***Gigabyte P37X Owner's Lounge***

I got my P37W a week ago and wanted to share my initial (mostly physical) impressions:

• This thing is totally light and thin!
• Yes, the screen viewing angles and color are great—especially compared with the glossy TN panel of my (2011) ASUS G74
• The keyboard is decent, though the key-presses are predictably shallow. I wish the WASD had some kind of physical indicator in addition to being visually highlighted (which doesn't add much)
• The build quality is okay, though not great. The aluminum on the cover and palm rest feel great, though the bottom of the laptop is inexplicably plastic (what?), and there is a small gap in the metal and plastic seam at the lower right corner. Have other laptops gone with metal and plastic bottoms?
• The speakers are serviceable and are a little better than my ASUS G74.
• The macro keys are okay, though they don't seem to work super reliably with opening apps as they do with other macros
• The touchpad is, as reviews have noticed, absolutely rubbish; though the trackpad doesn't actually have separate buttons (as is the trend with laptops, which is okay), the button "area" is actually not a trackpad which is not okay. Basically, you'll be scrolling or mousing and all of a sudden things will stop. Thankfully I use a mouse at the desk, but this is really not okay.
• Fan noise is reasonable, although if you set the fan to the highest setting, it can definitely get loud. I haven't seen it go to the highest setting on its own while gaming and it might be because the 970M has a little bit lower TDP.
• The parts of the laptop where the CPU/GPU sit get pretty hot (top and bottom) when doing gaming or other intensive work; this is definitely not a lap friendly device (though not a typical use case for a gaming laptop).
• The AC adapter is pretty thin and light too; a nice change from the literal brick-sized AC adapter for my G75.

 

Thanks for giving us your impression. Please can you do some test/bench and tell us more about the temps ( celsius ) ?

 

Does anyone know where exactly the CPU is located, so I can place the cooling pad fan accordingly?

 

You can see the processors locations in [1].
But directing the air flow of the cooling fan on top of it (over the cover) will not give you the best results.
To improve the cooling performance you should use a gasket between the cooling pad and the bottom surface of the laptop and direct the air flow into the blowers inlets[2].
Something like that[3].

[1] http://www.notebookcheck.net/fileadmin/_processed_/csm_MG_5342_04d940c81c.jpg
[2] http://www.notebookcheck.net/fileadmin/_processed_/csm_MG_5333_b971311b74.jpg
[3] http://www.overclockers.com/laptop-cooler-mod/

 

Hi there! I'm interested in buying the P37W as well (not so many fans of this model though). Thank you for this great review. I have a few more questions:
- How do you find the battery life?
- How are the left macro keys? Are they really useful in-game or for general use?
- Do you think it was a great decision to purchase this laptop/model? Are you entirely satisfied with it after all?

 

I'm sorry if this has been asked a lot but I'm looking for a quick answer before I purchase a laptop on Friday--can I plug three external monitors into this laptop? I want to plug three external 1080p monitors into the laptop at the same time via HDMI, Mini DisplayPort, and VGA...will this laptop allow me to do that?

 

Hey,

So to be sure, what are the differences of the P37x and the P35x? Is it that the P35x has a DVD drive where as the P37x has bluray?

The temperatures seem to be the same and the P35x has bit longer battery life since it has a smaller screen...

Can somebody total the differences up bullet point style or something?

 

I believe it all comes down to what options you get in it. Battery life is probably negligible. The P37X comes with a DVD drive unless you get it ordered with a Blu-Ray Player. I believe the biggest difference is that the P35X has the option for the 3/4k screen.

 

Ahhh OK.

Why are there so many variations of this laptop across online retailers? The newegg model says it has a 256 GB SSD, Amazon says theirs comes with 128GBx2 with RAID0.

Now you just said that some models don't come with BD drives. On newegg it's listed that there is one... Haven't checked elsewhere...

Usually I'd be able to identify the different versions with the CF- suffix. As far as the P37x goes, I've seen one that has CF-2 which is mostly seen everywhere. The only other model I've seen besides this is the P37x-Sl1 (No CF). This is a cheaper version at like $1900 or something around this figure.

Can we compile all of our knowledge here to find all the different models?

 

You can as long as those three 1080p monitors have the input for two of the monitors to have HDMI and the last to have Display Port or a VGA port. If those monitors don't have the connectivity states, don't worry, you can just buy an adapter and it should work fine.

