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    Thermal paste brands? and upgrade Q's.

    Discussion in 'Alienware M15x' started by T-ravisty, Jul 4, 2012.

  1. T-ravisty

    T-ravisty Notebook Consultant

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    Hey all,

    I'm wanting to upgrade to a 920xm in a months time.
    Just wanting to know what's the best thermal paste out there for the job?

    I hear that ICD 24 is pretty good. Thoughts?

    This will be my first "big" upgrade, except for the 16GB RAM.
    I have a mate helping me, never changed the CPU before...

    Just plug and play right?

    Do I need to get a different charger or anything?

    I'm still under warranty, but would much prefer quicker render times than warranty...
    Worse comes worse, just swap back the CPU.

    Cheers.
     
    T-ravisty, Jul 4, 2012
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  2. onego

    onego Notebook Consultant

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    Yup just simple plug and play. The IC Diamond 24 and MX-4 are both good so yeah it's pretty much up to your preference.

    No new power supplies needed. Remember to clean the heat sink for any previous thermal pastes applied
     
    onego, Jul 4, 2012
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  3. T-ravisty

    T-ravisty Notebook Consultant

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    Sweet as.

    Also, how thick should I apply the thermal paste?
    Pics would help if you have any...

    ...I'll do some googling...
     
    T-ravisty, Jul 4, 2012
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  4. onego

    onego Notebook Consultant

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    Watch this video below:

    TIM Application: Pea Size Method - YouTube

    Do the same on your CPU using the technique shown in the video and press the heatsink against the CPU to spread the thermal paste.

    Beware of applying too much thermal paste though.
     
    onego, Jul 4, 2012
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  5. bojsa

    bojsa Notebook Enthusiast

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    +1 for MX-4, it's not expensive, and gives exceptionally good performance.
    No curing, long lifetime. I am using it for my m15x and it does a very good job :)
     
    bojsa, Jul 4, 2012
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  6. onego

    onego Notebook Consultant

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    Agreed. I use it as well :)
     
    onego, Jul 4, 2012
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  7. Mexic00ls

    Mexic00ls Notebook Deity

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    if it your first time with paste go with mx-4, the chip should be a simple plug and play after the install check to make sure that all cores are working thru resource monitor or on the performance tab on task manager
     
    Mexic00ls, Jul 4, 2012
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  8. Alienware-L_Porras

    Alienware-L_Porras Company Representative

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    I was reviewing this other thread about that, according to it mayonnaise doesn't make a bad job haha.
     
    Alienware-L_Porras, Jul 4, 2012
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  9. Ninefingers

    Ninefingers Notebook Consultant

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    haha that is great! mustard is cutting it too!

    I think I'll keep my chocolate for eating though.
     
    Ninefingers, Jul 4, 2012
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  10. Alienware-L_Porras

    Alienware-L_Porras Company Representative

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    Haha! I think that would be better. :p Anyways, I hope my recommendations were helpful for you to decide which one to use in the case you need it :)
     
    Alienware-L_Porras, Jul 4, 2012
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  11. T-ravisty

    T-ravisty Notebook Consultant

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    +1 onego for vid lin and suggestions.

    WTH... wait... what... nooo... why... mayonnaise... really... to a CPU? Who the hell does that!?!?

    So in your signasture you say that opening the case and tinkering doesn't void warranty... Is there a limitation to this at all, or is it just a scare tactic to get people to buy high spec PC's straight out?
     
    T-ravisty, Jul 5, 2012
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  12. Alienware-L_Porras

    Alienware-L_Porras Company Representative

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    The only problem will come if the computer breaks due to this. But just opening it won't have any problem.

    haha it was just a joke, of course nobody will use that but the rest of the chart is really useful :)
     
    Alienware-L_Porras, Jul 5, 2012
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  13. T-ravisty

    T-ravisty Notebook Consultant

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    Good to know. Thanks.

    haha it was just a joke, of course nobody will use that but the rest of the chart is really useful :)[/QUOTE]


    Yeah, I was being a dag... :p
    And yes, the rest was rather useful. Had no idea there were so many different compounds for the job!
     
    T-ravisty, Jul 5, 2012
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  14. Alienware-L_Porras

    Alienware-L_Porras Company Representative

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    Yeah, I was being a dag... :p
    And yes, the rest was rather useful. Had no idea there were so many different compounds for the job![/QUOTE]

    Yeah some better than others but there are a lot that can do the trick!. :p
     
    Alienware-L_Porras, Jul 5, 2012
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  15. TheHighlightGuy

    TheHighlightGuy Notebook Consultant

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    If you don't mind spending a few bucks extra, you should check out IC Diamond :D The stuff is AWESOME. Take my word for it!

    Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk 2
     
    TheHighlightGuy, Jul 5, 2012
    #15
  16. f_klo

    f_klo Notebook Enthusiast

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    I cannot recommend the IC diamond enough. There are a few advantages rarely mentioned:
    - Its thick which means its clean/easy to apply and less chance of air bubbles occuring while you apply pressure (pea method)
    - Its not conductive so IF the paste flows onto the circuit board it won't short out anything
     
    f_klo, Jul 6, 2012
    #16
  17. katalin_2003

    katalin_2003 NBR Spectre Super Moderator

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    Yes, but there are other brands that have thick TIM and perform great.

    IC diamond, is a pain to clean/remove (compared to MX-4 per example) and you risk scratching the die when cleaning it.
     
    katalin_2003, Jul 6, 2012
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  18. ryguy12290

    ryguy12290 Notebook Enthusiast

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    I bought arctic silver 5 for my GTX 560m and it hasn't overheated once, even after hours of gaming on GW2, Diablo 3, WoW, BF3, and lately Dishonored
     
    ryguy12290, Oct 14, 2012
    #18