Official Asus G72GX Owners Lounge

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From experience. I used the Sekisui tape on my G72 and haven't had a problem in almost a year. On my son's G71, I went with the black tape that came with the heat sinks because I just wasn't up to the task at the time. Within a short period of time several of the heat sinks fell off. As they did, I replaced the black tape with the Sekisui tape. Eventually they all fell off, and now all have Sekisui tape on them. It's been at least 6 months and not a single one has fallen off since.

I'm not sure if there was a difference in performance, but the black tape will not hold for long. So, it's up to you whether you want to take the time to change the tape now, or later.

 

Now when I purchased and installed those copper blocks I removed the black tape and used the very thin clear tape that I bought from ebay that was advertised as sekisui tape, I cannot confirm it was genuine but it has not failed yet and its been several months.

Can you tell me or guide me in the right direction for the copper shims you guys speak of? I did a quick search on ebay and I found them for the HP pcs, but I assume you are placing small pieces of copper on every chip on both sides of the GPU?

 

Those HP Copper shims should work fine. All they are, are cut pieces of copper to help bridge the gap between the cpu/gpu and the heatsink. The thermal foam crap that is on there stock, sucks and having a thin strip of copper will help transfer heat.

A couple of things to note regarding the shims.
1. You can probably go to a hardware store, buy a thin sheet of copper and cut it yourself to any dimension you want.
2. Lather the shim with thermal compound on either side (check out the cheesy diagram below )

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHH <-Heatsink
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX <-Thermal Compound
CCCCCCCCCCCCCCC <-Copper Shim
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX <-Thermal Compound
OOOOOOOOOOOOOO <-CPU or GPU

3. Make sure that when you are screwing the heatsink back on, to be VERY, VERY CAREFUL when tightening. If you over tighten the screws, you may damage the chip. I tightened until there was slight resistance and then give it about a half turn more. Use your best judgement.

This is not too tricky a task but you do have to be careful about overtightening and making sure all surfaces are thoroughly cleaned.

 

So are you talking about doing this for the main GPU chip only or all of the smaller chips under the silver heat sink too?

I could go ahead and buy copper I'm not shy about doing this just trying to gather the most information possible before I start. Thanks again

 

Honestly, I would not use a copper shim on the GPU, been there done that. Just use the shims for the all the memory chips and transistors that has a thermal pad on it. While there was no change in temp using a shim on the GPU there was unneeded stress to the spring arms which in turn may cause stress to the board itself. So it's safe to say there is much better contact with the GPU and heatsink and a shim for it is not necessary. The same goes with the CPU and northbridge.

RW417, did you happen to buy from tape_and_etc by any chance?

 

win132

yes I just double checked, the envelope I have from him is from Gurnee, IL. Came through Carol Stream, IL on its way to me, so he's the guy I bought from, 99% sure.

I bought 3 8" strips and it was way too much. I put equal sized squares on all 24 blocks. Took me few minutes but I got it done.

I really didn't notice much of a drop to be completely honest. I run it with the cover off constantly and it stays low 80's when gaming and encoding vids, but if I put that cover on it tops 91-93 easily, probably would go higher playing Crysis or COD.

 

Agreed. I apologize for not being clearer. The point of the exercise was to get rid of the junky thermal pads. I would concur with win132001 You should use the thermal compound everywhere and use shims to replace any thermal pads. Use your best judgement as to which chips have enough space in between to support using a shim so you don't damage any of them.

Yikes! I am surprised to hear that the temps didn't drop. Even with the cover on, my temps never go over 87-88C. I guess each GPU is slightly different. C'est la Vie...

Here are diagrams with the exact dimensions of the copper shims you need between the heatsink and the chips on the GPU (to replace the thermal pads). The copper needs to be as thin as possible, approximately 0.6mm not sure if 1mm would work. I think 22mil is the alternate measurement.

#1


#2


#3

 

I couldn't tell you what thickness mine it though I could swear it was 1mm, but I just don't remember.

A question for both of you. Have either of you done modifications to the cover at all?

 

No. I could not find a replacement bottom cover for cheap and decided to hold off until I was able to buy one first. I did not want to use the original for a mod in case I decided to sell the laptop or needed to get repairs done, just in case there were warranty issues.

UPDATE: Found a couple of people selling bottom covers on eBay so I might pick one up and mod it.

