Do manufactures use a different thermal compound, one for CPU and another for GPU?

I know that my questions sounds dumb, but I have repasted a lot of laptops, there are times when the CPU gets cooler and GPU hotter. Even after reapplying, using different method, different paste.

These events made me think, what if from factory they use a thermal paste with less thermal conductivity on the CPU on purpose?

When We are talking about gaming laptops, the GPU is the priority, if it gets too hot, you might experience random FPS drops, but the CPU can be sacrificed a little. Of course you will loose some FPS due to bottleneck but that is a lot better than random freezes.

I just repasted a Dell G3 3500, which has a really bad cooling system, so bad that the i7 10750H needs to be locked at 35/30W and the RTX 2060 goes from 80W to 50W due to temperature limit. Using turbo mode things get better but a lot hotter because the temp limit is higher.

Before the repaste the CPU would be locked to 30W and GPU 80W using turbo mode.

After repasting, the CPU went to 35W and GPU 75W. This happened because the CPU no longer hits its max temperature but the GPU does.

So my theory is that Dell using a lower conductivity thermal paste on the CPU so the GPU can run faster, since the cooling system is not enough for both.

 

Unless you had a custom job done by a system integrator or got one of those Asus laptops with factory liquid metal, OEM thermal compound is never going to be as good as what you can purchase in the aftermarket.

 

I've used the Grey compound for replacement and haven't had thermal issues. I would stay away from the white compound that seems to be inferior to the Grey compound. And the Grey so far for me has worked out ok. If your a extreme user maybe diamond or metal compound might be the way to go but then again this is a trial and error to find out which one works. Also cleaning any Fan Cooling CPU system does also reduce the temp faster as well.

 

It is highly unlikely that the OEM's are using separate thermal compounds on CPU and GPU.
Cost efficiency is a primary factor for manufacturers, so they will go with just 1 solution.

As it was pointed out by #saturnotaku , separate thermal pastes can be found on custom solutions (boutique shops and the likes), but otherwise, mostly 1 thermal compound is used.

DELL has a history of implementing bad cooling solutions in its laptops and/or limiting the CPU or GPU to achieve a semblance of thermal stability.
There are also other factors that influence temperatures, such as uneven heatsinks, etc.

Most OEM's thermal applications aren't really that good. If the temperatures aren't too encouraging, you should definitely get a non-conductive high quality thermal compound and apply it yourself onto a CPU and GPU.

Intel's CPU's also have an issue of going WELL beyond their established TDP, so that can be a contributing factor (it might be worth looking into undervolting the CPU in question to gain better temperatures unless Intel disabled that for this CPU).

The gpu might be undervolted as well... and if undervolting doesn't work, then repasting is your main option.

DELL made a similar flaw with the G5 15 SE (4800H and RX 5600M) in regards to cooling.
I just don't think Dell have sufficient understanding of cooling techniques to allow them to cool their machines properly without limiting components or resorting to cheap tricks which reducing performance.