 

The monitors are ASUS monitors that have VGA, HDMI, and DVI connectors. I have a few Mini DisplayPort to HDMI adapters, a few HDMI wires, and a few VGA wires so connection-wise; I have everything I need. I just want to make sure the actual laptop supports it.

 

"Newegg calls this the P35XV3-CF4, while XoticPC calls it the P35XV3-CF3. The box says this is a 9WP35XV33-UE-A-003 (CF3), though XoticPC clarifies that it should sport a matte (rather than gloss) version of the display. Since both parts have the same internal specs and price, we’ll leave it to you to read the specifications sheet of your seller."

This quote, though with regards to the P35x, may explain why there is so many variations with P37x internal components. Pure disorganization.
Source: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gigabyte-p35x-v3-gaming-notebook,4040.html

 

There pretty much are no risks to undervolting except instability if you're too aggressive, i.e., the computer may crash. The benefits are a cooler, lower power CPU (longer battery life)

So the P37W is the 970M model (instead of the flagship 980M). Running 3DMark Firestrike, I'm getting in the ~6650 range. With some light overclocking on the GPU only, I've gotten up to the ~7400 range. I make sure to throw the laptop onto my cooling stand (Antec Notebook Cooler Stand), and I'm getting a 68C max on the GPU and 87-88C on the CPU. Those tend to be the temps I get; the auto fan control is pretty good about keeping GPU temps below 70C and the CPU temps below 90C.

I'll try undervolting the CPU a little to cool things down and build up some thermal headroom.

Oh, and my P37W was from Xotic and I opted for their repasting, so take that as you may.

I really haven't tested battery since it's not a big concern for me. The P37W for me is a desktop replacement that can travel to other desks, so it's rarely on battery; sorry can't really help ya there. I would expect battery to be not terrible, but not industry setting.

The macro keys are... meh. So I've found that you have to hit the keys square on for them to register so they are not super sensitive; I can loudly hit the edges and nothing happens. Maybe I'll make a video of this some time. The other thing is that the macro software itself isn't all that impressive. I tried setting some macros to bring up certain apps like Gigabyte's own SmartManager app, and it just stops working for the app at some point. I've had far more success tying the keys to some basic things like volume control (which works pretty well), but even then, the inbuilt controls are not plentiful (volume control exists, but brightness control doesn't... go figure). Basically, your mileage may vary a lot with the macro keys.

Overall, I'm pretty darn satisfied though. I'm coming off of an ASUS G74 laptop purchased in 2011. Back then, mobile GPUs were pretty pathetic compared to their desktop counterparts, and there weren't that many options. The 560M was as good as it gets on ASUS gaming laptops, which is sad. The fact that you can get the 980M and it's like 80% of the desktop equivalent, and get it in a thin and light package (the ASUS I have is ~9 lbs) is amazing to me. The screen is so much better on this as well.

There are several things that could be done better on this, but I'm still really happy with the purchase.

Here's how it works, although you've already figured out a bunch of it.

P35 = 15" display
P37 = 17" display

X = 980M GPU
W = 970M GPU
K = 965M GPU

Then the final suffix is pretty much up in the air, the various CF1, CF2, CF3 all designate different configs, without much consistency (they are not even in sequence, as the P37X-CF2 is the highest end model, above the CF3 and CF1). Maybe this chart will help on the P37 side of things: http://www.excaliberpc.com/images/resources/633479/7d4f24c9869d45289f663d0f8d1c9cfe.png

And this on the P35 side of things: http://www.excaliberpc.com/images/resources/633478/09700e068efd4730a05bb475d6d45e20.png

 

Ohh man! You nailed it with those charts! Exactly what I was looking for. Thank you so so much my friend.

Will definitely be buying the P37X-CF2. It has a Bluray writer which I want, windows 7, 1080p, 17" screen, and the 980m. Absolutely perfect.

 

Nice review you pretty much got all the points covered, especially about the plastic seams on the bottom right corner hahaha. Like another poster said if you can live with these 'quality faults' then this is a very powerful package.

 

For all the P37x/P37w owners, can you tell us which bag or case is suitable for it? A standard 17,3" bag?