 

this laptop was sent to asus for repair once, and when it returned to me the SSD I have installed was no longer working.. after a long drawn out process I finally got it back after well over a month of problems, and the temps were still hitting 90's with the cover on. I have had it off ever since afraid to send it back to Indy for fear of what will happen if I do.

I may send it in one more time and see if maybe it can be done properly, seeing as I still have a year remaining on the warranty.

You think the local PC supply store would have copper like that, or should I go to Lowes or home depot? maybe find one of those penny squishing machines? haha

I have a spare cover I intend to either drill holes in or use a drywall cutting saw to cut straight lines in the case over the hole for the fan and the heatsink to allow air flow from the cooler.

I have a couple of fan filters I bought from a pc supply store online, but I'm not sure I can attach them properly and allow for the laptop to sit properly afterwards. I will post some pics when I do finally get around to modifying that cover

 

Ya, I was gonna say they are fairly priced at the moment.

Any home improvement store should have copper sheets. Just remember to get it thin, but not aluminum foil thin, haha. You will also need to get a tin snip if you don't have one already. I think you can find one for less than $10 if I remember right.

The cover mod I did makes my laptop sit higher on one side only because of the trim that I used sits higher than the one corner foot. Honestly not a problem for me since I'm using a couple of pieces of foam to rise up the back that is until I can find a permanent solution to replace the rubber on the feet. If you guys have any idea on that let me know.

Anyways, here's what I did with the cover if you're curious. I think it turned out pretty well. I'm also planning on drilling holes for the graphics and ram vents. I thought about just cutting slots, but I would want it factory perfect and I know that won't happen.

​

EDIT: Just noticed with the cover off and my craptop cooler on I'm getting temps of CPU @ 30C and GPU @ 47C. Too bad I don't like leaving the cover off.

Link to the auction ended.

 

Where did you buy the exterior lip and the mesh?


EDIT:
One these Fan Grill guards may work better, in terms of sitting flush.

 

The mesh was off of an old speaker. It took some time trying to cut and shape the damn thing but it was the best I could do. The lip I got from a recessed light kit at the home improvement store in town, measures at 3" and cost $13 but was worth it IMO. I glued the mesh on with clear silicone based caulking, $3 for a tube at Walmart (comes in a clear tube), that's all I had at the time cause I was winterizing this place and sealing everything that had cold drafts coming in and I think I ended up using at least 20 tubes of it, haha. It seems to be holding up pretty damn good though. It has a little give but I think I can alleviate that if I go around the entire outside of the mesh with the caulking.

 

Win132 Im having issues taking out the card, i just pull it up or I have to slide it to a side?

 

I meant to retract that statement about the graphics card... dammit! Sorry! >.< The CPU and top side of the graphics card can be repasted without taking apart the entire laptop. I forgot that screw mount on the left side of the card, if the exhaust port is away from you, was there. Honestly though you should disassemble the entire laptop and do the northbridge too, considering you don't have a warranty on it anymore. That chip can get pretty hot as well. If you don't know what to do about taking it apart I can try and walk you through it. It'll take some time first time through taking it apart and putting it back together. I tell you what though, I swear I had this laptop apart and put back together in 45 min the second time doing it.

EDIT: Please don't castrate me! I'm so sorry for not retracting that and my other statement about the GPU! >.< If I had your laptop, I would do it for you with the cure time.

 

Well, like ezekiel2517 I'm not under warranty either. So Yesterday I did the repaste by myself (just CPU and top of video card). I'd like to repaste the northbridge and the back side of the video card, but I don't know how to dismantle the laptop. I took out all the screws on the bottom of the laptop and it still doesn't come out.

When I read your post I tried to pull the video card again with no results. And now I see why... Lol but don't worry I didn't try that hard either.

BTW, after repasting I had a 15 Celsius drop... Nice Isn't? But I'm still at 60 Celsius when Idle... So, is there any graphic guide about opening the laptop?

Ty

 

I'd make a video myself, but I don't want to rip apart my laptop again. :X

Hey a 15C drop is very nice! It seems to me that 60C idle is about average if you've done no modding to it along with no cooler and a fresh repaste. Don't fret over it. With the mods done on mine and this crappy cooler I got at the moment I'm getting 52C. So you're about where I was when I didn't have any modding to mine.

