Lenovo, the thermal paste goes on the CPU.

[Thinkpad4by3]

I was pretty sure that my T430's 65 idle/80 browsing/95 load temps were pretty high even though it was the dGPU model. Well I know why they were so high...Lenovo just decided to *almost* entirely skip putting thermalpaste!
(click for big picture)



Well a repaste job later and it is quieter and happier at 40 idle/50 browsing/65 load!

I've heard of bad thermal paste, I've heard of it getting crumbly over years, I've even heard of poor application but this is kinda ridiculous. I was laughing my butt off when I flipped the heatsink over and saw that !

[Cigarguy]

Looks like a fairly typical factory paste job to me. It'll get hard and dries up with time. When you take it off it's not unusual for some paste to be stuck on the hsf and some on the cpu. The factory paste is put on too thick for my liking so I like to reapply it myself.

[RealBlackStuff]

Considering the age of the laptop, I would rather suggest that a previous owner did that shoddy job!

[dr_st]

It looks like someone worked very hard to spread the paste around the die, and not on the die itself.

[flolic]

There is nothing wrong with the way how factory applied that paste. It's quite typical and looks the same as on any other laptop from any other manufacturer.

Just replace it with the fresh one and you are ready to go through next few years.

Sent from my SM-G960F using Tapatalk

[Thinkpad4by3]

It looks like someone worked very hard to spread the paste around the die, and not on the die itself.

They probably took the bag spreading the paste method a tad too far !
I mean I actually saw the nVidia logo and chip details burned into heatsink where the paste wasn't. I don't think I've ever seen that before. Both chips were pretty shiny. I don't know how that looks like a standard factory job, I could imagine that on a W530 with an XM chip would probably be an insurance claim waiting to happen.

[TPFanatic]

The factory paste dries up in a few years. Every T500 I received around 2015 needed a repaste, by then they were 6 or 7 years old.

[artic_squirrel]

well on my new thinkpad, the paste was already dry. I changed it and I see no change in temperature. Same for 2 older X thinkpads. I use some artic cooling product from amazon. Everybody but me has lower temperature after application.

[axur-delmeria]

well on my new thinkpad, the paste was already dry. I changed it and I see no change in temperature. Same for 2 older X thinkpads. I use some artic cooling product from amazon. Everybody but me has lower temperature after application.

Get a better paste (Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut). If it doesn't improve, then it's usually one of the ff:

1. poor heatsink contact
2. heatpipe failure
3. high ambient temperature

[artic_squirrel]

perhaps I do not apply it well. how much do you put on the cpu ? do you spread it before applying the fan?

[RealBlackStuff]

Depending on CPU: http://www.arcticsilver.com/intel_appli ... ethod.html#
That method goes for all paste brands (except liquid metal, which should NOT be used on a laptop).

[artic_squirrel]

Depending on CPU: http://www.arcticsilver.com/intel_appli ... ethod.html#
That method goes for all paste brands (except liquid metal, which should NOT be used on a laptop).

i finally applied this kruonaut but the paste is not at all liquid like the artic silver.

I followed the guide on arctisilver and i did
-clean the cpu and heatsink with isopropyl
-assure there is no hair, lint on so no on the surface
-put a tiny drop of the paste on those surfaces
-use the spatula given with the paste to spread it

this where it goes weird
first i pressed to hard and from a 45 deg angle on the spatula and it scratches easily the heatsink. Then the paste is not liquid like the artic silver, so most of th epaste remains on the spatula.

I had to lay really flat the spatula and the best i could get is this


whereas with the artic silver, the result was like in the OP, but not dry, just more liquid.
When i spread it, it is like there is nothing at all, contrary to the spread artic silver . With the artic silver, even spread, the grey paste is clearly visible, like on the picture above where a blob of the kryonaut is seen.

Concerning the temperatures : first i disable the fan most of the time
Level=60 255
Level=70 196
Level=80 169
Level=85 140
Level=90 126
Level=95 0

[on the L variant, 255 is speed 0, then first speed is around 2500 RPM]

at idle the temperatures seem lower, like 5 degrees lower, perhaps 10 max, but the temps under load are the same so far, in fact the temperature jumps from around 60 degrees to around 80 degrees very quickly

also the GPU is not covered by the heatsink, see the green arrow. I think it is the same on my x201. Why would lenovo do that?

[artic_squirrel]

since there is air between the gpu and the heatsink, and that there is a 10 degree difference when i play a video [FHD x265 fullscreen, dxva] i had the idea of a pad to replace the air. So on ebay i see various pads, sold by chinese or germans. Since i want a fast delivery, i prefer germans, but their prices are expensive (it 's like 10 euros a little sheet).


there is:
- [EC360™ TITANIUM] Thermal Pads 10W/mK,0.5MM 50mmx50mm
-[Alphacool] 0,5MM Wärmeleitpad 20x20mm Eisschicht 11W/mk→Sarcon XR-e ThermalPad
-various pads with less conductivity

They say that the pad is not sticky, but I hope the pad would hold just by being stuck between the gpu and the heatsink.


The kryonaut apparently has a Thermal Conductivity of 12 W/mK so i guess a pad of this conductivity is preferable. From imagination, THe size of the gpu is roughly 5mmx10mm and 5mm in width.

Is it okay to buy the cheapest width of pads, then cut it or ply it to reach the desired gap ?

[axur-delmeria]

also the GPU is not covered by the heatsink, see the green arrow.

That's not the GPU. On the T440 and later generations, the small silicon die in the CPU package is the PCH (Platform Control Hub), which is the equivalent of the southbridge chip that handles peripherals like SATA, USB, etc. In older models up to the T430, the PCH is a separate chip. Its power consumption (and heat output) is much lower than the CPU, and Intel deemed that a heatsink was not needed.

I think it is the same on my x201.

The X201 heatsink covers both the CPU core and the GMCH (Graphics and Memory Controller Hub) in the processor package. In this case you're correct that the other silicon die is the GPU (Intel HD Graphics) but it's also the memory controller-- it's the functional equivalent of the Northbridge chip found in pre-Nehalem (Gen 1 Core i3/i5/i7) designs.

[artic_squirrel]

Do you think that these pads with high thermal conductivity are better than the paste ? I would be willing to try the ''[Alphacool] 0,5MM Wärmeleitpad 20x20mm Eisschicht 17W/mk→Sarcon XR-m ThermalPad'' from ebay.

Spezifikationen:

Größe 20x20 MM +/- 10 %
Dicke 0,5 MM +/- 10 %
Wärmeleitfähigkeit ~17W/mK +/- 20 %
Temperaturbeständigkeit -40 - 150 °C -
Dichte 2.45 g/cm³ +/- 10 %
Härtegrad 72.0 Shore OO
+/- 15 %
Dehnbarkeit 50%
+/- 20 %
Zugwiderstand 1.0 N/mm
+/- 15 %
Spannungsstabilität > 14000 V/mm
+/- 10

So far about the temperatures is that under load, the temperature spikes quicker than under the artic paste, then the fan ventilates and the temperatures decrease a bit better. I wonder if I put enough paste....