Clevo P150EM thermal paste charge?

Hey guys!

So I just placed an order for a Clevo P150EM and among the thermal options I selected Artic Silver 5 which costs $8.55.

It came out to be 90 dollars more then what the final quote said.

My question is does thermal paste really cost 90 dollars in labor for something that can be done in less then 5-10 minutes?

 

Hi,

First of all Arctic Silver 5 is outdated. There are many better thermal compounds these days (eg. Arctic MX4, PK-1, ICD 7). It should not cost 90 dollars of labour just to apply the paste. That is just way too much for a simple job. You can easily do it yourself in a few minutes. If I were you I would just buy a tube of a better thermal compound and do it yourself. There are many guides out there.

 

Is it really outdated already? Wow I feel old!

Well I've applied thermal paste many times before so I know it's not hard to do so I thought why the hell not have them do it for 8 dollars but finding out it'll cost me 90 dollars extra (They said it was a time consuming process to apply the paste which I know is a load of nonsense) isn't really going to fly by me.

EDIT: I just sent an email to AVA Direct asking them about it so I wonder what they will say...

 

That is a jump up in price. Is it possible the $90 was for shipping and sales tax which you would have to pay if you're in the same state as them.

 

This is actually without shipping and tax (I don't get taxed on this one)

So I honestly don't see why it costs $90.

 

I personally think all the thermal paste offerings unless it's free, are a rip. You can just choose the one best for you and take literally 5 minutes to do it.

Anyone who suggests that it's dangerous if you've never done it for, I'd question their agenda. More than likely they work for a laptop/notebook vendor.

Redoing thermals is among the easiest and simple upgrades you can do. All you do is take off the heatsink. Wipe off the previous grease. Then take a Q-Tip and use acetone or highest isopropyl alcohol. You don't want something that has dyes or scents. Then you just put a DOT, a small dot in the middle of the chip die. That's it. No spreading. No lines, crisscrossing, just a dote in the middle. Put the heatsink back on, and you're done.

 

I personally think all the thermal paste offerings unless it's $5. You can just choose the one best for you and take literally 5 minutes to do it.

Anyone who suggests that it's dangerous if you've never done it for, I'd question their agenda. More than likely they work for a laptop/notebook vendor.

Redoing thermals is among the easiest and simple upgrades you can do. All you do is take off the heatsink. Wipe off the previous grease. Then take a Q-Tip and use acetone or highest isopropyl alcohol. You don't want something that has dyes or scents. Then you just put a DOT, a small dot in the middle of the chip die. That's it. No spreading. No lines, crisscrossing, just a dote in the middle. Put the heatsink back on, and you're done.

 

None It's surprisingly not for shipping or tax.

I keep hearing that inside my head saying I should do this on my own but I mean $8 dollars isn't much so I thought why not? But I did email them trying to pry more answers out of them on why the extra $90.

 

if your buying a new laptop from them and configure a upgrade of thermal paste at $8 and they charge you $90

i would say thanks but no thanks. i will take my bisiness elsewhere and cancel your order.

im in the uk and at work so cant check their website out but if i were you i would check out xoticpc / pro star / powernotebooks who all have reps on here.

 

Yeah I'm highly thinking about it. Power Notebooks has the same notebook a 100 dollars cheaper! I would assume people here have had good relations with them too.

The only issue I have now is refunds. They took money out today and I had to use a Debit Card (I wanted to purchase it with my own card rather then the parents) so I hope I don't get penalized by them or I can just reference the price difference to see their take.

 

i was going to say contact Meaker but you only have 5 posts so pm wont be activated yet.
http://forum.notebookreview.com/member.php?u=11947

if you want i can contact him on your behalf and point him to this thread.

as long as the build has not started yet then i think you have every right to cancel for a full refund but as your in america it could be slightly different terms.

i only have a debit card myself so all my purchases are with that but to be honnest its always safer to use a credit card if possible for large online purchases.

 

You should be able to cancel if the build has not started yet, I am not allowed to comment on the forums about the pricing of others, but I always say shop around and look who offers the best balance of service/warranty and price to you.