 

I'm using this bag for my laptop: http://www.scan.co.uk/products/weng...17-notebook-messenger-bag-genuine-swiss-brand

does the job quite well! - however, I did hit the bag against the wall as I was walking out the door once... which was apparently enough force to slightly bend one of the back corners of the laptop inwards ¬_¬ (fixed it though)

the bag is heavily padded, but apparently that doesn't mean anything when it comes to actually hitting something.

 

Going to buy P37K and components for upgrading it at german e-stores.
1) 2x mSATA 256GB SDD - which types are compatible with this laptop?
2) 2x 2.5" 2TB HDD for RAID 0 - i think any of the same model will fit, am I right?
3) 2x8GB RAM instead of pre-installed 8GB - i should buy two new 8GB of the same model or may buy only 1 extra 8Gb?
3b) Which type of RAM are compatible and will show best performance for this laptop?

 

Just got my P37x about 3 days ago & this thing is so darn sexy and powerful! Just a few questions for the crew:

What temp monitor is everyone using? I googled it, found 2, installed both but neither display the GPU. I went through all the options & nothing. (sorry I’m at work & forgot which ones they were =P)

The only game I play is FFXIV(max settings), after an hour or so of playing (due to no temp mon) I just touched the bottom of the laptop. I felt as if the GPU was at an OK temp warm to the touch but not hot, the CPU side was cooking up something else, it was hot. Thinking about a repaste BUT once I get a good temp mon i’ll go from there.

Cooling pad should be in the mail today:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834953030

I was on the fence about getting this one:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004G603E2/ref=ox_sc_act_title_3?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A9VBWN1Q1U6E6

I’ll make some moves once I get an idea of the temps.

***UPDATE 21MAY2015***
Seems CPUID HWmonitor was working I'm just a bum & didn't see it for some reason.

I order both cooling pads since the DeepCool was "lost" in the delivery process. Still waiting on both.
Deep cool - MAX Air Flow: 53.4CFM
Cool Master CF-19 MA MAX Air Flow: 65 - 97.23 CFM

Updates will follow.

 

I think most of us are using HWinfo64 to monitor the temps.
Is someone can explain how to unscrew the heatsink and all to do a repast on cpu & gpu? I've already opened the bottom and just add another msata (840 evo). So I know how to do a repast (used to do it with my AW17) but it'll be my first time on this tiny P37 so before take off the heatsink and all, I will appreciate some advise

 

Hi everyone!! I'm new here and first of all I would like to thank u guys for all amazing info shared.

I've been lately searching for a high-end gaming laptop to replace my old dead previous alienware m17x r3. Since the main use will be gaming and some office work I though about getting a thinner chasis. My final decision will go to either:

- Aorus x7 pro
- Gigabyte p37x
- Asus g750jy (the new version upgraded with 980m 8gb)

I read all messages and googled plenty of info including unboxings, reviews, benchmaks..so I'm aware of the pros and cons of theses machines but still can't make my choice. The thing is I like and dislike some features from each model so I don't find the perfect one for me.

I know Aorus is a beast in terms of performance and there is nothing out there really portable to compare with. But If I'm planning to play on its screen or an external fullhd projector at 1080p (60hz compatible max) with v-sinc at say stable 60fps I wonder what would be the differences against a laptop with a single gpu 980m. I mean being used now with current modern games. I also like its shape design and look. In the other hand I read about excess of noise, sli compatibility issues, overheat and comsumption that might end up annoying the experience. An additional problem is that this computer is not available for sale in Spain where I live so I need to purchase through another amazon's country website (the one I mostly trust) or a retailer that ships international (please recommend me some) with the added inconvenience of the keyboard layout and dealing with warrant in case anything goes wrong.

Then I'm looking closely the Gigabyte p37x which in terms of quality seems to be similar (same manufacturer). This one is available. Design is more simple but personally I like it too since can be used more on "professional enviroments". I appreciate a comparison of these two from the people that have deeply tested both. It's 980m 8gb solution seems to be enough future proof too.

Lastly the new Asus g750jy. This one I bought it but had to return it because I found out It came with an ugly TN screen which in my opinion compared with my iMac retina dispay I'm used was so disappointing. Blacks looking greys, bad viewing angles...However this machine looks and performs great. It is thicker but runs so cool and quiet at almost every situation. It would be my first choice if it came with ISP screen. I like the black matte style of the chasis much nicer than new g751 I think. Although it is heavier and less usefud to carry around and perhaps it is more a "desktop replacement".

