Thermal paste

[TheOneAndOnlySpecial]

Hello everyone,

I have a Dell inspiron and it is 3 years old. I recently removed the dust and had a look at the cpu. The thermal paste was cracked and dry. I am going to replace it, but it is direct die. I have 3 questions. Are there any specific precautions that I have to take when applying the paste? How do I take the old thermal paste off and do I need liquid metal? If so, then what brands do you recommend?

 

Many thanks,

TheOneAndOnlySpecial 

[RONOTHAN##]

Just now, TheOneAndOnlySpecial said:

Are there any specific precautions that I have to take when applying the paste?

Make sure the paste is non-conductive and that it covers the entire die area after it's spread out. You can do this by either applying a little more than you think you need and letting the mounting pressure spreading it, or using the mini spatula that comes with some brands of paste. 

 

2 minutes ago, TheOneAndOnlySpecial said:

How do I take the old thermal paste off

Isopropyl alcohol (70% or better) is preferred. You can use a paper towel with it, and finish it off with something microfiber to get rid of any fibers that might've been left behind (coffee filters work well for this, though I tend to just grab an old t-shirt as that tends to work good enough). 

 

4 minutes ago, TheOneAndOnlySpecial said:

do I need liquid metal?

I'd actively try to avoid this unless you have no other option. The performance with this stuff is great, but it requires so many precautions to prevent it from killing your laptop, and since it'a a laptop that's moving around a lot it is even more likely to try and kill something if you don't insulate perfectly. 

[Poinkachu]

25 minutes ago, TheOneAndOnlySpecial said:

Hello everyone,

I have a Dell inspiron and it is 3 years old. I recently removed the dust and had a look at the cpu. The thermal paste was cracked and dry. I am going to replace it, but it is direct die. I have 3 questions. Are there any specific precautions that I have to take when applying the paste? How do I take the old thermal paste off and do I need liquid metal? If so, then what brands do you recommend?

 

Many thanks,

TheOneAndOnlySpecial 

Don't use Liquid Metal if you are not used to using it.

You can clean old paste using isopropyl alcohol & paper towel, be gentle.

If it's too dry to clean try to heat it up a bit using hot air, or clean it after using the laptop (With the heatsink installed of course).

 

For standard non-electrically conductive paste there isn't really a specific precautions.

Brands? There's Arctic MX-4, Noctua NT-H1, Gelid, Thermalgrizzly.

[Tan3l6]

4 minutes ago, Poinkachu said:

There's Arctic MX-4

Just a comment - MX-6 should be superior.

[Poinkachu]

Just now, Tan3l6 said:

Just a comment - MX-6 should be superior.

Yup. Just listing MX-4 because it's cheaper than MX-6

[DreamCat04]

35 minutes ago, Poinkachu said:

Don't use Liquid Metal if you are not used to using it.

To add to that, LM will completely destroy any aluminium base and it slowly reacts with copper over time. And in a laptop that small, it's not really necessary as the other people said

[TheOneAndOnlySpecial]

Thanks so much everyone! Big help