Hardware Exchanging thermal paste?

[Clydefrosch]

so I finally went ahead and did this too, but I kinda don't feel much of a difference, maybe even more heat than before.
after having to take it apart one more time, having forgotten to reconnect the battery before, i tried idling a bit in mario maker and then moved on to BotW and its definitely very warm to the touch, first only on the side with the card reader, but after a couple of minutes, all over the back and front like always.

i didn't go so far as to remove the metal heatsink to reveal the ram chips, i attempted to go there, but it felt like it'd bent and break off so i let it be.
i cleaned everything that had grease on it with 99% isopropanol, i took out the copper sheet and put mx-4 on the cleaned die in what seemed to me like a thin and even coating using a plastic spatula.
i put a 1,5mm thermal pad over the ram area and put some more mx4 on top of the heat pipe instead of using more thermal pads (maybe that was a mistake? it couldn't be that instead of moving to the fins, most of the heat is transfered into the casing now?)

 

[Michael Morsette]

It can be hard to notice a before and after difference. Side by side comparisons can jump out at you. Anecdotally I can tell you I have had fantastic results.

My kids and I have been playing Mario 64 through Retroarch with the system docked and fully overclocked for hours now. The system is just a little warm with the fan running quietly periodically.

 

[Hatchetball]

Long story short I'm going to do a thermal mod as my system runs a bit hotter than I think it should. I have a few questions, if any of you could help I would appreciate it.
I have 0 intentions on using liquid metal at any point. I have MX4 on hand so I will be using that as my paste of choice but I have some questions about types of thermal pads as I have no experience ever using them.
Thermal pads for memory modules:
Are IC Graphite thermal pads compatible with the memory modules? (Will it fry it...?)
Am I able to use a IC Graphite Thermal pad between the copper shim and the heat pipe and it be viable?
Am I able to use a IC Graphite Thermal pad on the SoC die itself? (Will it fry it...?)
Should I remove the copper shim and use direct contact to the die? (die>paste>heat pipe or die>paste>shim>paste>heat pipe or even... die>IC Graphite pad>shim>IC Graphite pad>heat pipe)
Do I need to re-paste along the heat pipe or can/should I use thermal pads?
If IC Graphite is not compatible do I just grab some generic 0.5mm and 1.0mm thermal pads from amazon or can someone recommend a brand. (Other consideration for me was Thermal Grizzly Carbonaut pads)
-That should cover it, thank you for your time. I plan to order the stuff to do it today and tbh even with all the posts/videos it gets confusing not knowing these tiny details.

 

[Clydefrosch]

It can be hard to notice a before and after difference. Side by side comparisons can jump out at you. Anecdotally I can tell you I have had fantastic results.

My kids and I have been playing Mario 64 through Retroarch with the system docked and fully overclocked for hours now. The system is just a little warm with the fan running quietly periodically.

that's not at all my experience so far.

games that tax the system like botw, bloodstained (oc'd with the MQ 60 fps hack) or dragon quest builders 2 definitely get the system hot and the fan blasting. i guess I'll apply a new coating when i have time. maybe just covering the general die area was too little after all, or i didn't spread it out right.

jumping out of the games, reloading to payload and starting hekate, it usually gives me 47-50°C which sounds not that bad, but also not much different from non-repasted switches.
anyone know where exactly the temperature sensor is located anyways?

Long story short I'm going to do a thermal mod as my system runs a bit hotter than I think it should. I have a few questions, if any of you could help I would appreciate it.
I have 0 intentions on using liquid metal at any point. I have MX4 on hand so I will be using that as my paste of choice but I have some questions about types of thermal pads as I have no experience ever using them.
Thermal pads for memory modules:
Are IC Graphite thermal pads compatible with the memory modules? (Will it fry it...?)
Am I able to use a IC Graphite Thermal pad between the copper shim and the heat pipe and it be viable?
Am I able to use a IC Graphite Thermal pad on the SoC die itself? (Will it fry it...?)
Should I remove the copper shim and use direct contact to the die? (die>paste>heat pipe or die>paste>shim>paste>heat pipe or even... die>IC Graphite pad>shim>IC Graphite pad>heat pipe)
Do I need to re-paste along the heat pipe or can/should I use thermal pads?
If IC Graphite is not compatible do I just grab some generic 0.5mm and 1.0mm thermal pads from amazon or can someone recommend a brand. (Other consideration for me was Thermal Grizzly Carbonaut pads)
-That should cover it, thank you for your time. I plan to order the stuff to do it today and tbh even with all the posts/videos it gets confusing not knowing these tiny details.

as far as I'm aware, no one tried the graphite pads yet. they're usually meant to substitute thermal paste between heatsink and die, where it'd probably work, but i heard they kinda work about as good as midrange paste? they're better suited for people who keep replacing cooling systems. as for frying, if you cut it to size, it shouldn't be able to move anywhere close to where it could do harm if it was conductive.
i don't believe they'd work for the ram chips though, they're just too thin for that.

i think the pads are all pretty much equal in performance, compared to the different types of thermal paste. to make contact from the ram shield to the metal backplate, you'd need 1.5mm thickness though.

