Alienware 18x Laptop 880m Thermal Pad replacement

[flameprincess2000]

I want to replace the thermal paste on a laptop I'm getting soon, that has 880m sli and an i7.

Is there any reason to replace the pads? 

Will it make a difference even?

[reniat]

My guess (and this is just a guess, I haven't taken a look at the laptop in question), is that the cooling capabilities of that laptop are going to be much more limited by heat dissipation rather than heat transfer. in other words, how well your cpu/gpu transfer heat to the rest of the cooling system is not going matter if your cooling system as a whole is already overwhelmed by the heat output of a high performance laptop. 

 

if it does make a difference, it would probably be small, and it might void your warranty. 

[Syncrosys]

Its probably already out of warranty. 

Having been in the hardware repair biz for awhile, and having actually worked for Dell as a warranty tech, I can tell you that you should not need to replace the thermal "pads". If when you take the heatsink off the pads rip, I would suggest to avoid putting those back in and get replacements. As for the paste, dont use just anything, some pastes are too "soopey" for GPU use. Dell uses Shin-Estu Paste on both GPU's and CPU's. It has the advantage of lasting awhile before crusting over and needing a good clean. I do my laptops every year, both because its fun. But I'd recommend every 2. After 3 years is when you start seeing paste being all crusty and dry on laptops.