M17 quadcore Northbridge Copper Mod

I know this topic has been gone over probably a 1000 times in various forums but I can't find any guidance related to copper modding my Alienware M17 R1 quadcore laptop.

I recently purchased Newegg.com - Arctic Silver Alumina AATA-5G Thermal Adhesive based on a user comment that I've pasted below.


Pros: Used this on my heatsink in my Alienware M17, I had to do a copper mod to keep the Northbridge from heating up to much and causing the stutter issue that is known with this laptop. I'm making sure it sticks forever and keeps it cool.

Cons: Shame on Alienware for not remaking the Heaksink on the M17's to keep them from over heating the northbriged chipset. Good thing its the last system i'm buying from them too. If they can't get one thing right then there a useless company.

Appreciate any help.

Thanks.

 

Personally I would not permanently attach the copper shim to the northbridge (maybe the heatsink would be OK, but still a bit iffy if you ever need to replace it)

As for the thickness of the copper, I have seen some on sale (pre-cut) on *bay that would do the trick but I forgot the seller name.

I have some copper pieces at home in various thickness but I no longer have my R1 so I can't test the thickness for you.

But, if you decide to go this route I would use the thermal compound of your choice on either side of the copper then tighten down (apply the copper shim to the chipset first then add to the top and tighten down the heatsink).

You may need to play around a bit with thickness to see what works best as the pad will be a bit thicker since it will squish down when you tighten.

Good luck.

D

 

i've gotten a sheet of 1mm thick ek water block thermal tape and it keeps my NB within 1 deg of my cpu