Thinkpad X61s with AS5?

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dj_2004

Supreme [H]ardness
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Oct 9, 2004
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I've been thinking about disassembling my Thinkpad X61s and putting AS5 thermal paste on the CPU. For those who have done this to laptops, is it worthwhile?

Also, the CPU shares the same heatsink as the GPU, and the GPU has a thermal pad. Can the pad be reused?
 
I usually look at the thermal paste when I have to crack a laptop open to remove heavy dust clogs from the cooling fins, but replacing the thermal pad has little to no real effect.

Last time I bothered to replace the TIM was on a 5 year old HP laptop, the thermal pad looked like it hindered heat transfer, but the temperatures did not drop after putting new TIM on it.
 
Mine is the same way. I tried putting on new TIM a couple of years ago. However, it was no good. The only way the internal temperatures came down was through a combo effect. I had to use air conditioning set to 69 degrees Fahrenheit as well as a case fan set to 10 volts blowing the air conditioner room cooled air directly into the exhaust vent. hehe Then there are two Targus Dual Fan Chill Mat fans modded up to 7.5 volts and 8 volts pushing additional air conditioner room cooled air up through underneath.

So as you can see, sometimes the air inside just gets trapped and does not vent out so good so you have to do the opposite and vent-in. hehe

If you want to see if a fan underneath works, get a thermometer and set it right outside your exhaust vent where the heat comes out. Just let the fans run and notice the start of your temperature outside your vents. Come back 30 minutes later and you will see it should be at least 5 degrees Fahrenheit lower.

In order to get more than that, you need "combo effect". Air conditioner, laptop fans especially modded ones, ect.

To give you an exact example of how powerful external forces can be instead of messing with the little things inside:

Without air conditioner + without fans = 140F or so
with unmodded fans = 135F
with modded fans = 120F
with A/C + modded fans = 110F
with A/C + modded fans + case fan blowing direct into air vent = 80F to 110F

These are not exact numbers, however, they are general observations from my personal heavy use under idle readings. I would use it heavily then read it at idle.
 
Do it if your temps are getting high.

I took apart an HP DV6000 that's nearly 10 years old and the thermal paste was caked on like a rock. Manufacturer used way too much. I replaced the heatsink fan (bearing was going bad), dusted out the heatsink fins, and applied MX4.

The pad can be re-used, just try not to touch it, your fingerprint can leave oily residue that may affect conductivity.

Temps are much lower now, laptop is much quieter too (I think the new fan + removal of internal dust played a bigger role than the MX4 I used)
 
Thanks for the replies. :)

I have my X61s undervolted by a large amount (lowest multiplier voltage = .850; highest multiplier voltage = .8875). The temps are decent (about 45*C idle and 70*C prime95) considering my house tends to be >80*F during the summer and that I'm usually using it on my lap or on the bed. It isn't like my Thinkpad R40 with its lovely P4-M. :D
 
IME replacing the stock laptop TIM does help, but only if a super thin pad or paste was used stock. If a thick pad was used then the new paste won't be able to seal properly.
 
It's tough dude. Without proper air ventilation, your air circulation is going to be trapped inside and it is going to stay higher longer. Anyways, on one of the sites there is a temperature tolerance for your chip. I forgot which one it is however it shows the maximum temperature it will withstand before failure. So you might like to look that up. I am a little scared about 70C because my dies at 80C. However, under heavy load, my reaches 169F at max so it is cutting close seeing my tolerance level is maxed out at 176F.
 
FaRKle0079 said:
IME replacing the stock laptop TIM does help, but only if a super thin pad or paste was used stock. If a thick pad was used then the new paste won't be able to seal properly.
Click to expand...

Paste is used for the CPU. A thin pad is used on the GPU. If I were to do this, I'd only replace the CPU paste and leave the GPU untouched.

OEMlicense said:
It's tough dude. Without proper air ventilation, your air circulation is going to be trapped inside and it is going to stay higher longer. Anyways, on one of the sites there is a temperature tolerance for your chip. I forgot which one it is however it shows the maximum temperature it will withstand before failure. So you might like to look that up. I am a little scared about 70C because my dies at 80C. However, under heavy load, my reaches 169F at max so it is cutting close seeing my tolerance level is maxed out at 176F.
Click to expand...

Tjunction is 100*C for the CPU (L7500).
 
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