In conclusion:
- Aorus = extreme performance
- P37x = hybrid work/gaming station
- Asus = less portable but balanced solution

I would really appreciate your comments, experiences with your computer after a while, anything that shows up some light even if it is subjetive. I don't spend 2.500€ on a laptop everyday and wish to be as sure as possible.

Thanks in advance!!

 

Hey fellas,

I just got my P37X and I'm quite disappointed with its performance. World of Warcraft on Ultra hardly touches 60 fps. Heroes of the Storm stutters like crazy on Extreme settings.

Did I make the wrong investment? Or is my laptop faulty & should be returned?

Can anyone share their fps experience on WoW or HotS please?

 

Hello!

Please check your Fan profile in the Gigabyte Manager program, make sure it's set to "normal" - do not set it to silent if you're gaming, because silent mode will downclock your GPU and make all your games run slower, it does this to minimise heat because the fans are off/running slowly.

This laptop should be plenty fast enough to run HotS and WoW at max FPS without any problems, I can run Witcher 3 on this laptop at max settings with a fairly decent fps...

 

There are three modes for the fan in the Gigabyte Smart Manager; Stealth, Auto, and Max fan. When I'm gaming, I have it on Auto and I can hear the fan speed increasing and decreasing on its own upon demand. I read that the GPU cap is only when it is on Stealth which I never use. Auto & Max should keep the GPU at max speed. I hope that's OK?

I'm going to compare the performance with a Razer Blade Pro 17" tomorrow. The Gigabyte should theoretically kill the Razer. I'll post an update when I do so.

 

I just purchased a P37X and am trying to install an mSATA SSD. For the life of me I can't find where the bays are. I know there are four of them. Anyone taken it apart?

 

Ok here is an update. I compared it to the Razer Blade Pro yesterday and I have to say I was pleased. On WoW, they performed slightly the same with a slight upper hand in fps for the P37X. However, the P37X had anti-aliasing on and some other intense graphical option on while the Razer didn't. As for HotS, they performed the same in terms of fps.

In general though, the colors were much vivid and richer in the P37X.

The root cause of the stuttering in HotS was also identified. It was a spiky connection that had very fluctuating latency. Once it stabilizes, there is 0 stuttering.

I have also run Gigabyte Smart Update and updated everything that needed an update too.

 

The wait is killing me - waiting for my Gigabyte P37W to ship from Xotic.

Is the swappable bay the same speed as where the 1TB/2TB is? I bought a 500GB Samsung EVO to throw in and I'm not sure if it matters where each one is.

I know the trackpad is iffy - how is it for those who have been using it? Did you guys try the Samsung Elan drivers with any success, or is there another driver out there that performs best?

 

I finally got mine last friday (imported from Alternate Germany). I managed to save nearly 800€ compared to the retail spanish price (not bad ) even if I have to deal with slightly different keyboard layout. First impresion...wow! this little badass looks great. I love its simple and stylish design with aluminium body (kind of apple mac book pro feeling).

- Screen: this IPS panel is simply gorgeous!
- Size and weight: in my opinion perfect
- Gaming performance: Latest tested games (witcher 3, project cars, evolve, far cry 4, crysis 3...) all runing at 1080p 60fps stable with vsync very high-ultra settings (except evolve that i dont manage to get over 45fps and seems there is no difference when switching from low to high settings, maybe something I'm missing or wrong with this particular game??). No complaints at this point, all running smooth as expected.
- Battery life: it has been always plugged in so I can't really say but windows tell that I have like 4 hours left when I unplugg it...
- Fan noise: It is not that bad...really guys...I was so afraid of getting annoyed and ready to expect the worst after reading many comments online from P35X and specially Aorus X7 Pro. Maybe last one is worse considering its SLI configuration (power consumption, overheat...) plus the fact that Battery Boost and Optimus are not compatible. P37X runs fine for all main tasks you would be using a laptop (web browsing, editing documents, e-mailing, multimedia...) plus it is able to deliver the best mobile GPU in the market in the thinnest body available today...so don't you think some noise should be a small sacrifice to accept? Besides you will be probably using speakers or headphones (you don't play muted games do you?). When you playback a movie or song for instance the system goes totally quiet with almost no background song. Same with temperatures, nothing extreme. Chasis get little warm yes but I would not worry about this.

