Repasting my laptop ?!

Hi folks.

I was thinking of repasting my Dell Inspiron N5110. My CPU ( i7-2630QM ) reaches 90C after half an hour of playing Mass Effect 3.

I searched youtube for guides and I found these :
Dell Inspiron N5110 Dismantle Ram Upgrade and Hard Drive Repair - YouTube

Hard Drive Replacement - Dell Inspiron N5110 - YouTube

So, My question is : Is it hard ? I mean , to me it seems hard but I'd like to ask you guys. I never did that before and I was wondering if it's worth it.

Currently, the only way to reduce heat is to turn off turbo boost feature and I don't want to do that.

Thanks in advance.

 

90oC is a little on the warm side for Mass Effect 3 I wouldn't fire up Battlefield 3 if I were you.

Definately go for a repaste and get something tough on it like MX or ICD.

Disassembly are never easy unless it is a bare bone with easy access, just make sure you take your time and follow a good guide to get the job done.

If it does not come apart when you pull then there is a screw that you have forgotten

 

the question that needs to be asked first before a repaste is have you cleaned your fans and vents out thoroughly with compressed air as this is the main culprit for raised temps.

 

Haha , I used to play BF3 in winter and temps were lower than that. Now, I blame it on summer.

Thanks.

No I didn't , I plan on doing that when I open it. The problem now is in disassembly becasue I'm scared of doing it.

 

+1 to mr DJ I commonly assume that people have already done this.

He is indeed right before you even considering opening it up get some compressed air and give it some short sharp bursts of air into the fan vents to shift any dust (do not hold it down to prevent any damage to the fan coil). People have seen anywhere up to 20oC drop in temps from doing this.

Like you say also it being summer ambient temps dont help but you should be below 90oC to be on the safe side.

 

I already did that , a lot!
I'm also using a custom cooler with 3 fans.

I used to have better temps in winter. Now, I have to turn off turbo boost to reduce heat and I hate losing performance. So I think that the only way is repasting. I don't even know if repasting would help or not.

 

If you have done the compressed air then yes a repaste should sort out the problem. Although if it is within warranty send it in and get them to do it, Dell warranty is normally very good.

 

if you havent removed the base plat yet and only blown the vents from outside then most probably all you are doing is blowing the dust inside more.
remove the base plate and blow around the fan or fans themselves and if your comfortable in doing it unscrew the fans as dust does build up in areas you cant reach.
its also recommended to clean the vents and fans out every few months.
the raised ambient summer temperature doesnt help either so a cooler sure does help.

you can also download lots of free temperature monitors in my sig below.

 

I live in Egypt , so warranty sucks.

Watch this vid:
Dell Inspiron N5110 Dismantle Ram Upgrade and Hard Drive Repair - YouTube

It's hard to reach the fans , you have to dismantle the whole laptop.
I already have a cooler , I guess it's a repaste then.

 

just watched the video. sod that
thank god clevo's are so easy to get to all components

 

Thanks guys for your help , I will repaste soon and report back.

 

It will be a challenge

Egypt? with all that heat and dust? 90oC sounds bout right then haha

 

Go crazy with compressed air over all the air vents.

Remember to block the fan from spinning with a pen or something because it might ruin the motor if you let the compressed air spin it around freely

 

Haha , I tried to open it about an hour ago , I was stuck in removing the top portion so I postponed that until my MX-4 arrive.

I will do that , thanks

 

I searched everywhere in Egypt for Arctic MX-4 and I couldn't find it!

The only thermal grease I found was this :
IC Essential E2 - Cooler Master - Leading Provider of Computer Case | Cooler | Power Supply

Is it good ?

 

Any thermal compound will be fine to be honest just some are thicker and known as TIM which do not require curing time.

Application is what is most important, most likely your compound has been poorly applied so that it does not cover the die or make full contact with the heatsink. Apply a pea sized blob dead centre of the die and just reseat the heatsink and it will apply correctly.

 

I saw that SlickDude applied the thermal grease in a different way , he stated that the CPU is rectangular so a pea size won't be enough.

And by the way , thanks for helping me out. I really appreciate it

 

Generally laptop processors are very small and square, but yes, if you see the shape is rectangular use a rice shaped pasting.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

 

Sorry, no edit function on my phone. The trick to pasting is finding the optimal amount. You don't want to use too little or to much. If you don't paste much, try a small amount and then see how it distributes using the weight of the heat sink. Then your second repaste can be guided by your immediate judgment. Remember to clean off the first repaste job.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

 

For the CPU I use a line sorry yes I was confusing the GPU. I have not used the three blob application personally but I assume it would give the same result as a line would across the middle of the DIE horizontally.

A pea size amount 3-4mm will get the job done.

 

I just finished repasting!!! I can't believe I did it , actually I can't believe that I'm typing from the laptop.

The sad thing that I failed in repasting, I didn't found alcohol so I cleaned the CPU and GPU using a paper towel

I believe that's why my temps aren't satisfying.

I plan to repaste again tomorrow and this time I'll use alcohol to clean CPU and GPU. I'm very happy I dismantled the whole laptop and I broke nothing.

Thanks guys for your help

 

I don't think the heatsink is spreading the thermal paste, maybe I will use the spread method, I don't know.

 

Always use alcoholic swabs if you leave any debree on the DIE it can cause your temps to rise and prevent conductivity.

If the heatsink is not then you can go with the spreading option, one of the reasons why people use a TIM like IC diamond is because it is thick and the heatsink then spreads the compound out with compression.

Now you have done it once you can do it as many times as you like