Will be repasting this week, would like some advice.

Hey guys,

I'm going to re-paste my CPU and GPUs this week, I'm just not comfortable with how hot my CPU is getting (and would like to push it as far as it can go without fearing any damage).

I've just ordered some MX-4 to do it with, along with some cleaning wipes and an anti-static wristband to make sure nothing goes wrong. I chose MX-4 because it seems to give good thermals, appears to be easy to spread, it's non-conductive, and supposedly an application lasts 8 years...I won't be hammering my system like some overclockers do so hopefully it will last the laptop's lifetime.

How exactly should the paste be applied? I know the recommended method is to put a small amount in the middle then allow the heatsink's pressure to spread it, but I'm guessing that won't be optimal on the CPU as the application surface is rectangular (rather than the desktop CPUs which have heatspreaders). Do I just spread a thin layer over it? What's the best way to spread it? I should probably mention that I have the triple pipe CPU heatsink.

Furthermore, are the GPU memory modules connected to the heatsink by thermal pads, and if so, can they be re-used or would they need replacing?

Thanks guys.

 

On the cpu a thin line. Apply it and then take it off and you will see if your technique was good.

 

So I can just put the heatsink back on top if it's spread properly, after checking it? That certainly makes things easier.

What about the GPU memory?

 

No it's a Schroedinger's cat. Either you look at the result and repeat the process or you take it on faith. Air pockets are bound to form in the bulk of the paste if you remove the heatsink and reattach it.

VRAM thermal pads are reusable. Make sure you don't accidentally lose the smaller pieces.

 

True this, you need to retry once you test how it does with benchmarking.