Lower temperatures after reapplying thermal paste on X61s

[ozmo]

I just posted a question about a problem I had putting my laptop back together and figured I'd give back and share my experience replacing the thermal paste on the X61s.

Pretty much since I bought the machine it's been overheating. It'd be really hot over the CPU (where the fan is), over the wifi module (right palmrest), and everywhere underneath. My idle temps would be over 70 with almost nothing running, and they'd reach the high 70s with a browser open with about 30 tabs. HD video would really make the machine miserable, putting it into the mid 80s or higher (the higher temps caused spontaneous heat-induced powerdowns), and causing choppiness all over.

I picked up some Arctic Silver 5 thermal compound (~$5 amazon) and ArcticClean cleaning agent (~$5, but not necessary at all), took apart everything, and applied thermal paste to the two chips that the fansink was in contact with - the CPU and memory controller hub. I had no idea that the MCH was such a heat generator and needed active cooling, but I guess I learned something. I figured if anything, the GPU would be the other chip under the fansink.

Lifting the fansink out, the thermal paste on the CPU looked terrible and clearly the source of my problems. Very brittle and degraded, and uneven coverage. The MCH, instead of using a paste, had a thermal pad applied to it. It looked fine, but I figured I may as well use the paste anyway.

The existing paste and pad were gently scraped off, and the residue cleaned with ArcticClean. It didn't seem any cleaner that you'd get by using isopropyl alcohol, so I guess that was a waste of $5. I put on the thermal paste just as you would with any other chip - a small mound in the center of the chips, spread evenly (although I dont think you really need to spread it yourself), with the excess removed. One thing that I was afraid of is that the part of the fansink contacting the MCH has a black (foam?) padding surrounding the area in contact with the MCH. The surface is a bit recessed. The thermal pad connecting the two surfaces was rather thick (~0.5mm), so I was worried about the two surfaces making proper contact when applying a thin layer of thermal paste. I don't see a setting for MCH temp in the TPFanControl app, so I don't know if I can even judge the results.

At any rate, the laptop is overall much cooler, the fan runs quietly, and temps are probably close to 10C lower than before. And, HD video that was formerly choppy, is now much smoother.

If I get a chance, Ill post some pictures of the original thermal compound to show its poor state.

[IvanAndreevich]

10C temp drop at medium load probably means 20C at extreme load like a CPU stress test.

[ozmo]

A picture of the condition of the original thermal paste:





Looked pretty bad..

Another 24 hrs or so after replacing the paste, the temps got even better (thermal paste settling down, etc). Now I'm seeing medium-load temps nearly 20C lower. Currently about 59C vs 77-78C before.

[jedisurfer1]

what's the quickest way to do this? nevermind, looked at the hardware maintenance and it's a complete removal.

[axur-delmeria]

There's no quick way to access the CPU heatsink. You need to remove the planar board (system board), which practically means a complete teardown of the laptop.

Fortunately, the Hardware Maintenance Manual for the X60/61 series is readily available. http://download.lenovo.com/ibmdl/pub/pc ... 550_04.pdf