rMBP 2015 repasting

Hi guys!
how difficult is it to repaste a 2015 rMBP? I've repasted lots of laptops before, but i heard macs are a little different..so for anyone who has repasted one, how would it compare to say repasting an MSI, Dell, HP,or Toshiba laptop?

 

I wouldn't say its any different from any other computer. I'm sure ifixit has a teardown guide:
https://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/MacBook+Pro+13-Inch+Retina+Display+Early+2015+Teardown/38300

I would recommend using Liquid Ultra, especially in compant/slim notebooks like the Macbook Pro. It is simply the best thermal compound in existence.

 

Thanks dude!
temperatures on my computer are hitting 97C on average with medium workload...
how does the liquid metal stuff compare to say IC diamond ?

 

depending on what you call normal workload, that temp isn't really high actually. I repasted my last unit and dropped 2 degrees C. if your a bit adventurous you can drill a few holes in your baseplate under your fans location for a bit more airflow but this route tends to mean buy an extra base plate.

 

hmm..wouldnt high temperatures close to 100C cause throttling and eventual hardware damage? normal workload meaning, safari, photo editing in photoshop plus video editing in iMove...plus spotify and chrome with the mail app open sometimes and messaging/skype

 

Yes, causes me a great deal of throttling when video editing and I have killed a few boards with thermal damage.
To keeps temps down and throttling down I limit CPU maximums especially when doing renderings or running color adjustments

 

how do you limit cpu maximums in OS X?

 

http://www.rugarciap.com/turbo-boost-switcher-for-os-x/
and https://github.com/nanoant/DisableTurboBoost.kext

nowadays my husband has made me a couple scripts I run on the command line as well for 10.10

does kill your performance though for intensive work and processes

 

It is better than ICD. I have used pretty much every thermal compound in my system and liquid ultra has been the best by far, but about a 3-5 degree margin with the added bonus of never drying out if applied/secured properly with the heatsink. Be careful when applying though. Do not get it on the mainboard or on any of the topside transistors on the CPU die. Liquid ultra is based on gallium, which is a liquid metal in this case, and will short out your board if you are careless. Just take your time when applying. Use the supplied brush and apply to both the CPU die and the heatsink, but only where the CPU die touches the heatsink, NOT EVERYWHERE (if the heatsink is cut larger than the CPU die, for example)

 

This sounds a good idea. Do you know how much it can improve the cooling?

 

I'd wager another 5 degrees easily. Heat bottles up quick in these computers.

 

with ICD7 done properly and a holed baseplate actually about 5c as there still isn't enough copper in the sink to move the heat or enough airflow to really make much of a difference on 2014 and 2015 models, back in the 2012 and 2013 models you could drop temps by 10-15c

 

UPDATE:
Hi guys,
so after very carefully and delicately prying open my macbook pro using the awesome ifixit kit, i repasted the CPU and GPU with IC diamond. first of all i have to say the original paste job done by apple was horrendous! they applied not only too much paste unevenly, but the paste was on the CPU logic board its self . after spending about 30-40ish minutes carefully cleaning the CPU and GPU dies, i applied like a pea size glob of paste on each one. after re-assembly i let it sit for about 2ish hours before i powered it on. I cant say that repasting made an amazing difference, but it is a lot better than before. Before pasting my max temperatures(with turbo boost on) were around 98-99C on the CPU and ~87C on the GPU...now i am getting (with turboboost on) max CPU at ~92, max GPU at ~83
not amazing but better than before

 

That is a good improvement, but still very hot. If you want more extreme help, you can take off the bottom cover and try to drill small holes under the fans to improve airflow.

 

if they do that, buy a spare baseplate so they can swap it when they go to the Apple Store if it ever needs looked at.

 

update 2:
i notice a very impressive improvement in my idle to average workload temperatures. before repasting, with an average workload (watching netflix, surfing the net etc) my temps were ~45~60C ish
now, im on average getting temps in the low 30s going up to mid 40s max

 

Kind of a thread necro but there's some low traffic on this forum for macbooks. Anyways, what paste did you use to drop temps by about 5C? I repasted my alienware 17 R3 with liquid ultra and I saw a drop of 10C for my cpu temps running a program that stresses the cpu.

Tried looking around for base plates on sale but didn't see anything that jumped out at me, but having a spare one with holes drilled into it is a great idea, even if it compromises the rigidity.

How was your overall experience taking apart the 2015 macbook pro? I can barely find any info on repasting the newer versions of the macbook. A lot of the threads are the 2011 or 2012 versions. Currently waiting on the new releases for 2016 and will most likely be liquid ultraing those since I know they're ridiculously hot.

 

You will need a small phillips and a small star bit. Ifixit has good tear down guide usually for a variety of models. I would go for liquid ultra and vent holes

 

Yep, after the scary application of liquid ultra (because it can kill your laptop if applied incorrectly or too much) I am a believer. Any idea if the heatsink is copper in the macbook pro? And do you have any suggestions where to buy a spare base plate?

 

The heatsink is copper, I've used liquid ultra in a customer's MBP before. Apple genuine parts are locked up pretty tight, your best bet is to contact ebay sellers parting out macbooks for a bottom plate.

 

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My rMBP 15 comes out of wake running at the same temp with stock paste...

Also, by changing the thermal paste you may have problem with Apple honouring your warranty should anything go wrong with your rMBP.

 

so very true. even if their job was horrid I personally had one unit denied repairs for an unrelated issue

 

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All 3 i7 CPUs offered on the 2014/2015 rMBP 15" have a TPD of 47W. In my case I have the 4770HQ.

The point was that changing the paste probably has little impact on the temp of a CPU waking up.

On wake:


Idle:

 

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There was no challenge to your statements, only the mention that upon waking up I saw the same temp.

The point was, and I'm repeating myself here, that changing the paste probably has little impact on the temp of a CPU waking up.... In standby the CPU while not off is pretty much powered to its lowest level, the cooling system and the paste have little impact if any.

You're the one that brought up TPD in the first place only to dismiss it in a later post. TPD represents the maximum amount of power the cooling system in a computer is required to dissipate, of course the same cooling system may be more effective on a lower speed CPU with the same TPD. That was never argued or challenged.

 

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I'll second this. Two people I know had their AppleCare basically voided for modifications that were just repaste jobs to try to eek out some extra performance for render jobs. Another was out of warranty so Apple was willing to of course repair the unit since the owner would have to pay anyhow.

I've, personally, only had Apple deny me AppleCare once on a Macbook 17 2011 and that was because the unit was water damaged which I painfully found out when they opened it up. It was used outside a lot to collect data and the humidity must have caught up to it.

My Macbook in the sig is under AppleCare till late 2017 so Ill basically touch nothing internally and if it dies or has issues, I'll let Apple sort them out.