S13 - Repasting the CPU

Hey all,

I've had my Vaio S13p for a few weeks now and I am loving it. Big thanks to Amal for the BIOS mod! Really makes this a killer laptop.

However I do have one issue with it, and that is the heat produced by my i5 3210m chip under load. I have the CPU limited to 90% in the power management settings but while playing GTA IV - which I understand is a) CPU limited and b) poorly coded for PC - my core temperatures max at about 83 degrees C after an hour of gameplay. My GPU maxes at a cool 76 degrees C with the 950/900 mod.

Now, I realize that a max of 83 degrees is not considered bad by any stretch (or is it?) but my main issue with it is this: from my experience, playing GTA IV with the CPU max set at 100% (allowing TurboBoost or whatever) gives a much better gaming experience. With the CPU limited to 90%, I generally get a healthy 35-45 fps, but it can drop to 25-26 fps especially in the Times Square area of the game. With the CPU unlimited, there are no such "hiccups", but the max CPU temp after about an hour does get quite high - about 95-96 degrees C.

Would repasting the CPU drop the temperatures enough to allow me to play the game (possibly at a lower clock, maybe 850/900) without restricting the processor? If so, has anybody actually repasted the S13? I'd appreciate it if someone that has repasted the S13 or S15 could provide some basic instructions on how to access the processor, because I have taken the machine apart but have not figured out how to remove the motherboard.

I'm an EE so repasting won't be an issue assuming I can actually get to the CPU.

Thanks.
RC

 

I can't speak to the benefits of repasting the SA for one reason, this model is damn difficult to take apart without breaking other components... The mobo on my SA just went bust and Im in the process of preparing to attempt a diy repair. As for instructions, I've been pointed to as YouTube taredowm of a SE model, bigger but likely similar in construction. I'll add the link when I find it.

In short, you're going to very likely only find a very minor drop in temperature by repasting. Probably not worth the hassle, and risk.

Please update with whatever you decide!

 

Thanks, I managed to find the video by googling "vaio SE disassembly".

You're right, it really is held together precariously. I had a difficult enough time getting it apart and back together again when I installed the SSD. The internet seems to agree with you on not seeing much drop in temperature. I think I'll leave it at overclocking the video card .

RC

 

A bit of a late update: Perhaps will be useful to someone somewhere.

I finally got around to replacing the motherboard in my SA this week. While the process is a bit long and tiresome - tedious at points - it is doable. Sadly, to repaste the CPU you have to pretty much strip every screw, cable, and connection. I didn't take the time to document with photos, however I did find that for at least the first section the SE disassembly video was accurate. There was a point where the two didn't match and I was playing the guessing game.

It was a success. I used an artic silver compound, Nothing special. I ran a burn in test just after. At MAX cpu usage I was peaking at 91 C - Sadly as I was not expecting the motherboard to quit out I didn't have a baseline to compare to. Idle seems to be fine, perhaps not lower. around 49/50C.

 

Did you happen to notice the black rubber between MoBo and the Processor? - my last teardown was aborted as i didn't know which one it uses

Or is it evidence to believe that S13 uses pasta and S13P uses sheets?

Also, this thing has the noisiest fans i've ever seen.

 

you may have a defective fan... S13/S15 I can just barely hear the whine of the fan in a quiet room (I have good hearing too). when gaming it becomes a bit louder but the regular audio from the game is normally enough to drown it out.

 

Well that sucks then. I waited nearly 2 months for it's transport. Is there perhaps a fix for it? Oiling it?

 

For some reason i can never convince myself to get a Vaio S

the design on the fan and how it comes out partially restricted by the display just seems like the worst design EVER.

I have a vaio Z 2010 which does not have this restriction, and a fan that you can feel from ft away the heat while gaming.

somehow i cannot imagine a laptop that has a much smaller vent and a bigger video card could cool itself properly when my Vaio z pumps out 90 degree air like a hairdryer.

in fact i have used my z to dry my hair before.

i just dont understand this design,... of the Vaio S.

 

I was making quick work of it, so I didn't document everything well. That said, on the two copper heatsinks (in contact with their respective chips - GPU/CPU) there was a typical paste, and surrounding was a black rubber of sorts.

I actually left the 'rubber' on, not quite knowing what it was or what function it served. I did clean it well, purified with high grade alcohol, before repasting with Artic Silver.

I hope that answers your question?

 

Those are thermal pads, they function much the same way thermal paste does but just thicker. you can make substitute thermal pads by putting thermal paste between a bunch of copper shims until they are thick enough.

@ Pohmell: you should get in touch with sony support if your laptop is still under warranty. trying to do repairs yourself will likely void your warranty.

 

My S13P temperatures never go beyond 75 while gaming and no throttling. I also tried with playing screen open 120¤ open and 90¤ open. Almost no change in temps.

I have already changed thermal paste and disassembled the fan to inspect the cause. Then i have bought 8Gb Ram, changed HDD to SSD and replaced Optical drive to Drive bay.

Is there a chanse warranty is void if i put everything back to original? Because i did not damage any components and everything is working 100%,

It's just the Fan that makes ugly noises.

And if i bring it to Sony Center, is it valid reason for free change if i ask them to bring same model and compare the noise levels ?

Thanks

 

Well this is certainly an interesting development. I guess I'm going to go ahead and try re-pasting the CPU and GPU then, as I am still not comfortable with the CPU running at 81-83 and the GPU at 69-71 for extended periods of time. I would be satisfied with even a 4-6 degree drop in temperature. FWIW, I idle right now at just around 48-53 (CPU), but can go as high as 57-60 depending on if I've got the laptop sitting on a soft surface such as a bed or sofa.

For those of you that have repasted, do you think you could give a basic verbal rundown of how to disassemble? I have gotten as far as removing the keyboard, but can not seem to get the motherboard out to get to the chips. Any advice regarding this would be appreciated.

Thanks,
RC

 

Certainly!

After you have removed the keyboard you can see lots of cables.

1. Remove the screen cable on the top right (rectangular shiny with black pulling stipe) i gently helped with screwdriver to lift it.

2. Remove fan wire

3. Remove Top left small white connector. ( don't pull from wires, use Needle Nose Pliers)

4. battery connector i lifted the black wire up and unscrew it from the chassis.

Then i pull vertically from the side that has Memory sticks to unlock and life it up a bit.

I decided not to disassembly completely as i was unsure if i can put them all back. Instead i then placed Vaio on screen with keyboard facing upwards. Then i put something soft (non conductive) on screen and place MoBo on it.

It's not perfect but i had good access to chips and i was able to repaste with ease.

Disable turbo boost that alone drops temps by around 5 degree.

 

Excellent! Thanks so much, I'll give it a shot tonight. So there are no more screws to undo after removing the keyboard or I do I still need to remove the mobo screws indicated by that double line arrow?

RC

 

Yes, those screws and 4 screws above the fan.

I also did small experiment and took my vaio outside, it's -5 degree and suprisingly the fan did not slow down even tho core temps dropped to around 20.

This is proof that sony has been lazy with bios and fan speed adjusting.

 

Out of curiosity, how much did your temps drop? Think you could drop an i7-3632m in it or is the cpu soldered