Hardware Switch thermal mod made cooling worse?

carcalal

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In an attempt to reduce the temperature of my V1 switch's electronic components and prolong their life I did a few thermal mods on it:

  1. Removed the factory thermal compound (almost the consistency of dried up toothpaste)
  2. Removed the metal shim between the heatpipe and CPU and the thermal compound there
  3. Applied thermal pads to ram chips so they come directly in contact with the metal shield
  4. Replaced thermal compound between heatpipe and metal shield with thermal pad.
Now my logic was that drawing heat away from the components will help cool them, but I think I did more harm than good. The back of the switch now gets much hotter than before and it idles at around 40C and in Mario 3D World it gets to 47-50C (as per status monitor reading). I'm concerned that the better thermal interface draws heat away from the path of the airflow (aka the radiator) and puts it into the shield where it is actually harder to dissipate.

I was curious if anybody else has attempted similar mod, and if so what were the results. If not, what are your regular V1 switch idle/game temps?
 

nashismo

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If you think 50c while playing a game is HIGH then you have no idea what you are taking about. The Switch easily reaches 60c and that is completely safe and fine, and NORMAL.

For real temps, play Mario Oddysey on Metrpolitan area, or Crysis 2, each game for at least 40 minutes, and then tell us your MAX temps in celcius, also, leave the fan speed in stock speeds.
 

Cooler3D

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I want to post my overclocking mod, but looks like i need 5 messages for opening threads... This is fifth message. Done.
 

driverdis

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Any cooling mod works fine. I removed the shim and tried a fun project where I use Thermal Grizzly Minus 8 0.5mm pads instead of thermal paste and I get ~58c overclocked on BL2 with the 60FPS mod.
 

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The Real Jdbye

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In an attempt to reduce the temperature of my V1 switch's electronic components and prolong their life I did a few thermal mods on it:

  1. Removed the factory thermal compound (almost the consistency of dried up toothpaste)
  2. Removed the metal shim between the heatpipe and CPU and the thermal compound there
  3. Applied thermal pads to ram chips so they come directly in contact with the metal shield
  4. Replaced thermal compound between heatpipe and metal shield with thermal pad.
Now my logic was that drawing heat away from the components will help cool them, but I think I did more harm than good. The back of the switch now gets much hotter than before and it idles at around 40C and in Mario 3D World it gets to 47-50C (as per status monitor reading). I'm concerned that the better thermal interface draws heat away from the path of the airflow (aka the radiator) and puts it into the shield where it is actually harder to dissipate.

I was curious if anybody else has attempted similar mod, and if so what were the results. If not, what are your regular V1 switch idle/game temps?
The back getting hot is actually good. That means the heat is escaping.
 
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TheGioGrande

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Any cooling mod works fine. I removed the shim and tried a fun project where I use Thermal Grizzly Minus 8 0.5mm pads instead of thermal paste and I get ~58c overclocked on BL2 with the 60FPS mod.

Fan is at 100% though. That Switch must be SCREAMING. And it's odd because usually the SoC maxes out at around 60c before jumping up on the fan curve. Your Switch for some reason is maxing out fan speed before even reaching that temperature.

I'm guessing that temp is much higher than normal for handheld play and that's why the Switch is freaking out with fan speed? I wonder if that speed would drop down if you docked the Switch instead.
 

driverdis

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Fan is at 100% though. That Switch must be SCREAMING. And it's odd because usually the SoC maxes out at around 60c before jumping up on the fan curve. Your Switch for some reason is maxing out fan speed before even reaching that temperature.

I'm guessing that temp is much higher than normal for handheld play and that's why the Switch is freaking out with fan speed? I wonder if that speed would drop down if you docked the Switch instead.
When you overclock the Switch while in handheld mode, the fan curve is different than docked mode. The switch ramps to 100% at 55C+ and even with thermal paste would be at similar temps at 100% fan speed.
 

GameSpate

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i use 0.5mm pads on ram and heat pipe.View attachment 327144
I basically never cared to post to this forum, but I finally made an account here just to say that this mod specifically is not ideal. Thermal pads running on top of the heat pipe to connect it to the heat shield impedes both the heat pipe and shielding’s function.

