Thinkpads Forum

Hey Folks,

I switched my CPU from i5 2520m to i7 2670qm, the temperature is, in my opinion, a little to high with 95degree.

Now i want to Change the heatsink too. I've searched a lot but cant find any offer for an 04w1578. So my Question which heatsink ist also reliable and fits in the t520?

Sry i know my english is not the best

If you look in the T520 HMM-Manual (see link above), you'll find a few more fans.
The W520 fans will probably work as well.
Instead of paste use a Honeywell thermal pad PTM7950.

just a word, w520 heatsink doesnt fit t520 motherboard, there is an engineered difference in the mounting that makes them incompatible

edit to add:


Figure 1: W520 heatsink, note the orientation of the mounting screws, squared


Figure 2: T520 dGPU heatsink, note the orientation of the mounting screws, very stout


Figure 3: T520 iGPU heatsink, with useless noodle pipe and no rear vent

That said, it appears aliexpress has the T520 dGPU fan. Compared to regular T520 fan, this fan has a larger heatpipe and a functioning rear vent. It will be a substantial and worthwhile upgrade over the factory noodle pipe setup which is really only meant to cool 35W dual core i5s and nothing more.

i cannot tell if the T510 fans are compatible either. they appear to also use noodle pipes. so i think the best bet is to buy the T520 dGPU fan on aliexpress.

Also note that the T530 dGPU fan is not compatible, as it adopts the structure of the W510/20/30 fan. So you definitely need at best the T520 dGPU fan.

https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256802749117659.html

Thx for the adwise,

AliExpress is Out of Stock or cant Deliver to Germany, nothing on eBay...

Ist there any other Chance where i can get the Fan for dgpu?

TPFanatic wrote: ↑

Sun Feb 16, 2025 1:25 pm

Figure 3: T520 iGPU heatsink, with useless noodle pipe and no rear vent

That said, it appears aliexpress has the T520 dGPU fan. Compared to regular T520 fan, this fan has a larger heatpipe and a functioning rear vent. It will be a substantial and worthwhile upgrade over the factory noodle pipe setup which is really only meant to cool 35W dual core i5s and nothing more.

is the igpu heatsink in t420 so [censored] compared to dgpu ? (at least it does have rear vent)

T420 heatsink is just too small in general for a quad core in my opinion, even the dgpu version . it’s sufficient for a dual core, and dual core is enough for a lot of things.

TPFanatic wrote: ↑

Sat Mar 28, 2026 1:58 pm

T420 heatsink is just too small in general for a quad core in my opinion, even the dgpu version . it’s sufficient for a dual core, and dual core is enough for a lot of things.

Every quad-core CPU compatible with the T420 is 45W, so the stock heatsink is insufficient. Some use the dGPU heatsink and modify it.

I tried modding a dgpu heatsink too and didn’t gain much anything. I actually put a T430 dgpu sink in my T420, but it performed as badly as the stock T420 igpu heatsinks. It’s better to just get like anything from the last few years if the horsepower is necessary. I personally haven’t moved on from ivy bridge and kaby lake on my personal machines since my hobbies aren’t capped by CPUs, but rather GPUs, and I’ve been paying a server farm for their RTX A5000. It’s real handy when i get my electricity from the sun and/or places of public accommodation.

Why do you think a T430 heatsink will perform better when its lower temps isn't due to a beefier heatsink but having a CPU that draws less power and emits less heat?

Heck, there's even a T430 modded with a T420 heatsink and it had better temps: https://www.reddit.com/r/thinkpad/comme ... _heatsink/

I remember that mod. In a comment he says the CPU hits 101C at full load - that’s too close to Tjunction for my comfort. I could keep turbo boost too with my T420 by running the fan at 64 but i felt that was unreasonable for its longevity.

I tried the T420 single pipe cooler, T420 dual pipe cooler, abs T430 dgpu cooler. The T420 single pipe cooler seemed the least bad. In the end I put the i5 2520m back in and lived my life.

TPFanatic wrote: ↑

Sun Mar 29, 2026 6:52 am

I tried the T420 single pipe cooler, T420 dual pipe cooler, abs T430 dgpu cooler. The T420 single pipe cooler seemed the least bad. In the end I put the i5 2520m back in and lived my life.

are you saying igpu heatsink in T420 was better than dgpu heatsink ?

I believe so.