 

[Clydefrosch]

Ok, so I redid the paste, a little thicker this time, spreading it out to a little to the left and right of the die, basically so the heatsink part on the copper pipe is covered. i also filled the four indentures with paste just to be safe and used 0.5mm heatpad on top of the heatpipe this time.
the metal shielding doesn't seem to heat up as quickly anymore, maybe using just paste to connect pipe and shielding really was a bad idea.

as for temperatures, doing the hekate check, i still seem to end up in the 48-52 area but it feels less hot and I want to imagine the fan has been a bit more quiet now.

that said, don't expect miracles from this.

 

[Hatchetball]

I've started thermal testing for mine. Will update with various results as I bought several things to test with.
EEEKIT's cooling fan, the 3d printed thermal mod is being shipped, there is a 3 fan cooler on the way but they are generally garbage, and some thermal pads. I'll be testing with mx4 paste. Without anything Temps are between 46-50 docked. With EEEKIT's fan I can get a stable temp of 40 at 3600 rpm and 39 from 4000 rpm to max. Doing the paste tomorrow will post results soon

 

[mattytrog]

All I use is arctic ceramique 2.

Non-capacitive, non-conductive.

Pointless doing it if you aren`t going to remove the RAM shield.

Best way of removing the RAM shield...

Look for the loops around the edge...

Below the loops, you will see a tiny strip of heatsink, so you can picture them "pushing" the heatsink over the loops at the factory and the little strips just hold it on...

Bend this tiny strip slightly out. Go around the RAM. Bend them all out, then once one corner/side is free, move shield from side to side (dont just lift it) and it will pop right off.

Plenty of isopropyl on the die, clean off.

Turn shield over... Again, plenty of isopropyl - clean old paste from copper shim (no need to remove it from the shield) - it will look almost dull. It won`t be shiny copper.

New paste... Approx a grain of rice size, refit shield. A firm press with a finger to push cleaned copper shim into new paste...

Clean off from everywhere else on the heatpipe.

Like I say, it is pointless changing the paste if you don`t remove the shield.

 

[Clydefrosch]

All I use is arctic ceramique 2.

Non-capacitive, non-conductive.

Pointless doing it if you aren`t going to remove the RAM shield.

Best way of removing the RAM shield...

Look for the loops around the edge...

Below the loops, you will see a tiny strip of heatsink, so you can picture them "pushing" the heatsink over the loops at the factory and the little strips just hold it on...

Bend this tiny strip slightly out. Go around the RAM. Bend them all out, then once one corner/side is free, move shield from side to side (dont just lift it) and it will pop right off.

Plenty of isopropyl on the die, clean off.

Turn shield over... Again, plenty of isopropyl - clean old paste from copper shim (no need to remove it from the shield) - it will look almost dull. It won`t be shiny copper.

New paste... Approx a grain of rice size, refit shield. A firm press with a finger to push cleaned copper shim into new paste...

Clean off from everywhere else on the heatpipe.

Like I say, it is pointless changing the paste if you don`t remove the shield.

is having bad paste under the shield really such a problem?

i guess it's unlikely you have it, whats your temperature after playing something like botw or ys 8 for half an hour?

 

[linuxares]

You MUST take of the metal shield. It's a bugger to get off, but it's worth it. Nintendo's factory had done a really bad job on my Nvidia, I mean like really awful.

 

[CallmeBerto]

Take off the metal shield with some pliers like I did.

 

[Clydefrosch]

Like, maybe I'm stupid, but what's the difference between no paste and bad paste under the shield?

Or are you saying to keep the shield off entirely?

 

[linuxares]

Like, maybe I'm stupid, but what's the difference between no paste and bad paste under the shield?

Or are you saying to keep the shield off entirely?

Nah I put it back on. The problem is they didn't apply the paste properly. So it didn't get proper connection to the chip.

