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    Is it a good idea to connect the heat pipes with the backplate by using thermal pads?

    Discussion in 'Hardware Components and Aftermarket Upgrades' started by zakazak, Sep 17, 2019.

  1. zakazak

    zakazak www.whymacsucks.com

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    Hello everyone,

    I am wondering if it is a good idea to connect some part of the heat pipe with the backplate of my laptops (e.g. Dell XPS 15 or Thinkpad X1E/P1)?

    In general it seems to help with keeping the fans off since the backplate kind of acts like an additional heat sink.
    Obviously the chassis of the laptops will get warmer but it is no problem so far.

    How ever, my concern is that once I get everything under a lot of stress and on high temperature, it will take a long time for the system to get back to lower temperatures because now the backplate has been heat up to a high temperature and there for constantly adds warmth back to the heat pipes?

    Thanks in advance
     
    zakazak, Sep 17, 2019
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  2. custom90gt

    custom90gt Doc Mod Super Moderator

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    Not a good idea in either the XPS 15 or the Thinkpad X1E. The backplate doesn't dissipate enough heat and is used to cool the SSDs as well.
     
    custom90gt, Sep 17, 2019
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  3. zakazak

    zakazak www.whymacsucks.com

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    The spot where the SSD is located is usually still cool. It is quite far away from the heatpipe and so the chassis doesn't get warm until the point where it would get close to the SSDs. But that would be a very valid point!

    Currently the mod definitely helps to keep idle temperature lower than usually. So it must dissipate atleast some heat?
     
    zakazak, Sep 18, 2019
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  4. 4W4K3

    4W4K3 Notebook Evangelist

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    I think the speed at which the backplate could absorb heat would not be effective at all in cooling the CPU/GPU which vary greatly second to second depending on power draw. Active cooling is required and more efficient. For HDD's it works well because their temperature is generally scaling slower and is more sustainted overall which works well with conductive/passive cooling methods.
     
    4W4K3, Sep 18, 2019
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  5. Felix_Argyle

    Felix_Argyle Notebook Consultant

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    This will work but only if you do not place your laptop on your laps, or you will burn your leg. Some manufacturers actually put a heat shield on the back cover above CPU and GPU area because of this. If you keep laptop on flat hard surface or cooling pad - it should be fine.
     
    Felix_Argyle, Sep 18, 2019
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  6. zakazak

    zakazak www.whymacsucks.com

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    I always use some plastic surface between my legs and my laptop to also not restrict airflow. So this wouldn't be a problem for me.
     
    zakazak, Sep 19, 2019
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