LoneWolf3574

OK, so we all know or should at least have an idea on how to apply TIM to our cpu's and/or gpu's on our desktop computers. But my question is what is the best way to apply TIM to the cpu and gpu of a laptop, in particular, the Dell XPS M1530. Obviously the cooler is a little more complicated than that for a cpu on a desktop since it's a single heatpipe solution connected to the chipset, gpu, and cpu, all going to a small, fast fan.

I'm asking since I had a tech come out a few weeks back and replaced my motherboard and power brick due to a faulty connection (battery wouldn't charge, but the laptop would power up ). Instead of using the pads (which I have on hand) we used some AS5 which I have since replace with MX-3.

I'm seeing the same idle cpu temps as before (42C on both cores at just about any ambient 24-30C) and about 69C core 0 and 72C core 1 under load with the OCCT Linpack test (with AS5 it was 75C & 82C under load respectively). With the GPU it's 57C idle and 81C load with the OCCT GPU 3D test (with AS5 it was 54C & 77C under load respectively), I'm afraid I don't remember and didn't record what the gpu temperatures were prior to the motherboard swap. All the temperatures I've stated above are with MX-3.

Laptop Specs

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WarlordOne

There is no procedure specific to applying TIM in a laptop. I just do it the same way I would on a desktop. Did you make sure that your GPU and CPU heatsinks are making proper contact? The pad on my GPU was considerably thicker than on the cpu and thus requiring a copper shim for my GPU side of the heatsink:


Left side has the standard CPU copper heatpipe base the right side is an added copper shim to fill the gap left by removing the themal pad.

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