Reusing thermal pads

Im going to switch out my 5730m for a 5850m in my notebook. I just wanted to know if i can remove the thermal pads from the 5730 and put em on the 5850.

 

Thermal pads are normally used if the heatsink does not touch the components that need the heat protecting them or moving them from the GPU to the heatsink for instance VRAM/Memory controllers.

It will depend on if the chipset is the same because you need to make sure that the correct controllers and the Vram are both touching the heatsink. Best to do some research on this as I would assume those GPU's differ in size and location.

In regards to reusing the pads yes that is fine just clean the heatsink with alcoholic swab before reapplying them. Check the size also because if the gaps between the chipset and heatsink differ you might require thinner or thicker pads.

 

they are both made for the m15x. so the sizes are the same

 

What I mean is although the size may be the same the setup of the GPU may not be I.e the position and placement of the VRAM/controller/Core.

For Instance:

5870m



4870M



They look similiar but they are not. Looking at your cards the 5730M does not have the same memory amount as the 5850M. So i would bet the cards look difference.

Just make sure you cover the correct areas with thermal pads when replacing it and that the heatsink has good connectivity with the GPU core.

 

That's very unsafe advice. You should NEVER, EVER re-use thermal pads, just like you should never re-use thermal paste. It will be a compromised product and will likely open up your hardware to thermal damage. Buy new pads or thermal paste.

http://www.antec.com/pdf/article/info_DIYArticle2.html

 

call me a noob but where do the thermal pads go, on the grayish rectangles surrounding the die?

 

Never heard so much rubbish in all my life I have reused thermals pads so many times ive lost count ive repasted my G73 9 times and used the same pads everytime and never had any issue or problem from it. Not to mention that is the advice I have seen given many times on the Asus forum by mods as well.

As long as the pad is clean and has not been moved, touched, damaged or stretched its perfectly fine to reuse it again its all about correct conductivity.

Thermal paste is a totally different matter and everyone knows you cannot use thermal paste more than once.

That is the problem fella I dont know. You can clearly see the Vram as the large black memory modules but without actually seeing the card or knowing about the card I cant tell you where the controllers are, or if the heatsink is located to be able to touch them. You really need to search and find a thread or someone who has done this replacement before and can advise you. If the heatsink does not conduct correctly you could burn out the card.

 

You probably could re-use the pads as those with those more experience than me have said above, but I would grab some new ones just to be on the safe side.

They can be had for quite cheap on ebay.
Just my $0.02, although I am a bit OCD

 

I've reused thermal pads with no ill effects, but I'd recommend you use new ones if you can. Once you remove them you get finger grease and junk all over them reducing their effectiveness but they will still work ok.

 

As long as you wear clothes your fine but yes if you so much as leave a small finger print on them they are useless as the grease from your fingers can cause loss of conductivity.

@OP its very important your find out what sections of the GPU needs the pads most of all dont worry bout re-using pads when you dont know what sections to put them on. Dont risk it heard a story the other day of a chap who thought he had repasted properly but one of the thermals folded over itself as he reseated the heatsink. Played Black ops fine for 20 mins then the screen turned into white blotches and then just fuzzy. Burnt out Vram. Game over.

 

Ouch, that's gotta blow.

When you mean folded over does that mean that some of the VRAM chips got uncovered and weren't connected to the heatsink?

Putting me off repasting here

 

Firstly dont be put off as this was just a one off case and because he rushed, if you take your time when you reseat the heatsink you can check all of the sides to make sure the pads are conducting he didnt bother. I replaced my 1mm with 0.5mm for better conductivity and they touch perfectly on my 5870M.

Even worse than that he didnt realise he had done it and just reseated the heatsink and so the 1mm of thermal pad turned into 2mm over 2 memory modules and left the other two nowhere near the heatsink. The cost of JH's now as well it wasn't worth him splashing out on a new 5870M he just sold it as spares.

 

Don't cheap out and ruin your spankin' new 5870M. They aren't terribly expensive, and you could buy a whole sheet and cut it out yourself.

 

I've re-used thermal pads. As long as you havent destroyed them they are fine.

 

I wouldn't re-use thermal pads if you're removing them and putting them on something else. However, if it's on your VRAM chips then I never change those after I pull off the HSF. Usually the pads accommodate a thickness that paste won't work with, and getting good pads is hard to source.

 

Yes... What Hime said

I am guilt of re-using thermal pads myself though

Never on computers I have built for others only on personal computers.