thermal pads vs thermal paste

almoststew1990 · 8 Dec 2015 at 10:44

I replaced my laptop's GPU thermal pad with thermal paste when I was changing my laptop CPU as I didn't have any pads. My laptop now overheats when using the GPU (it is fine when I use the CPU's graphics). I always thought Paste > Pads but is this not the case?

What Pad is the best? I only need literally 2cm by 2cm!

Captain Fizz · 8 Dec 2015 at 10:50

It depends how you apply it...

Should only have a very thin layer... Think something will have been done wrong if it's overheating. Paste > pads but pads are easier to apply/use.

almoststew1990 · 8 Dec 2015 at 10:56

Could it be something to do with the height difference? The Laptop's CPU is higher than the GPU which is tiny... the pad could have added height maybe? Or are they not used for this purpose. I guess when I open it up I'll see how much contact was made between the GPU and the heatsink.

bimbleuk · 8 Dec 2015 at 11:13

Did the pad also adhere the GPU cooler, has it shifted as a result.

panyan · 8 Dec 2015 at 11:19

almoststew1990 said:
Could it be something to do with the height difference?

+1

if the tolerances arent close enough then the pad was being used to bridge the gap

paste is better than pads, but only if the paste is connecting the chip the heatsink

almoststew1990 · 8 Dec 2015 at 11:23

If I go for 1.5mm but the gap turns out to be smaller than that, are pads squishy enough to still work fine?

Disco_P · 8 Dec 2015 at 12:00

From my experience pads are usually quite squishy.

I think paste is better than pads cause it gets forced into a very thin layer and fills the gap between heatsink and heatsource. From your findings it would seem the pads are better over a larger distance. I could be wrong though.

almoststew1990 · 8 Dec 2015 at 18:51

This has got a bit stranger now, as my laptop won't boot up. I turn it on and after three seconds (during which I can hear the fan spin normally) it turns off as if the power has been cut. After several attempts it manages to boot, with the fan spinning at max RPM, and complaining that the laptop had been automatically turned off due to overheating. Even though it hasn't been used for a few hours so should be stone cold :/