AC5 is certainly an interesting choice, most people have moved onto MX-4 as a cheaper but high performance paste or IC diamond for top performance and is what I personally use in my machine (which reminds me I need to order some more). AC5 is capacitive so is a little more risky to use.

Repasting does have to be properly tested, and the more exotic pastes are not hugely cheap so there is A cost to it, a good idea to check if someone is reasonable is to see what people charge for it, often if you are upgrading a component and something new is being put in anyway, it is waived.

 

Here's the reply I got. Also as a note, the $90 dollar charge isn't mentioned on the drop down boxes:

"That’s correct; the cost to add the thermal compound to your order, as an accessory, is $8.55 – the cost for us to apply the thermal compound is ballpark $90.00.

While I understand that it takes 5-10 minutes to apply the thermal compound, there’s also removing the heatsinks, removing the stock thermal compound properly (using the correct solution to remove all thermal grease, and residue – without leaving additional residue in the process) and then there’s the science of applying the thermal compound in the most efficient manner. Yes, there’s many different ways to apply thermal compound, but only a very small few are recommended and work the best out of all methods. It’s science, and something AVADirect has mastered. This quality of work comes at a cost.

Feel free to reply with additional questions."

Applying thermal paste isn't really rocket science to me. Emailed back saying if I am too late to cancel to the order.

I did check Power Notebooks yesterday and you guys came out around $150 cheaper and also included a few extras AVA didn't include. Definitely considering ordering from there if I can get my order cancelled.

EDIT: Well crap the parts have ordered so I can't cancel without getting hit with the %15 restocking fee... Now I'm mad and I can say I might not order from AVA ever again. I'm actually considering linking this post to them to show that applying thermal paste isn't really rocket science.

 

ahh the good old 15% NOT!
i remember that from the alienware days before dell but that was a restocking fee for america which we dont have to pay here in the uk.
if they havnt received the parts yet as they must only have ordered them yesterday after they received the funds then why should you have to pay a 15% restocking/cancellation fee.
is your debit card a visa or mastercard.

can anyone else advise on a 15% restocking fee if the supplier had not yet received the parts.

 

It's a Visa with Bank of America. I'm honestly considering calling them. I feel like this is a bait and switch (Probably not since they aren't giving me a 'different' product)

They are giving me a free game worth $50 but I'm just very mad that the price advertised for AS5 is $8.55 but there is NO charge on applying it not until you order it.

 

That is indeed a high markup. Many resellers charge well under that for the IC Diamond upgrade, with labor included.

On a side note, AS5 isn't exactly outdated. ICD is simply favored by enthusiasts, as it's liable to keep the component(s) a few degrees Celsius cooler.

 

just looked through the 16 pages of resellers feedback which goes back to early 2011 and there is not one post for ava direct.
its just a shame you didnt ask here first

as im in the uk i cant really advise with visa as its different from country to country. also we dont have the restocking fee in europe so im not sure how its laid out by law that how you can be charged for a restocking fee if they only ordered the parts yesterday and have not received them yet.
ring your bank quick as the longer you leave it gives them more time to receive the parts then they have the right to charge the fee.

good luck

 

I'm going to consider calling them to talk it out. I wonder if they will charge me 15% restocking for the paste

I don't think it will work like the UK here but I'll try to find out and see what happens. Thanks for the help!

EDIT: Just called the bank. They said they are able to dispute the charge when it gets posted to my account and that should happen either by today or tomorrow so unless someone from AVA here is willing to help me out then I guess I have no other choice.

EDIT 2: So I get a message from AVA saying that the Intel 6230 WIFI card isn't avalible and they want to upgrade me to a 6235 which although is a upgrade but it's priced lower and looks identical to the other card. I've told them I will only accept the card if they reduce the order by $7. They also want to credit me $50 but in all honesty I've told them I would like to cancel the order at this point since PowerNotebooks offers a way better deal. Still waiting to see what they will say about the 15% re stock fee though.

 

Any news on that? Typically if you're within the return policy period, you just pay for return shipping and there's no restocking fee. Not sure what their policy is specifically though.