Heat pipes work by having two distinct areas where the transfer of thermal energy occurs, the hot end to evaporate the water in them and the cool end to condense it. You’re eliminating the two areas. You run the risk of potentially ruining/bursting your heat pipe if temps ever get too high and pressure builds, which isn’t as unlikely as it sounds.

Additionally, the heat shielding in this case was added to prevent extreme hotspots on the back plastic and instead spread it into more thermal mass so the temperature is lower over a larger area. It is NOT to dissipate more heat, though adding thermal mass will always do that. It is NOT a heat sink. It does help in ducting air, and it’s surface area does offer heat exchange, but that additional.

I would recommend removing the thermal pads on top of the heat pipe. Everything else is fine.



Side note: do the RAM modules get hot enough to even justify putting pads on them?

I ask because if they aren’t typically warmer than the heat shielding they’re touching, they’re only gonna end up taking on heat making that also counterintuitive. In that case, passive cooling from fan pressure would do more for the memory.
 

Rahkeesh

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When I had to swap out a noisy fan, I had to replace Nintendo's purple paste with grizzly kryonaut. It did raise the apparent temperature on the backplate of the switch, to the point of being slightly uncomfortable, although fan speed and internal measurements were still good. My "fix" is to use hori split-pad for handheld since its large enough you won't touch the backplate while playing. The stock Nintendo experience would probably involve using something less heat-conductive like Nintendo's original paste but I would not know what product is safe to use.

That said adding pads to connect the RAM to the shield sounds like bad news, its probably heating them more than cooling them, with the RAM picking up extra heat from the CPU, especially when overclocked. I would remove them ASAP.
 

Cooler3D

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Nintendo Switch consoles are equipped with an excessively efficient cooling system.
If you use the console in a portable format, at stock frequencies, you probably will not experience overheating even if you turn off the power to the cooler completely.
If you are concerned about acoustic comfort, you can use the cooler speed curve configuration - supplied with 4IFIR. The operation of the cooler will be almost inaudible, while the temperature will increase slightly, by ~ a couple of degrees under OC.

If, after replacing the thermal paste with a more efficient one, the temperature of the back cover has increased, and the temperature of the console components has not changed much, you may have violated the principle of the evaporation chamber. This can be done either by accidentally depressurizing the tube (by bending it unsuccessfully), or by smearing it with thermal paste along its entire length (I often observe the latter with users).

The memory modules in our consoles do not require heat dissipation.
 

Soler37

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Can someone please post a proper thermal paste / pad installation guide? I am OC'ing my unit so I need to keep it cool, I have tried to replace the paste twice with 2 different methods, the latter one being removing the copper shim and letting the heatsink touch the SOC directly, the 1st pasting was actually better but I still had high temps, would love some advice on this as I really want to get temps as low as can possibly be.
ps. I installed a new fan.
 
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GameSpate

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Can someone please post a proper thermal paste / pad installation guide? I am OC'ing my unit so I need to keep it cool, I have tried to replace the paste twice with 2 different methods, the latter one being removing the copper shim and letting the heatsink touch the SOC directly, the 1st pasting was actually better but I still had high temps, would love some advice on this as I really want to get temps as low as can possibly be.
ps. I installed a new fan.
Removing the shim is honestly not ideal either. You need the wider contact area on the heat pipe it provides. Removing it will partially impede its heat transfer. If you do not need it removed to make room for a soldered in modchip ribbon, leave it installed. It’s a small difference, but for the future it’s best to just cleaning+repasting both sides and replacing the shield.


My quick repasting guide:

1. remove console back panel (duh :P)
2. Remove heatshield, heatsink, and SoC heat spreader(“shim”), careful not to tear any film of foam used for ducting air/pressure areas
3. Clean all surfaces with 99% isopropyl alcohol or highest available (ventilation is a MUST with 99%. Gloves highly recommended.) there are many small crevices to watch for. Get as much of the old paste off you can
4. Apply thermal paste to the SoC and replace the heatspreader. Do not press down. Let mounting pressure do the spreading. I’ve used Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut Extreme with consistently phenomenal results, though it’s a little overkill it’s what I have lying around.
5. Apply the same thermal paste to the top of the heat spreader. Replace the heat sink. Once again, let mounting pressure spread the paste.
6. Use a viscous paste on the top of the heat pipe between it and the heat shield. I recommend K5 Pro as it’s known to bridge big gaps very well. Be generous with your application. I do not recommend a thermal pad. Again, let mounting pressure do the spreading, ESPECIALLY important with viscous pastes with K5 Pro as flattening it breaks its bridge.