I can't really say something bad about this little machine. Maybe it is the hype and didn't have time enough to test it more deeply but I'm pretty amazed at this moment.

Two things I would like to figure out:
1) How to hot-swap the optical unit. Do I need to open the laptop or can I just change it for a hard disk using the adapter provided? I don't find how...

2) BIOS. I've upgraded all drivers to their latest versions with official software included but BIOS...is it really necessary? Does it improve or include new functionalities? Important errors reported?

 

Trackpad is iffy indeed. I didn't try any other drivers than what's installed.

 

Well, I had a P37W for about 12 hours, but had to set up an RMA because it turned out to be defective.

Got it unboxed, started updating with the latest patches and drivers, and when I picked it up it shut off.

Thought at the time it was just an odd coincidence, so I just kept going. Then it crashed. And wouldn't power on completely. The power light would stay on, and three of the other indicators would blink. Powered it off and back on and it came back up for a while.

Turned out that if the bottom panel was flexed, even by something like simply picking up the machine by its front corners, it would often crash. I tried reseating the RAM in the hopes that was all it was, but no, it still kept crashing. Refreshed Windows, still crashed. Factory reset to defaults on Windows, still crashed. It would even lock up in the BIOS settings on occasion, so it definitely wasn't a Windows or driver problem.

It's aggravating since other than that problem, I loved the laptop. Great screen, fast GPU and processor, better speakers than I was expecting, and nowhere near as noisy cooling as I was expecting.

Here's hoping the replacement works a little better.

 

Did you try to use windows 8.1 (UEFI) and the bios designed for windows 8 (fb04) And chose windows 8 default settings in bios? I had similar problem before when I was on windows 7.

 

If that was directed at me, yes.

It came with Windows 8, I updated it to 8.1.
Tried BIOS FB03 (shipping BIOS), FB04 and FB05 and also tried Windows 8 defaults.

It was definitely a hardware issue. Most likely a cracked trace on the board or a solder joint.

Still waiting for it to arrive back at Newegg before they can process a replacement . . .

 

I got mine last week and it came with FB02. I haven't updated, no issues experienced. Is is worth getting the last version FB05 (still beta)? What are the benefits or known fixes?

 

New question, which could be premature and too early but just for knowledge. If I would like to stick an SSD into the weight saving module, is there any specifics I need to look for? I found a local Samsung 840 EVO 1TB mSATA SATA III Internal SSD Drive. Would that work? Or do I need more information?

Thanks in advance peeps!

 

The module is designed for a regular 2.5" form factor SATA drive, so the mSATA isn't the right choice for it.

You COULD install that in one of the internal mSATA connectors though.

 

That feel when your decked-out broadwell Gigabyte laptop is delayed from XoticPC till at earliest July 1st before they even dig in.

 

My new, hopefully not defective, P37W arrives today.

Going to run it through its paces tonight to make sure it doesn't have any issues like the first one. Planning to put a 16 GB kit and replace the DVD-RW drive with a BD-RW drive.

 

No, there are only 2 MSATA slots for SSDs. My particular P37W came with one MSATA already in (boot drive), and there was one left that I added another SSD to. You need to open up the entire bottom, which is relatively easy to do, you just need to take out all the screws, and the bottom panel lifts off. That little screw tray within the bottom panel, that is only for RAM access, oddly enough.

Where the 1TB is, it is SATA 3 I believe (and the two MSATA slots for storage are SATA 3 as well). The swappable HDD/CD is SATA 1 though, IRRC.

1) No, you don't need to open the laptop. In the ASUS specific control panel, SmartManagerV3, there is a button to swap the config from CD to HDD. I've never used it, but I know it requires a reboot, so no hot swapping.
2) I haven't been able to find BIOS changelogs for the P37 series, but if you find them, do share.

You want to replace the 1TB HDD with the SSD (and then perhaps move the HDD to the CD slot) because the weight saving module slot is SATA1 only and you'd be severely hampering the transfer speeds.

 

Got the replacement P37W yesterday afternoon, and after 110+ Windows patches, updating all the drivers, and installing several applications, not a single crash.

Got the new RAM and BD-RW drive installed and tested them out and they're working fine as well. I thought I would have to upgrade the PowerDVD software that came with the laptop to play back BDs, but it worked fine.

 

Glad to hear - I'm very jealous. This wait is killing me.

