Thermal performance is suddenly worse.

Gat Pelsinger · February 29

I've noticed lately that the thermal performance of my laptop suddenly got worse. At PL1 (15w) my CPU hovers around 85^o C. Before, I remember that it hovered around 70^o C. Any time spent in PL2, ThrottleStop screams "HOT". But before I remember it could handle 30w for a few seconds at least. A while ago I had taken it apart and cleaned the fans. I don't remember if I had taken the CPU heatsink of or not (probably I did), but I don't think this problem was persisting that time. I don't think the fins have got that dirty since then. Is it possible I messed up remounting the heatsink a bit? I really don't think so or it should have had a massive impact on thermals. I know, I should re-paste, but that is not something I am allowed to do (I know it sounds weird but no). Anyways, the thermal paste should also not have had such an impact suddenly that it affected the thermals, right? I have an i5-10210U. Single fan.

Alex Atkin UK · February 29

59 minutes ago, Gat Pelsinger said:

I've noticed lately that the thermal performance of my laptop suddenly got worse. At PL1 (15w) my CPU hovers around 85^o C. Before, I remember that it hovered around 70^o C. Any time spent in PL2, ThrottleStop screams "HOT". But before I remember it could handle 30w for a few seconds at least. A while ago I had taken it apart and cleaned the fans. I don't remember if I had taken the CPU heatsink of or not (probably I did), but I don't think this problem was persisting that time. I don't think the fins have got that dirty since then. Is it possible I messed up remounting the heatsink a bit? I really don't think so or it should have had a massive impact on thermals. I know, I should re-paste, but that is not something I am allowed to do (I know it sounds weird but no). Anyways, the thermal paste should also not have had such an impact suddenly that it affected the thermals, right? I have an i5-10210U. Single fan.

If you remove the heatsink and then re-mount it without replacing the paste then yes, this is exactly what is likely to happen.

It depends on how much the paste has dried as its entire purpose is to fill in the tiny gaps in the heatsink to make a more even contact.

If its dried but you never remove the heatsink, those gaps are still filled so it will still be effective, though usually getting less effective as it dries up. But the instant you break the seal when its dry, it wont be doing its job any more and may be worse than not having any on there at all as the dry paste will prevent the heatsink from making contact to the CPU.

BiG StroOnZ · March 1

Re-TIM, aka. re-apply TIM / Thermal Paste / Thermal Compound on the CPU aka. (Central Processing Unit) with: PROLiMA TECH PK-Zero Thermal Compound.

It can be found, and purchased @ Amazon for $13.99 for a 0.176 ounce syringe or $159.67 for 600 grams:

1. Features Low Viscosity and allows for easy application
2. There's virtually No "burn-in" time required
3. Low Dry-Out
4. Electrically Non-Conductive
5. Good performance
6. Long-Term Stability
7. Non-Corrosive

https://www.amazon.com/Prolimatech-Pk-Zero-Aluminum-Thermal-Compound/dp/B00WJ40G8G

Here's a Review done by Knowledge Base:

Gat Pelsinger · March 1

@Alex Atkin UK

So I made it worse by removing the heatsink? How I don't exactly get it. The thermal paste should be there as is, right? Ok, I will buy thermal paste in the future, but is there anything I can do right now to improve thermals without re-pasting?

Alex Atkin UK · March 1

9 minutes ago, Gat Pelsinger said:

@Alex Atkin UK

So I made it worse by removing the heatsink? How I don't exactly get it. The thermal paste should be there as is, right? Ok, I will buy thermal paste in the future, but is there anything I can do right now to improve thermals without re-pasting?

Like I said, it depends how fluid the paste was. Once its hardened then removing the heatsink causes it to become an insulator rather than a conductor of heat, due to not moving out of the way to fill any gaps and let the heatsink press against the CPU firmly.

If its still fluid you can usually get away with it, although even then it depends how much there was as it may need to be spread again once you've disturbed it (and don't use your finger as oils from your skin can cause problems too).

You may also need to double check you haven't disturbed any heat pads on other components.