better life due to the quality of the thermal compound.

 

Actually repasting lowers your temps A lot. It lowered my temps 7-8 degrees C. I repasted I second time because I wanted to go even lower, but it didn't help any more than the original 7 degree drop. That is what I mean by do it right the first time. I did it right the first time, but I wanted to be sure so I did it a second time, which was completely unnecessary. The guy above with a temp of 96c will probably see a drop of at least 10c (depending on ambient temps) if he repasted.

 

Hey jeanarchie we live on the same country I haven't tried repasting my G73JH yet as I still don't have an idea how to get ICD7 here in our country. As of now, My idle temps are 68-70. I am very sure 2 months ago, I just idle at 66 but now it just suddenly raised. Maybe the stock paste has already started degrading. Ambient temp is same as yours. I'm running Bios 206 and never upgraded my vBios and CCC. My brother too has the same temp on his G73JH as mine.

What I do as of the moment is make PowerPlay run as Maximize Battery to downclock the GPU from 700 to 300. When in gaming, i adjust it to Maximize Performance

 

hey mates,

does make sence to me to re-past my G73 if i reached following....

my tempreatures on CPUs are in hwinfo32 when normal work "entertainment mode" lower than 50c

graphic is running on leates vBIOS which fix GSODs i had before, 10.11 catalysts, temperature 50c also when am not playing any games, and its automaticaly downclocked to 405/1000 and 0,95V