replacing thermal paste on T500

I was thinking of replacing the generic crap goop they put on the cpu/gpu on the t500 with some arctic silver 5 i got left over. any1 know of any picture/walkthrough for this? I don't know which screwds/pieces I need to remove first before I can take off the heatsink.

 

I did this with my T61p shortly after I got it.

Keep track of which screw goes where.

Shouldn't be much more difficult than going in blind on my T61p.

If you do it please take some pics and share.

Also get some system temperature apllication readings for before and after. Run Orthos for load temps. Then get a idle temp.

Good luck.

 

I'm going to do this on my T500 as well. I'll take some pictures when I do it.

 

Are ya'll having overheating issues? I'm curious why you want to do this.

 

I did it on my T43 and T60p and it lowered the CPU and GPU temp by about 10 degrees under high load.... and because the heatsink does a better job of getting heat away from the CPU, the fans don't run as wildly as they did before. (Since fan speed is determined by the sensor inside the CPU, no the heatsink temp... and the fans on the older machines are super noisy.)

People with MacBook's report sometimes more than 10 degree differences even at low load going to arctic silver.

Test Lo Ext. Temp Avg. Ext. Temp Hi Ext. Temp Internal Temp
AC/Load 86.5 100.9 124.8 190.4
AC/Load 73.5 89.2 110.3 181.4

First is MacBook Pro without artic silver, second is with. The bottom of the case was a 14 degrees cooler after putting arctic silver on.

http://www.macgeekery.com/hacks/hardware/the_definitive_macbook_pro_thermal_roundup

 

I call shenanigans. Vegemite is as good as arctic silver.

 

Well, I know for a fact that different thermal pastes do not perform the same in desktop computers, I don't see why they would in laptops. I'm not having problems overheating but when I do play a game it gets up to 80c and the bottom is burning hot.

 

First of all, why Artic Silver 3? Isnt the paste Artic Silver 5? I've been told that once it's in, you don't change your paste unless there is a problem. Paste is not too exciting unless there is a problem.

I build my own desktops and I use artic silver. All of the system builders recommend it. Always clean the old paste off before going to new paste. Put a tiny bit on. Usually dont bother it. If there is no probem dont bother it. The problem has to be very noticeable before putting new paste on. Do NOT replace paste regularly. Once you've got it, you've got it.

I don't care what conclusions one may come to prior to putting on the gease, I'd use Artic Silver. One of the things that aren't metioned here are things like thermal load and thermal density. Vegemite may look close to a system where the thermal conditions are constant but in a notebook they are anything but constant.

Renee

 

Low quality pastes degrade over time (they harden and maybe even crumble - I've seen it all). AS5 looks like freshly applied even after years.

On the other hand I like my warranty and changing the thermal paste will definitely void it.

 

Changing the Thermal Grease better not void my warranty! If I change my keyboard does that make my whole warranty worthless??? How would putting something better on your laptop void the warranty??? Correct me if I'm wrong but I don't see how it could?

 

I thought the Vegemite article was pretty entertaining. I'm not convinced it translates directly to real-world CPU usage and performance patterns, though. The people who have tested the thermal grease compounds in their machines while running various processing intensive tasks appear to have come to a consensus that different products *can* make a difference, especially in cases of insufficient or inadequate application (or even over-application, for that matter) of the thermal grease by the manufacturer.

 

I'm not sure, but replacing thermal grease might void the warranty. Replacing the keyboard does not void the warranty.

 

The cooling system is no CRU (Customer Replaceable Unit). If service ppl can later link whatever you want them to fix to your modification, the problem won't be covered by the warranty.

 

Because you're opening up your laptop to apply it. Simple as that. Replacing a keyboard is a much simpler process.

 

I guess I didn't think about this... so I'll wait until 3 years 1 day to change it out. At least on my T500 everything seems to be great cooling wise. (Unlike my T60p which shut itself off the other day due to overheating.)

 

Yeah, and if it's really about overheating (causing downclocking or shut offs) and not just about "I want it to run cooler" then I'm sure Lenovo will help.

 

Just replaced it, laptop seems cooler under full load. Wasn't without some problems tho, I crushed one of the speaker cables when reseating the frame n it's like showing wires =[. still works fine tho. I'm really dissapointed at the cheap plastic palm rest n keyboard frame construction. one of the plastic nuts housing under the palm rest fell apart so I only have 3 working screwed securing it to the rest of the laptop

 

it the left speaker is dead now and the right one buzzes.

 

Well if that's what your talking about with voiding the warranty, sure they won't cover that. You just need to do it carefully. I've taken my computer apart several times now (since I got it in December) and have been able to put it all back together-- right.

But I do wish they had done something different with all those wires. The wires for the speakers and modem run right across the heat sink and they are just taped in place (at least in the T400)--which I think is kind of lame.

 

I got the speakers working again, reseated the plug. Palm rest still messed tho, gonna see if they get me a replacement, the plastic thing that the screw goes it fell apart.