Try this ASUS G71 Disassembly. It's kinda the only one I found anyways. Make sure to go through all the videos first and then rerun them while you're doing it, this is a 4 part video. I know it's for the G71, but dis assembly is exactly the same with the G72. Remember to not take out any screws that are on the motherboard when you get the bottom cover off, because there is no need to. Also, be very careful taking off the keyboard. I haven't broken the keyboard myself, but others have, and the price is not pretty for it. Just take your time, be gentle, except when you're taking out the motherboard from the bottom cover, and if you have a lot of static in your house take precautionary grounding measures. Good luck!

 

hey everyone.. read through about 20 pages so far. Lots of good info. I have a few questions.

Is there a tutorial/write-up on how to take the plates off and clean the fan, and apply the Arctic Silver and install a new X9100 CPU?

Where can I buy the Intel 6300n? Is there a write-up/tutorial on how to replace the atheros with this?

I found this on ebay. Would this work?

Can the GPU be upgraded to the 360m?

Can someone show me pictures of their modded G72GX?

Thank you all for the help. I have had my BB G72GX since Feb '10. No problems as to this day. Reinstalled windows twice. Had a few BSOD's. Other than that, it has been a damn good laptop. I was just as happy with the P7811-FX I had as well before this one.

thanks for the help and answers.

 

Welcome to the club!

If you are wanting to do the repaste on every thing; CPU, GPU and chips, and north bridge, refer to my post above yours' for the video tutorial.

The Intel 6300 wifi can be purchased practically anywhere; Newegg, amazon, Ebay, heck even Office Depot. I myself have the 5100 card, only because I got it for $13 shipped and it works perfect and hardly any latency compared to the Atheros according to DPC latency. You will also need this Adapter since it's a half heigh card and the Atheros you would be replacing is a full height card. Now replacing is fairly easy. Open up the big bottom cover and you will see the black and white antenna cables. Take those off. Remove the two screws that hold the top of the card. Gently pull the card toward the fan until it's free and turn the card 90 degrees, slide it over and gently lift it out.

I don't see why that bluetooth adapter wouldn't work, but I couldn't tell you for sure since I haven't bothered to get one.

This is just what I think about the GPU. Although it may have the same connection and would allow for connection, the problem there lies with the cooling system and I'm 100% positive that they don't make a GTS 360m cooling system for the G72/G71 laptops. All-in-all, no it cannot. Besides that, why would you want to replace the GTX 260m with the GTS 360m? It would be a downgrade to the 360m according to benchmarks.

If you want pictures, look at my post on this page with the cover modded and take a peek at Renegade's signature for the copper RAM sinks, there's a link there to a picture of it.

Again welcome to the G72/G71 club, where there's no turning back! MUAHAHAHA!

 

A lot of new info since I visited last time

So I decided to have my friend bring me ICD7 and some copper sinks. I am thinking of ordering 2 thermal compound tube things in case I mess it up. My friend won't be back for 3 weeks so I've got time.

I found where to order the compound but I got no clue what type of copper sinks I should get. I also don't have a clue about thermal pads or if I should even try to replace them. I only had a deep cleaning and repasting in mind.

I am getting a bit nervous

 

Well I must say that looking those G71 disassembly videos made me feel a little overwhelmed. xD too much screws and cables for me... Thats what I like from a PC over a laptop, it's easier to upgrade/repair.

If I repaste the Northbridge will my laptop be under 60C? I mean it's worth the effort?

Well If by Thermal Pads you mean the ones that are between the heatsink and the GPU Chips, you can replace them with Copper Shims... I kept my thermal pads when doing the repaste and got a 15C drop (from 75 to 60 ~), but some users says that copper makes a difference... You may want to look some older posts, there you may find more info about it.

 

I don't really want to order more things, so I mostly wonder if it's worth it.

 

just got a 11585 on 3d mark stock settings. I'll take it!

 

The extent of the mods are completely up to you and while some of them are worthwhile in terms of time/effort/reward, I think disassembling the entire laptop might be a little bit of overkill if you are unsure on how best to tackle the situation. This is not to say that I think repasting the GPU and/or CPU are bad ideas. I just caution you to stay within your comfort-zone. The video guide does a pretty good job of detailing how to go about disassembling the chassis and I would highly recommend watching it to make sure you understand what is involved.

Repasting does lower temperatures and replacing thermal pads with copper shim should also help. How big a temperature drop depends on the quality of the thermal compound, the application of the compound, the contact with heatsinks and finally the quality of the chips themselves, as they are subject to some variation too.

The best case scenario would be idle temps in the high 40C's to lower 50C's for the GPU and low to mid 30C's for the CPU, while load temps would be in the low to mid 80C's for the GPU and high 40C's to mid 50C's for the CPU.

