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    what are thermal pads on MXM cards for ?

    Discussion in 'Hardware Components and Aftermarket Upgrades' started by wild05kid05, May 5, 2012.

  1. wild05kid05

    wild05kid05 Cook Free or Die

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    Quite new to MXM cards, what are the thermal pads used for ? I have seen them on the VRAM, and some random places on the PCB :rolleyes:
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    can't I just stick some copper shim on the VRAM ?
     
    wild05kid05, May 5, 2012
    #1
  2. misterhobbs

    misterhobbs Notebook Evangelist

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    I thought they were pre-formed pieces of material that go between the heatsink and chip to conduct thermal energy to the heatsink.
     
    misterhobbs, May 5, 2012
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  3. moral hazard

    moral hazard Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    You can use copper shims (I have in the past) with some paste on both sides.

    The problem you may have is that there will be more stress put on the vram. The thermal pads absorb shock.
     
    moral hazard, May 5, 2012
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  4. wild05kid05

    wild05kid05 Cook Free or Die

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    I see, can I place it like this: VRAM > thin copper shim > thermal pad > heatsink. I think that would help thermal a bit
     
    wild05kid05, May 5, 2012
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  5. Meaker@Sager

    Meaker@Sager Company Representative

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    Thermal conductance goes down with every thermal transfer layer you add in, it will perform worse.

    Not only that but MSI heatsinks need the thinnest thermal pads possible to ensure good core contact, if you add to the thickness your core temps will go up.
     
    Meaker@Sager, May 6, 2012
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  6. jotm

    jotm Notebook Evangelist

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    I used a copper shim on my VRAM... sort of - it's a (VRAM)--thermal pad--copper plate--thermal paste--(heatsink) sandwich - I thought it would be better than just sticking a 1mm thermal pad (due to my mod, the clearance between the heatsink and VRAM chips has increased by 0.5mm, and hey, more copper is always better :)). Seems to be working fine...

    I wouldn't recommend using thermal paste directly on the VRAM - it's pretty hard to clean if you ever need to repaste...
     
    jotm, May 6, 2012
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  7. Meaker@Sager

    Meaker@Sager Company Representative

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    On MSI heatsinks you could probably just use thermal paste as the gap is 0.5mm, but it's very messy.
     
    Meaker@Sager, May 6, 2012
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  8. wild05kid05

    wild05kid05 Cook Free or Die

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    Then I suppose putting some coppers on the heatsink would be a better mod , it worked on my HP Envy 15


    Sent from my wholly molly new iPad using Tapatalk
     
    wild05kid05, May 6, 2012
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  9. Meaker@Sager

    Meaker@Sager Company Representative

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    Not really, its too thin.
     
    Meaker@Sager, May 6, 2012
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  10. wild05kid05

    wild05kid05 Cook Free or Die

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    It worked for me last time, lowered some 3-4 C on CPU. I agree with your previous comment, I once added extra copper underneath the heatsink where it meets the CPU, it turned out hotter than I thought


    Sent from my wholly molly new iPad using Tapatalk
     
    wild05kid05, May 6, 2012
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  11. Meaker@Sager

    Meaker@Sager Company Representative

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    On your CPU, where the gap is too big.

    The MSI heatsink is designed correctly.
     
    Meaker@Sager, May 6, 2012
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  12. waam

    waam Newbie

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    The thermal pads are there to cool the VRAM, Chokes and other power components.

    I wouldn't recommend using any copper shims on anything other than the GPU die.
     
    waam, May 6, 2012
    #12