What are your impressions?

 

Impressions:

Boot speed is very fast, even with the single SSD.
Still dislike Windows 8.1 despite using it for several months.
Game performance is good. The games I tried (Alien: Isolation, Supreme Commander, Bioshock Infinite, Borderlands 2, Rocksmith 2014) all ran smoothly with no readily apparent issues.
Gigabyte's auto update utility seems to point to the slowest file mirror they could find.
The Intel 7960 is pretty flaky. Even showing good signal strength and a connected speed of 130-260 Mb/s, file transfers would stop and do nothing for minutes at a time. If anyone knows of a good 802.11ac mini-PCIe card, please let me know.
The CPU throttled after hitting 94C using Prime95 with the fans set to Normal. Replacing the thermal paste will likely help.
It took some work to get the prompt to reserve Windows 10 to show up. I finally had to use a repair .bat file to force it.
The LCD is great. Wide viewing angles and no dead or hot pixels.
The sound quality of the speakers are surprisingly good. Not as good as even mediocre dedicated speakers, but great for laptops.
For anyone wanting to put a BD-ROM drive in, I used an HP rebranded LG BU20N 9.5mm drive. The bezel from the laptop fit perfectly.
The build quality is sturdy for a thin laptop, though the surface is a fingerprint magnet as others have mentioned.

 

Sounds good to me - thanks for sharing your impressions.

Sucks about the wifi, hopefully another driver will suffice. I did order mine with a re-paste so hopefully that should help.

 

@KorbenDls
Thanks for your impressions. Considering buying one, so can you please elaborate how loud it under light load (browsing/movies)? Is it still hot with minimum load?
What is your distance to router?

 

It's very quiet when not under load. If you were watching a movie, the fan noise would likely be inaudible. Temperatures aren't bad either. The areas that get warm are generally places that aren't touched.

Distance to the router is about 17' through a floor. Turning off Bluetooth helped tremendously with pauses in file transfers. I did have one random disconnect after disabling BT, but I can't reproduce it.

 

Thanks again! After your answer, I ordered p37K and its absolute beast! Fast, quiet, light and slim.
Sound quality is much higher then i expected.
Its very silent without load, and not hot at all while for coding/browsing/watching movies.
I had no problems with my wifi, have stable connecting pretty much everywhere even with bluetooth on, but, I have 1 bedroom flat.
I was afraid that 17.3 inches would be too small for coding, after 23" display, but if I use it from knees, visually its the same size that my display on desk.
Very easy to setup, not much bloatware. I will be installing additional 256/512ssd ( i have 128 SSD+2TB variant).
Noise under load not as bad as I expected from reviews, I even considered buying cooling pad but it's pretty monotone and I can easily filter it out.
Screen is marky, touchpad is usable but nothing good. IPS screen as good as I expected ( didn't buy anything non IPS for a long while).
And my wife absolutely loves design for some reason
Overall, thanks for your impressions, it helped me to buy this excellent notebook

 

Hi all,

After owning my laptop for a while now, it's still going just as strong as the day I bought it - and surprisingly runs Batman: Arkham Knight very well (no crazy slowness that everyone is reporting).

just wondering, has anyone tried doing any thermal mods to this laptop yet? repaste, airflow tweaks, cpu undervoltage?

it would be nice to get the temperatures down a little more.

 

I replaced the thermal compound on mine with IC Diamond. It made quite a difference, going from 95 C on the CPU when running Prime95 down to 80 C.

I didn't write down the temp of the GPU, but with the new thermal compound 62 C is the hottest it got after hours of gaming.

Fan profile set to Normal, and it doesn't run as loud after the repaste either. The original paste was pretty shoddy. There was about a .5mm thick layer on the GPU, with none of the die visible.

 

Nice! Want to do the same, but will replacing thermal compound void the warranty? Are there any seals inside the notebook body?

 

Good stuff! I shall do this to my laptop. Hitting 95c and thermal throttling is a little unsettling I'll be much happier with it closer to 80c

How did you apply your paste? You criticize the original paste saying that there was no die visible like that's a bad thing? I normally cover the whole surface of the die for maximum cpu to hs coverage.

 

The coverage was complete, but it was *thick*. It was completely opaque, and was way too thick for the heatsink to do its job.

Instead of filling the voids between the die and the sink, it was a uniform layer.