Good Thermal Compound

I recently replaced the stock themal compound on two HP laptops with Arctic Silver. I have noticed two things. The temps are down and the battery life seems longer(no scientific tests done).

Considering that Arctic Silver is not that expensive and it seems to increase battery life why don't the manufacturer's use it instead of the ty stock thermal compound.

 

Battery life would only really be effected by the fan not kicking in as high or as much.

Same reason as everything else. They probably pay a dollar per gallon for what their using now and they need something that can be properly applied by the current equipment their using. In automated assembly (the G50's paste was applied perfectly to the heat pipe i assume it was machine done) changing materials may require changes in configuration and parameters which also costs money.

If it operates within proper temperatures during the warranty period (paste is not a common problem) and it was the cheapest solution possible then they have no motive to go any further.

 

artic silver it's electrical conductive and it needs a curing time. There better non electrical conductive options with better performance.
http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=138&Itemid=1

Usually notebooks come with very bad thermal pads which are very crappy that's why you can see a very nice improve by just applying a premium thermal compound

 

i recommend u apply ICD7(IC DIAMOND 7) best thermal compound in the present moment better than arctic silver 5 if u have questions please go here for more info or questions that u might have: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=372333

 

Any high quality compound will do, as long as it is properly applied between a clean die and heatsink. The difference between major brands is very small, so have fun picking one out.

 

There is a difference like couple of degrees from my previous thermal paste (MX-2), but it's much harder for applying. I should reapply it, because I'm not very confident in my application (yeah, I had used hot water and all, but still). That's why I haven't posted my results yet. To be honest I can't recommend it to everyone, IMO MX-2 is so far the easiest yet effective thermal paste out there.

BTW Guys, check out this: http://overclockers.ru/lab/32457.shtml ( Google Translate)

 

What about the need for reapplication for reapplication for liquid thermal compounds? It would seem impractical for the normal consumer to have to disassemble their notebook every year or two.

 

I agree with triturbo. Because MX-2 is one of the lowest viscous pastes on the market, it is very easy to remove and apply while retaining excellent thermal conductivity.

cloud_nine. Every user will need to open their notebooks eventually, mainly for cleaning and other maintenance. Thermal paste generally needs to be replaced once a year. In my case, I replace my paste every season.

 

While maintenance is a top priority of mine as well, I seriously doubt that a normal consumer has the technical knowledge to gut out their notebook. Hence why I think those thermal pads are a manufacturer default despite their crappy conductive properties. They last longer and require little or no maintenance.

 

If that's the case, then too bad for the normal consumer. They would either need to learn the procedures and be confident in their abilities to replace the thermal paste, regardless of whether access to the critical components is easy or not, or deal with sending their laptop under warranty to the manufacturer and have them do it, or have someone skilled and experienced enough to do it. It is our responsibility to give our machines what they deserve and to never treat them as expendable.

Thermal pads do indeed last longer than thermal paste, but not by much. They will eventually harden and lose even more of the little thermal conductive properties it has left. Some of my co-workers have old Micron laptops that are almost half my age and the thermal pads in them are all saggy and hard after years of service. I'm surprised that the systems aren't overheating; I wish the build quality of today's laptops were as good as the ones back then.

 

Soviet not a shot at u but the first 2 lines made me want to say this. A huge chunk of people who drive cars cant change their own tire much less anything else on the vehicle and they get by.

I have a bunch of 10 year old laptops that still work most of them probably dont even have paste I know some of the pentium 1's used a thermal pad made like rubber. Have one thats fan is dead and it doesnt appear to overheat.

 

Yes, I understand where you're coming from and I agree. The trend that we are seeing is that the 21st century population is becoming more inclined to technology, yet the practical knowledge needed to properly maintain said technology is equivalent to the dark ages. I guess this is how computer repair shops and warranty centers make a lot of their money; withhold information on how to maintain machines.

Like said, laptops back then had more than sufficient cooling to operate normally with or without thermal pads or paste. The quality back then unrivals that of today's portable performance powerhouses.

Off topic: I just finished installing new brake pads on my car as well as installing a police air horn. It wasn't too difficult. I had my nine year old cousin help me bleed the brakes too.

 

Heh laptops back then just had a lack of heat. I opened up my Vaio P (the pentium 1 233mhz version not the one they call a netbook now (sony says its not a ntebook) there about the same size btw 10 years later. Its has a tiny flat fan ontop of a chunk of metal ontop of the cpu.

I had a IBM Thinkpad Pentium 133 with no cooling except the thermal pad like in a pda. Then I had the 166 X model of it where they had to put a hole in the video card so they could put a fan ontop of it. The compaq had a tiny fan that moved air through the whole case. Few others i never took apart.

 

I'm trying to know whether it is better to undervolt the CPU than replace the thermal paste in hope to reduce the fan kicking it less often on my T61

 

Undervolting will yield the best results.