Thermal Paste

[mhorn]

I've placed a preorder for the new Asus G53 laptop. The reseller I've ordered it from offers the option to apply an improve thermal paste for an additional $75. I've been reading mixed things about this. Do you think it's worth the price?

 

[fffblackmage]

No.

 

[akugami]

Cost for "improved" thermal paste. Probably $2 tops. Cost for an hour's time (if that) to apply the thermal paste. Probably $15/hour. The rest is all markup and it's questionable how much this helps.

 

[Computers_Plus]

Yeah I think I would pass on that also.

 

[Brainonska511]

I would pass as well. Plus, it would probably void the warranty with Asus and your warranty would then be through the reseller. Would suck if they went under.

 

[mhorn]

Cool, thanks for the advice everyone. This is my first gaming laptop and I want to make sure I do it up right.

 

[Zap]

Propping up the back of the notebook (so that the fans underneath can get airflow) will reduce temperatures beyond what any thermal paste can achieve.

 

[mhorn]

Good to know. I bought a Zalman NC2000 notebook cooler a few weeks ago and it's already making a huge difference with my old laptop. I can't wait until the new one comes in.

 

[Eug]

Wow, that's the first time I've ever heard of that craziness from a retailer.

Anyone wanna bet that they actually do nothing for that $75 charge?

 

[Zap]

Anyone wanna bet that they actually do nothing for that $75 charge?

It is pretty easy to change out the TIM so I don't see any reason why they wouldn't actually do the work you paid for, especially with how much margin they are making off it.

 

[CurseTheSky]

It's only worth it if it's a laptop with known heat issues (specially, gobs an gobs of TIM applied at the factory, which is usually the case but rarely the sole cause of heat issues), AND you're afraid to crack it open yourself.

Here's some more food for thought: if you're afraid of opening up the laptop yourself and poking around, whose to say the person replacing the TIM won't make a mistake either. A loose screw can lodge into a "safe" place for a while, making the unit pass all quality checks until it reaches the end user. Then, when the unit is bumped or turned a certain way, catastrophic failure.

 

[Zap]

It's only worth it if it's a laptop with known heat issues (specially, gobs an gobs of TIM applied at the factory, which is usually the case but rarely the sole cause of heat issues),

A notebook won't have "gobs of TIM applied at the factory." They will have machine-applied thin layers of TIM (in a neat square) or a thermal pad.

 

[CurseTheSky]

Not true. I've opened up several notebooks to see a mess under the northbridge. The CPU and GPU usually fair better, though. I exaggerate by saying "gobs," but you get the idea. Perhaps they're getting better these days, though; the last few I've completely disassembled to reapply thermal paste have been Pentium M / Athlon 64 era stuff.

Reapplying a thinner laying of TIM can get you better temps (as is the case with desktop motherboards), but usually it'll be 1-2C at best and not worth the effort. With desktop boards, where the northbridge / VRMs / etc. are much easier to get to and don't require disassembly of everything in the computer, it's sometimes worth it from a time perspective.

 

[0roo0roo]

ham fisted tech ripping open a new laptop? bad idea....

 

[SparhawkJC]

From what I understand if you do it yourself you risk voiding the warranty. However if it is done by the reseller is is still covered.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/asus/128307-xoticpc-offers-thermal-paste-g1s-worth.html

 

[airdata]

ham fisted tech ripping open a new laptop? bad idea....

I'm going to agree with you sir.

I'm sure there are people who are absolutely pros at laptop stuff... But I wouldn't want somebody to take a new system apart and pay them $75 to do so.

At least get the system, and see what your temps look like before hand.