7. (OPTIONAL) I’ve also installed a thick aluminum back shell replacement. I’ve noticed temp improvements both indoors and outdoors with it installed. I decided to bridge the heatshield to the back plate directly over the SoC(hot end of the heat pipe only!!) and saw another notable improvement. It’s especially noticeable during the cooler months. Living near the ocean as well in NYC, it’s pretty breezy outside which actually helps passively cool the console a lot.

The trade off is that PCB temps are 1-2°C warmer when docked/OCed indoors and battery temps are 2-3°C warmer under load docked (could be just that it was charging too, not too worried about it), but everything else sees an improvement well worth the trade off. Fans are lower speed a lot of the time on both stock curves and 4IFIR’s(preferred, I fucking love 4IFIR/S7+ on my v1 Switch. Thank you Cooler3D.)
 
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Soler37

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Removing the shim is honestly not ideal either. You need the wider contact area on the heat pipe it provides. Removing it will partially impede its heat transfer. If you do not need it removed to make room for a soldered in modchip ribbon, leave it installed. It’s a small difference, but for the future it’s best to just cleaning+repasting both sides and replacing the shield.


My quick repasting guide:

1. remove console back panel (duh :P)
2. Remove heatshield, heatsink, and SoC heat spreader(“shim”), careful not to tear any film of foam used for ducting air/pressure areas
3. Clean all surfaces with 99% isopropyl alcohol or highest available (ventilation is a MUST with 99%. Gloves highly recommended.) there are many small crevices to watch for. Get as much of the old paste off you can
4. Apply thermal paste to the SoC and replace the heatspreader. Do not press down. Let mounting pressure do the spreading. I’ve used Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut Extreme with consistently phenomenal results, though it’s a little overkill it’s what I have lying around.
5. Apply the same thermal paste to the top of the heat spreader. Replace the heat sink. Once again, let mounting pressure spread the paste.
6. Use a viscous paste on the top of the heat pipe between it and the heat shield. I recommend K5 Pro as it’s known to bridge big gaps very well. Be generous with your application. I do not recommend a thermal pad. Again, let mounting pressure do the spreading, ESPECIALLY important with viscous pastes with K5 Pro as flattening it breaks its bridge.


7. (OPTIONAL) I’ve also installed a thick aluminum back shell replacement. I’ve noticed temp improvements both indoors and outdoors with it installed. I decided to bridge the heatshield to the back plate directly over the SoC(hot end of the heat pipe only!!) and saw another notable improvement. It’s especially noticeable during the cooler months. Living near the ocean as well in NYC, it’s pretty breezy outside which actually helps passively cool the console a lot.

The trade off is that PCB temps are 1-2°C warmer when docked/OCed indoors and battery temps are 2-3°C warmer under load docked (could be just that it was charging too, not too worried about it), but everything else sees an improvement well worth the trade off. Fans are lower speed a lot of the time on both stock curves and 4IFIR’s(preferred, I fucking love 4IFIR/S7+ on my v1 Switch. Thank you Cooler3D.)
I admire you for writing this and really, really want to get this done step by step, however, I don't think I can imagine how each step is done precisely, do u mind sharing pictures or something extra to further illustrate this so that I can accomplish this to a perfection?
Since my shim sticker is removed, I will have to buy a new one, I'll see if I can get that whole metal piece which sits on the SOC.
 

Rodel

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I don't think you know how copper heat pipes work. This does absolutely nothing and could actually worsen heat transfer.
My switch is still alive till now no issues even I overclock it.and not much hot like the default..but still at your own risk to do this trick
 

Hassal

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My switch is still alive till now no issues even I overclock it.and not much hot like the default..but still at your own risk to do this trick
Just pointing the fact that this mod does nothing. Heat pipes are pretty insane when it comes to heat transfer because they rely on convection.
 
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