thermal gel pad, replacement?

[precip9]

I swapped a T9900 into a W500. The heat sink, as most of you know, interfaces to three devices: the CPU, the AMD GPU, and the Intel memory controller/integrated graphics chip. The Intel chip is reached by the very end of the heatpipe assembly, which seems to be held in contact at low pressure by the springy stainless steel sheet cage that covers it and the AMD GPU.

Without thinking, I scraped the gel pad from the heatpipe assembly that makes contact with the Intel controller. I failed to notice that, judging from the depth of the depression left by the chip, the gel seems to serve as a gap filler. So I replaced it with thick and ample coating of Tuniq TX-2 thermal grease on both the chip and the heat pipe.

The laptop is back together, but I am concerned about the long term durability of this arrangement. I do not think there is a gap between the chip and the heatpipe, but, since the heatpipe is not secured with screws in that area, I worry about the effects of flex and vibration on durability. But even if I take it apart again, I don't know where to get the original gel material.

Your opinions as to whether it should be left as is are appreciated.

[jayton4]

But even if I take it apart again, I don't know where to get the original gel material.

Your opinions as to whether it should be left as is are appreciated.

Me personally, I would change it out. You can find replacements at frozencpu.com, they carry the Fujipoly line.

[precip9]

Thanks for the source. There is one concern. There appear to be two different types of materials delivered as pads: gel, and phase change. Given the softness of the pad when I wiped it off, it was a gel. The phase change materials are a little tougher. I wonder which type the Fujipoly material is?

I would immediately install a pad, except for some reassurance from HWMonitor,
http://www.cpuid.com/softwares/hwmonitor.html that it's working well for now.

I actually did several of these W500's. One one, I left the pad in place, but wetted it with a coating of Tuniq TX-2 thermal grease. On a machine where I removed the pad, I used just the Tuniq TX-2. By toggling the switchable graphics, an identification of the sensors was made:

THM0 = ATI chip
THM1 = Intel controller chip

The thermal pad was just on the Intel chip. In both cases, the temp of the Intel controller closely tracks the temp of the ATI chip, indicating that the contact of the Intel chip with the heat pipe is good enough to equilibrate. At idle, THM1 of the machine with the pad is about 104F, while the machine without the pad might be a few degrees cooler, but this is not a controlled experiment.

I'll watch it with HWMonitor. If it degrades from vibration induced vibration, I'll install a pad.