Hardware Exchanging thermal paste?

Clydefrosch

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Uhm i have some MX4 @home but which size does those thermal pads need and which thickness ?
from what i read, 1mm is the recommended thickness.
alternatively, there's something called k5-pro, a thermal paste that's more viscous than normal pastes (looks a bit like chewed bubblegum) that's used to replace pads.
 

Michael Morsette

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Alright I've purchased the needed supplies; Fujipoly thermal pads .5 and 1mm, Arctic MX-4, and Thermal Grizzly Conductonaut. Everything should arrive by the 13th and I'll give it a go. I'll post some pictures for the curious and post results.
 

Assassin286

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I think, i buy those Arctic Thermal pads 1mm cause those have a pretty high thermal conductivity 5 W/mK compared to other thermal pads :)
 

Huntereb

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I replaced mine and ran out for the backside that sits against the heat shroud on the back, ended up using thermal paste on the CPU/GPU side and a thermal pad on the heat shroud side. Not sure if I've noticed any big difference, but Super Mario Odyssey barely runs the fan so... I swapped my thermal paste almost as soon as I got the console so I didn't have much previous experience.
 

Zumoly

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Is this required to do at some point in the Switch lifetime? Or are people just doing this for sport (I do know there are added benefits)?

I recently read that the switch might profit from replacing the factory applied thermal paste and thermal pads to better get rid of the heat, preventing framedrops in some games like Zelda.

Generally sounds logical, cheap paste doesn't take away the heat as effective and whatnot and it also doesn't seem to be very hard to pull off if you have the right screwdrivers either.

I'm sure some have tried and I'd be interested in experiences?
 
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Huntereb

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Is this required to do at some point in the Switch lifetime? Or are people just doing this for sport (I do know there are added benefits)?
You surely don't have to, but the factory application is usually pretty meh, and the paste itself is cost-cutting quality. Over time the factory paste will probably dry into a chalk and your device will get very hot in its later years.
 
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Clydefrosch

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You surely don't have to, but the factory application is usually pretty meh, and the paste itself is cost-cutting quality. Over time the factory paste will probably dry into a chalk and your device will get very hot in its later years.

i mean, mine gets notably hot already playing zelda undocked. not burning hot, but hot enough.
 
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Huntereb

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i mean, mine gets notably hot already playing zelda undocked. not burning hot, but hot enough.
I keep hearing about that game specifically. I've never played that game on my Switch, but I can more than bet a change of the factory paste will give you an improvement. They usually just throw that shit down as quick and messy as they can. With a proper brand and proper application, you'll probably drop quite a few degrees.

Curious to know if people's devices get hot running Odyssey or Mario Kart 8, as I have both of them and my switch is quiet as a mouse, as well as only slightly warm with my current application.
 

Zumoly

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I can only assume, judging by the application I found in mine.

Actually that might be case. I remember watching a video of JerryRigEverything on youtube where the back plate had fingerprints on it.
By the time I had thought it was a special unit with the fingerprints of the CEO on it:rofl2:
 
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Clydefrosch

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I mean, its probably a nozzle in a factory doing it automatically.
I switched out the cpu in my laptop recently and the old cpu basically just had a thick glob of thermal paste applied that covered about 5 mm beyond the center of the die in all directions.

anyways, I'll throw in mario kart later and check temperatures
 

Huntereb

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Actually that might be case. I remember watching a video of JerryRigEverything on youtube where the back plate had fingerprints on it.
Yeah, I should have looked at mine a little closer to check as well. Also just a FYI, the triwing screws in the four corners of the backplate will strip. They're put down tight and the grooves are small as shit. If you're going to do this, might be cool to find a replacement set of screws that are philips instead of triwing.
 

CallmeBerto

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@Huntereb

Before I changed my thermal paste Botw made my switch HOT after 2 hours of play in dock mode. After replacement with AS5 it now gets warm.

When it comes to games like MK I didn't notice any change in temps.

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

Oh this also includes me removing the metal cap and keeping it off.
 

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