any inherent problem with applying arctic silver to all coolers in a T43?

My T43P seems to run hotter than I think it should.

Is there any inherent problem with opening the unit, taking off the proprietary thermal grease, and then slapping on some arctic silver?

Furthermore, is there any problem with replacing aluminum sinks with copper ones? or replacing their stock fans with better ones?


I don't see why there would be, just asking for your opinions.

 

It will probably void the warranty (just a guess)

 

Chances are your T43p is running as hot as it's supposed to - that is to say, quite hot. What kind of temperatures are you getting?

Replacing the stock thermal interface material shouldn't cause a problem with the warranty, but replacing heatsinks and fans most likely will. I doubt that there's anything you can replace those with, anyways, besides the exact same thing.

How's the fan noise on your laptop?

 

The noise is negligible (sp?)

Also, the power manager works and it doesn't get excessively hot while on battery.

While plugged in, the temperature verges on uncomfortable in my lap. One concern I have is the position of the exhaust fan. There is only one, and if some witless fool sits the machine on a couch with the exhaust fan covered that most likely won't end in my favor.

Probably not a problem, but I'm the sort of guy who likes me things running cool

Probably not worth the effort.

 

It's quiet? That had better be a 15" screen model, or I'm going to be extremely bitter.

What are your PowerPlay settings like? From the sounds of it, it's set to clock your video card down on battery but not on AC. If that's the case, you might want to consider setting it to clock down on AC as well, and just turn it up when you really need the extra power.

 

IIRC the T43P only comes in 14.1

I have the default power settings in the manager set.
I don't mind the heat at all, considering when it's plugged in it's not typically in my lap.
If the little rig can handle the heat, then more power to it.

 

Well, the T43p also comes in 15.0" screen variants.

And I am extremely bitter. My T43 is quite noisy. That, or I'm just really sensitive, I guess.

Good to hear you don't mind the heat. The laptop can certainly take whatever temperatures it gets up to.

 

The Artic Silver, the better heatsinks, the better fans, they aren't going to make the exhaust any cooler, just transfer heat away from the components better. So you're going to still have a hot machine on your lap, just the vitals will be cooler, and I haven't witnessed a problem with the system overheating yet.

 

Yeah, I replaced a T41 with a T43 at work. I never noticed the fans on the T41, but the T43 is obnoxiously loud, even when idling and it's 70deg in the office. I have a Z60M on order; I hope it's quiet.

 

Ah ha, someone else as annoyed with it as me! Good luck with the Z60m; I'd imagine that the larger size and different fan setup would let it run a lot quieter than a T43. I'm considering sending this one back and maybe ordering a Z60t, but I don't really want to give up the X300 in this thing. Also, I have a feeling that giving Thinkpads a third try might be rather ill-considered. I think I'm cursed.