Hey Guys,

I want to buy thermal paste (from the States), apply it on a couple of heating laptops but its the first time i'll be using it, my question is, is there any special brand I should be looking for or are they all the same ?
mark.assad wroteHey Guys,

I want to buy thermal paste (from the States), apply it on a couple of heating laptops but its the first time i'll be using it, my question is, is there any special brand I should be looking for or are they all the same ?
Look at this topic: http://www.lebgeeks.com/forums/viewtopic.php?id=9640

@Tigerheart.Hackers: there are a lot of alternatives to Silver 5, most of which are much better. Examples are Chill Factor III, OCZ Freeze, Arctic MX-2, Arctic MX-3, Arctic MX-4, Shin Etsu MicroSI, Coolaboratory Liquid Metal Pro, Coolaboratory Liquid Metal Ultra, Indigo Xtreme, etc...Arctic Silver 5 is dead (it's not conductive though, and the others are not either with the exception of Coollaboratory).

@sami: a 2g tube lasted me 8 large applications (LGA 1366 + GTX 260 GPU size applications). A 4g tube should last 16 applications. And I'm generous with the thermal paste (though not too generous, I don't spread it, let it spead on its own, apply a rice blob or a bit bigger on a 1366-size CPU and a blob and 4 tiny ones in the corners for GTX260 size GPU dies, 576mm2 dies).
Thanks Sami :) I will try to search for the difference,

@TigerHeart, there are ALOT of models on Amazon, can you recommend one ?
Sorry yasamoka, it seems we posted the same time ! :)

Im sorry now you get me confused again ... any certain brand you prefer for some valid reason ?
mark.assad wroteSorry yasamoka, it seems we posted the same time ! :)

Im sorry now you get me confused again ... any certain brand you prefer for some valid reason ?
Haha no problem...here are my educated preferences:

1) For most surfaces: Arctic MX-4 is the best. Spreadable, a bit viscous, inexpensive, top performer. OCZ Freeze is excellent too.

2) Large spaces: Shin Etsu. It's thick and is best used for gaps. But not necessarily for a heatsink with a well-machined base (flat, no gaps, etc...) and good IHS (CPU heatspreader).

3) Ease of use: thermal pads / thermal tape (stay away from these for ANY form of serious cooling). Best used for memory chips, MOSFETs. Just to get the job done.

4) Ease of use + performance: Indigo Xtreme. They are metal pads that are transparent when applied and melt into a liquid state when heated. EXCELLENT performance, but really expensive ($20 for 2 pads / applications). It competes with thermal paste, yet doesn't "necessarily" beat the top ones. It's one of the top ones, though.

5) Best ever: Coolaboratory Liquid Metal Ultra. Expensive for a few applications, eats through aluminum (be careful if you use it with an aluminum base or an aluminum CPU heatspreader. Leeches into metals slowly (including Nickel and Copper), so to maintain good temps when reapplying thermal compound, you can either reapply Ultra to get good performance or another compound and get a bit worse performance. Probably uses Gallium. EASY to remove, very easy (unlike its predeccesor, the Liqiuid Metal Pro)


http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=150&Itemid=62
http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/Thermal-Compound-Roundup-March-2011/1207

Note that these tests probably don't include the MX-4. Note also that some people have reported MX-4 performing the same as MX-3, while others have reported that was a teeny bit inferior (that impression wasn't frequent in what I read about it). MX-3 was a pain to apply, it was very viscous. MX-4 is also cheaper, if I'm not mistaken.


Now it usually boils down to 1) and 5). 5) is better than the best non-metal thermal compounds by a max of 2C, maybe 3C if you're lucky.

I choose 1). Gonna get my MX-4 tubes from the Republic of Gamers store. He'll have them by the end of August, if you're in Lebanon.

Shant, another member around here, previously wanted Arctic Silver 5. He wanted to order, from Amazon, a 10g tube for like $10. He realized he was going to pay $100 gumrok + VAT if he were going to get it delivered to Lebanon, since it's considered "home appliances". So take that into consideration.

Peace.
mark.assad wroteI got relatives from the states coming over so thats no problem ...

Another question though, will I need a special solution in order to remove the old thermal paste ?

