Clevo M570U CPU install question

My barebones Clevo M570U just came in and I was wondering if I need to put any arctic silver or something on the cpu before I install the heatsink/heatpipe device? I noticed that the heatsink already has a black pad on it, but the laptop also came with a little plastic baggie with a square something or other that seems like it may be some kind of thermal adhesive for the CPU.

I dare not run it without making sure the CPU has good contact with the heatsink.

 

You want to place a thin layer of thermal grease/compound between the CPU and the Heatsink.

The compound that was included should be used for that.

Personally, when i put my Clevo together, I used my Arctic Silver. But the compound that they included should be fine too.

 

Like Gophn has mentioned, you need to apply the thermal interface between the heatsink and the processor die. Using the one provided is fine, however, if you want better transfer of heat, then you may want to consider using something like Arctic Silver.

 

So adding arctic silver is in addition to the black pad on the heatsink?

 

Not quite. You need to be ver carewful with the thermal interface. You only use one thermal interface, and never more. So that means, only use Arctic Silver OR the black sachet that came with the notebook. When you do apply, use a thin layer, as too much can have the opposite effect of what you want the paste to do - It will inhibit the transfer of heat.

 

Ok, thanks for the clarification. I'm used to only using either the black pad or removing it and using antic silver in desktop CPUs, but this extra baggie with some strange square pad kinda threw me for a loop. Wasn't sure if notebooks needed some kinda special thermal adhesive.

I'll stick with only the black pad for now unless I find it heating up too much.

 

The black pad is something like thermal tape--it's supposed to do the same thing as thermal paste, but I don't think it works quite as well. I imagine that it's much easier/cheaper for companies to install tape rather than grease. It takes a little bit of work to properly AS5 a CPU.

 

The black pad attached to the heat sink is usually something like a paraffin wax substance. When it heats up, it melts and fills in any micro-sized abrasions on top of the CPU. This creates a very tight seal and promotes good heat transfer from the CPU through to the heat sink.

As others have mentioned, I bought some Arctic Silver thermal paste and applied a verrry small amount (about the size of a grain of rice) on top of the CPU. Then, take an object like a piece of plastic (e.g. an old credit card fragment) and gently spread the paste evenly, making a smooth, consistent layer over the CPU surface.

VERY IMPORTANT: Before re-attaching the heat sink, you MUST remove the paraffin wax pad glued onto the surface of the heat sink. I used a razor blade to delicately remove the pad, along with left over chunks of glue. Be mindful not to scratch the surface of the heat sink. When you've got the wax pad removed, use some high-quality isopropyl alcohol to wash the surface of the heat sink. After that, you should be ready to attach the heat sink to the CPU.

The thermal paste will take some time to break in. Supposedly it needs ~300 uses to really take affect, or at least I thought I read that in the Arctic Silver manual. Until that time, it may be best not to leave the machine running for very long periods of time.

I don't have any context to compare the paraffin wax pad against the thermal paste, but I'm seeing CPU temperatures between 31-35 degrees Celsius while idling. I have the notebook on my lap, and it actually feels very cool.

Good luck, happy cooling!