Just fixed a stubborn laptop by picking the right thermal paste

Had a gaming laptop from a client that kept shutting down after 10 minutes of use. The choice was between using a cheap paste I had on hand or buying a pricier one made for high heat. I went with the better paste, the Arctic MX-6, and it took about an hour to clean and reapply. The laptop ran a stress test for a full hour without any issues. What's your go-to thermal paste for tough jobs like this?

3 comments

3 Comments

young.kim2mo ago

Wait, you only spent an hour on the whole thing? That cleaning process alone takes me forever sometimes. I guess I'm just really careful about getting every last bit of old paste off.

claire_hart532mo ago

Honestly @young.kim, that careful cleaning is a good habit. The real time-saver is checking the mount first. I've seen people fight with paste for an hour when the cooler was just sitting crooked on one side. A quick check of the backplate screws and bracket arms can save so much headache. If the pressure is even, you really don't need to scrub the IHS to a perfect mirror finish.

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the_lee2mo ago

Arctic MX-6 is solid, but I've seen too many people blame the paste when the real problem is bad mounting pressure. That hour you spent cleaning could have been ten minutes checking the heatsink bracket. A five dollar tube of paste won't fix a warped cold plate or loose screws. I always start with the hardware before I even open the paste.

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