Such as this one http://www.amazon.com/ArctiClean-60ml-Kit-30ml/dp/B0007TOR08/ref=pd_bxgy_pc_img_b Or is this somewhat useless ? Remember I need this for an old overheating Qosmio
Rubbing alcohol, probably with lint-free wipes, is pretty much enough. An overheating qosmio does not only need thermal paste replacement. Maybe it needs dusting on the inside (use a blower) or maybe 1 or 2 120mm fans blowing on its underside. You may as well get fans if it's really overheating. What temperatures is it reaching? Is it shutting down? On what surface is it placed? What model? Clean or dusty?
I got the dusting covered :) I ordered http://www.amazon.com/Metro-Vacuum-ED500-500-Watt-Electric/dp/B001J4ZOAW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1313855871&sr=8-1
or maybe 1 or 2 120mm fans blowing on its underside. You may as well get fans if it's really overheating.
My friend told me it does not have any fans on its underside !

Apparently, its reaching temperatures of 87-90 degrees before it shuts down (while gaming on anything with graphics set higher than low). He took it to Toshiba support, they probably removed the dust but did nothing more ... I'm sure thermal paste needs to be reapplied as the fans are already working and the drivers and everything are up to date.

Its being placed on tables ofc, it doesnt last 10 min on the bed anyway. But i have no idea what its model is I still havent seen it.
mark.assad wroteI got the dusting covered :) I ordered http://www.amazon.com/Metro-Vacuum-ED500-500-Watt-Electric/dp/B001J4ZOAW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1313855871&sr=8-1
or maybe 1 or 2 120mm fans blowing on its underside. You may as well get fans if it's really overheating.
My friend told me it does not have any fans on its underside !

Apparently, its reaching temperatures of 87-90 degrees before it shuts down (while gaming on anything with graphics set higher than low). He took it to Toshiba support, they probably removed the dust but did nothing more ... I'm sure thermal paste needs to be reapplied as the fans are already working and the drivers and everything are up to date.

Its being placed on tables ofc, it doesnt last 10 min on the bed anyway. But i have no idea what its model is I still havent seen it.
nonono, never use a vacuum cleaner on electrical components...you risk building up static...and about the fans, of course I meant you should get 2 120mm fans and attach them to a stand to place the laptop on top, and you would greatly reduce your temperatures. And yes of course it has a fan. It's integrated. Cooling laptops passively, especially a Qosmio, is really inefficient. And no, lower details would only get lower temps since at low details you'd be running into a CPU bottleneck, where the GPU is not working at full whack. If it was, then even at low, it would only be rendering higher framerates, releasing heat too. Many people had issues where the graphics cards were overheating on Starcraft II's menu, simply because the menu did not have a framerate limiter. It sums up my point nicely.
haha well, the vacuum cleaner isnt really a vacuum, it blows out air instead of sucking it in... I've never heard of a risk of building up static though ?

Second I understood what you meant , I was mistaken, the laptop has a fan, but only ONE on the upper left side, and so he bought a lot of commercial coolers due to the position of his fan .. I think i should build him a custom one :P

Anyway, replacing the thermal paste cant possibly do the laptop more harm ... :)
mark.assad wrotehaha well, the vacuum cleaner isnt really a vacuum, it blows out air instead of sucking it in... I've never heard of a risk of building up static though ?

Second I understood what you meant , I was mistaken, the laptop has a fan, but only ONE on the upper left side, and so he bought a lot of commercial coolers due to the position of his fan .. I think i should build him a custom one :P

Anyway, replacing the thermal paste cant possibly do the laptop more harm ... :)
No, OF COURSE you should replace the thermal paste! :P (if it's not under warranty or you don't care anymore)...yes custom built solutions are best...me and my brother have built one from wood (balsa wood, I think?) and inclined it to support 2 x 120mm fans with space underneath them to suck in a good amount of air...attached them to a power adapter that outputs 1.5-3-4.5-6-7.5-9-12 and we can control them easily. At 5V, 7.5V silent and cool within 1-2C of 12V (coming from an HP Pavilion DV7 w/AMD Turion X2 and Mobility Radeon HD 4650).

Note that an inclination should be sufficient for ample airflow, and to me and my brother, really makes using a laptop that much more relaxing.

Now for the fans, you need fluid bearing or ball bearing fans for horizonal orientations. No sleeve bearing fans. They'd die fast. My recommendation is Noctua 12cm fans (magnetic bearing), or Scythe S-Flex fans. Check out aerocool, and find out if they sell 18mm thickness fans too. 25mm, the ones I use, are a bit large, yet allow for good mobility (the stand fits in the laptop bag when disassembled).