 

[Clydefrosch]

Nah I put it back on. The problem is they didn't apply the paste properly. So it didn't get proper connection to the chip.

I thought when it comes to cpu cooling is, the top is what matters. The die is where all the heat is and like most things, it'd mostly opt to go the path of best thermal conductivity, so through the high quality paste on top connecting it to the heatpipe.
whatevers spread around it under the shield would conduct some heat to the ramshield, which has a small area of contact with the heat sink and a little bit to the metal shielding through a heatpad.

man i really wish there was some kind of benchmarking homebrew just to compare heat development objectively

 

[linuxares]

The paste is an important part of transferring heat away from the chip itself. If the heats gets stuck there and can't keep going, it won't do you any good.

 

[Clydefrosch]

The paste is an important part of transferring heat away from the chip itself. If the heats gets stuck there and can't keep going, it won't do you any good.

but it's not like it's not going anywhere, is it? it moves to the shield and on from there.

wouldn't cleaning out the underside of the shield leave us with a bit more heat in the chip itself either way?

 

[mattytrog]

but it's not like it's not going anywhere, is it? it moves to the shield and on from there.

wouldn't cleaning out the underside of the shield leave us with a bit more heat in the chip itself either way?

What thermal paste does, is fill in all those tiny little pits and troughs, making a good thermal connection.

That's why you only need a bit. Apply it in a blob. Don't rub it in around the die. This can create microscopic air pockets between die and shim/heatsink which will build up heat.

Remember, the OEM stuff is made to a price. Adequate to get you through the warranty period, nothing more, nothing less. People think by putting loads on, it will keep it cooler. Nope. Doesn't work like that.

Eg on top of the heat pipe, I've seen it smeared all over like toothpaste. Again, no. T
(large) pea-sized blobs. One in middle of heatsink, one either side of heatsink.

Let it find it's own level and it will go where it needs to go.

Remember, the warmer the heatsink exhaust is, the better the heat is being transferred.

If fan always kicking in and exhaust feels cool, this is a sign of paste problems.

The thinner the coat of compound, the better. The tighter the sink is to the die, the better.

Less really is more. Lots of paste will just be like treating your Tegra to a hot water bottle. It will retain heat and the unit won't be as thermally efficient.

 

[swutch]

in Linux we could compare the temperatures with a benchmark

 

[Clydefrosch]

in Linux we could compare the temperatures with a benchmark

Hm, didn't think of Linux.
It'd still be better to have it right in HOS for accessibility, but it might be the next best thing.
Kinda stayed away from it so far, I guess I'll have to get a new sd card now.

What's the easiest Linux to setup right now?

 

[Gibdos]

So I opened up my Switch today and replaced the thermal paste and added a few thermal pads.
Specifically I removed the metal cover from the CPU / RAM chips, cleaned the CPU off with Isopropanol and put a thin sheet of MX4 on it.
There was also a ton of thermal paste slathered all around the CPU chip, which I tried to clean off as best I can.
Then I put some thermal pads (1.5mm) on top of the RAM chips and put the heatpipe back on (cleaned of course).
After that I put some thermal pad along the heatpipe from the CPU up to the first piece of tape from the fan and put it all back together.

Of course I didn't check my temperatures beforehand...
But anyway, after running Ys VIII with max CPU / GPU overclock (docked) for an hour my temperatures went from 31c (at boot) to 54c.
Temperatures were reported by Hekate. So all in all I am happy with the results.

As an aside I use a modified dock. One of those small ones that takes the original board, so I don't have any walls around the Switch itself.

I might open it up again to put some thermal pads around the CPU die as well as along the full length of the heatpipe, but that is a project for later.
Also, the SD card slot was a bitch to put back on. A few times it felt like it clicked into place, but when I tried to boot it couldn't, because it wasn't properly seated. So make sure you check your Switch before putting it all back together.

 

[Volkaru]

Just did this. Took off the copper shim, took off the I/O shield covering the RAM modules. Applied thermal paste, put it back on, cleaned and applied thermal paste to the CPU. Direct contact with the head sink pipe. Placed 1mm thermal pads over the RAM part of the shield. Put .5mm pad on the outer metal shell along the bottom half of where it contacts the pipe. And then put thermal paste along the pipe as well.
Took over two hours with my giant hands, and the factory wasn't kind to a couple screws, they were stripped a bit.

Will edit results once I finish transferring over everything to a new SD card. I play heavily modded skyrim at max OC. The switch sounds like a jet engine and gets fairly hot. Hoping this will help a bit!