The easiest way to tax you GPU is to run Furmark for stress testing and the easiest way to test you CPU is to run Orthos or Prime95.

Hopefully that answers some of your questions and allays some of your fears. All the best with your mod and as always, feel free to ask plenty of questions.

 

Like Renegade said, it's up to you how far you wanna go to get the cooling you want and of course it all depends on your comfort level as well as time and effort. While some things may produce very little results, others can produce a pretty decent one and all these things done can add up.

Now there are a couple of things that can compliment each other producing a better result than if you only did just the half of it, make any sense? For example, copper sinks to graphics card heatsink is very well complimented by a good laptop cooler. That can also be complimented by expanding your vents a little bit with drilling holes on your cover where's it's best fitted. Or say you did the repaste replacing the thermal pads with just thermal compound only, while there is nothing wrong with that at all, you can achieve a better result by also adding copper shims in between.

Just remember that these mods using anything copper will help greatly because copper has better thermal dissipation than aluminum. The faster we can get rid of the heat the easier it is for the copper to continue its cycle at pulling heat off the chips and the aluminum heatsink. This is where a good cooler will help in so many ways. But without a good dissapater, like copper, we limit the potential of the laptop cooler. Now IF only someone could/would make an exact heatsink for the graphics card in copper, that would be on the top of my buying list!!!

I don't mean for this to put pressure on some of you to go balls to the walls, but instead just to give you some thought on how this all works, to my understanding anyways. I know this may be a lot to take in if some of you were clueless to the fact, no offense, but this is all insight and years of experience whether it be professional, personal or both. All in all just have fun with it, don't break things and most of all remember that this is some good personal hands-on experience! I definitely enjoy the crap out of it, anything computer-wise! Like I said before if I could, I would mod all of your laptops. Haha!

Lyron, I know how you feel, I have 14 years of personal experience with just desktops computer. Just about 2 years ago I finally sucked it up and opened up an HP laptop that I had to repaste and shim the GPU on. NOW that was HOT before I did it, idled at 75-80C! It brought it down to about 40C after I did it. Of course Nvidia was sued over it, because they knowingly sold HP defective GPU's. Anyways, it was definitely overwhelming to go from macro to micro, whole different world if you ask me. Now I'm happy to say that I can comfortably work on desktops AND laptops.

Oh and here is the link for the copper ramsinks for ya ezekiel2517. Copper Heatsinks 3 packs will do just fine.

 

Thanks a lotfor the answers, guys. I have already done Furmark tests and the first time it went up to 101 before I stopped it. The second time (without cover) it went up to 88. Idle temp was 70 with and 52 without.

Definitely going to repaste and add the copper sinks. I could also ask my dad if he knows a metal worker that could make a copper heatsink, since I am guessing it would be a simple thing to replace (I could give him the stock one for reference).

So far, that is clear. Drilling holes on the cover is a simple task that I could get aid on over here, but the copper shims is something I'm not understanding quite yet. Is it just a sheet of copper that goes like ham between the GPU, paste and heatsink?

It's true I am rather nervous about it, but I am also excited

 

Yes, a small sheet of copper and it goes on like; memory chip or transistors, thermal compound, copper sheet, thermal compound, heatsink. Anything that has a blue thermal pad on it gets replaced the way I directed. There is no need though to shim the GPU itself (the main chip.)

If anything goes about getting a copper heatsink replacement for the card, please keep me and everyone in the know. At least for me, I would be appreciative to run into something like that.

 

Well, I can imagine a square of copper with the form and thickness of the heatsink is not hard to have made. I don't know if that is all or if it needs extra things (besides screw holes or whatever they are called).

 

Well yeah, a copper heatsink would be great BTW, I have a doubt, when I did the repaste, I just put some thermal compund on the blue thermal pads... is this ok?

 

I would highly suggest you take that off, like now. You need to take the pad off and apply generous amount of grease on it till you get the pads replaced with other pads or copper shims.

 

I think it makes a difference if it has the fins on it, exactly like the original.

 

Well, the problem is that is almost impossible for me to get new thermal pads or copper shims that width... Can the GPU run with thermal grease and no pads as a permanent solution?

Btw, thank you all for your help...

 

It's not ideal to run without at least having the pads there as they bridge the gap between the chips and the heatsink and prevent damage to the chips themselves. In a pinch though, I'd say removing the thermal pads and just applying a generous portion of thermal paste may do the trick but be wary of the chip and the heatsink not making good contact, which may result in more damage to the chips from overheating. The ideal solution would be to go to a hardware store, buy some 22mil (<=1mm thick) copper sheet and cut it to size using tin snips to bridge the gap between the chips and the aluminum heatsink. I posted the dimensions of the pieces you will need a couple of pages back.

 

Yes I though that too, it can be a little risky solution.

I saw what you mean (dimensions of the copper sheet) a couple of days ago... I'm thinking on a new mod... if I suceed, I post about it asap. ^^

 

Has anyone thought of making a video for re-pasting the gpu heatsink with the copper shams? It would be a big help to most people. I've hadn't had problems with my gpu even though I haven't modded it. The highest load temperature I've had under load was 84 degrees playing Fallout: New Vegas at 1920X1080 resolution and that was because my cooler's fan was running at the lower of its two speeds.

As for the best GPU upgrade a couple pages back, the GTX 285M is most likely the one.

 

Unfortunately, that's not possible considering Asus has their own proprietary form factor, so only their cards from their laptops will work. I'm pretty sure ASUS did not have 280 or even a 285 card made for the form factor. In fact I'm pretty sure that the GTX 260M is the best card you can get in this ASUS form factor (reverse MXM 2.1), unless someone knows more than I do.

 

What about the 460s on the G73s?

Or would they generate too much heat?

Cheers,

 

I'm pretty sure that uses the reverse MXM 3.0 just like the G73's with the ATI 5870. Checking though.

EDIT: As far as I could see it's MXM 3.0. I read that all DX11 cards are MXM 3.0. As far as heat though, I would think that they both would be about the same considering the 460 uses 72W and the 260 uses 75W.

 

If you're going to do what I think you're going to do... don't short those resistors out!

 

Hey I have another issue. When my screen is dimmed, it begins to flicker (is that the correct word?) I mean, it begins to turn on and of very rapidly, and it happens only when the screen is dimmed. Does anyone knows what this could be?

 

I'm hoping that it's not the inverter since I can't find one anywhere, but I have very recently noticed mine doing it as well. I would like to say it's nothing to worry about since it only happens when it auto dims and not during normal activity while not auto dimmed. I have tried for maybe ten minutes to do a search on it, but nothing major really, or it being an issue with just G71/72. I really want to believe it's just a software/hardware communication hiccup.

 

I think you're right. ASUS really need to stop with the reverse nonsense and use std cards.

Cheers,

 

So true. By the way, are you by any chance doing another round of HDD brackets for selling? I just noticed that you had one G72 bracket just now, I guess for someone who was asking anyways, of course it's sold now. Never bothered to look again since you were just selling it for the G73.

 

Home Depot doesn't carry anything copper in 22 mil, I have found a bunch of squares on ebay for the HP Dv series. Does anyone have a good suggestion for a place to buy this copper sheeting so I don't have to spend a fortune and have a ton of excess copper?

 

This site might work. Just pick up one of these strips. One of the cheapest options at this link is 20 Mil Copper Strip/ 1.00" X 10' for $27

Looks like I found that one on sale too for $22 at the same site.

Getting what you need from an online store might be easier. You could even try cutting a bunch of pieces and selling them to recoup your costs. Just a thought.

 

That's perfect, coming in 1" wide. I wish I ran across that instead of the sheet of copper I got. It's definitely a pain in the butt to reshape after being cut from all four sides, haha.

 

It most likely an issue with the monitor's connections. Take off the little hinge covers, check the connection, then move the brown wire around until it is in a position that doesn't put stress on the wire. I've had that problem every few months. Any kind of flicker, weather it is the white flicker, or the dimming flicker seems to stem from this.

 

I've read that in a couple of threads. I failed to mention, that it only happens sometimes. So I kinda don't want to believe that this would be the solution, or for that matter, part of the problem. It just doesn't make sense to me when it does it sometime and only during auto-dimming, and it goes away as soon as you take it out of auto-dim. It makes sense in Lyron's case if his does it every single time on manual dimming. Maybe one day, just to say I did it, I'll clean the connection of those ground wires with isoprophyl.

 

Yeah It happens to me even when It's on manual dimming... so let me check those wires... I'll post any advance...

Well... bad news... it wasn't that... :-( the screen even blacks out for like half a second...

 

Ya, I definitely don't have that issue. All signs are starting to point to the LCD inverter. Sorry, I can't point you in the direction for one. All I can say is if you do find one, let me know, just in-case.