Hardware Liquid Metal Cooling Nintendo Switch

[weatMod]

yeah but i am asking about the copper foil i see in the pics that there is paste on top of the copper foil between the copper foil and the heat pipe
but do they put paste on top of the die , between the top of the die and the copper foil too? or do they just stick the copper foil to the top of the die with no paste? because it is not shown what is under the copper foil in the pics
and he shows the liquid metal paste directly on top of the die but then does not show any other pics, like if he put the liquid metal paste on top of the die and then put the heat pipe back without using the copper foil of if he put the foil back and put more paste on top of the foil or if he put it hack and put the die on top of the foil with no paste
also what is in that shit anyways ,does it contain mercury? is it toxic?

actually it looks like there are 3 layers of paste

one between the top of the die and the copper foil/RF shield
another layer of paste between the top of the copper foil/RF shield and the heat pipe
and yet another layer of paste between the top of the heat pipe and the outer RF shield

so did he just use the one layer between the top of the die and theat pipe and remove the copper foil?

de he replace 3 layers of thermal paste and just use one layer of liquid metal paste?

also his job looks really risky i would have took the SOC RF shield off and used some thing better for insulation than that spray on shit linus used
something that brushes on and did 3 coats and not just around the die but all over

 

[guily6669]

Above the copper cooler it's better to buy a slim thermal adhesive.

Anyway if it was my switch I would add copper tape all over the place, the more the better and I would have used my safe Artic MX4, I don't trust liquid metal specially because I want my devices to last 4 ever and at long term even on copper it loses color and who knows if it might screw it up like 10 years after??.

My PC is making 8 years now and still kicks ass.

 

[depaul]

Isn't the Switch low on energy consumption? I read like 10-18W maximum. I guess that's why it doesn't need advanced cooling.

 

[Deathscreton]

Isn't the Switch low on energy consumption? I read like 10-18W maximum. I guess that's why it doesn't need advanced cooling.

I would say active cooling on a handheld is pretty advanced. The cooling definitely could be pushed further.

 

[Xabring]

I would be interested to to see temp diferences between a Stock Nintendo Switch, Artic silver'd Switch and Liquid Metal Switch

fan never spins up (sometimes i have to put my ear to it to see if its even running) and battery seems to be a smudge better.

Again i have no evidence but "feels" like its improved it.

Indeed, every ounce of energy not wasted on the fan is energy better spent to the battery life.

 

[Splitframe]

I'd love to put Liquid Metal on my Switch.
From the tear downs though I cannot really see if the contact plate of the heat pipe is aluminium or some zinc alloy.
LM corrodes aluminium and I want to avoid that, of course.
So if anyone can identify the material that would be really appreciated.

I really dislike that Nintendo went Die -> paste -> shim -> paste -> contact plate -> solder -> heat pipe.
Optimally I'd love to remove the contact plate, cool the RAM through the radio shield and some thermal pads to the metal case
and bend the heat pipe down a bit. A process I already did with some other coolers.
So I can contact the Heatpipe and the Die directly via LM.

An alternative would be to solder a 0.8mm copper shim, or the provided one directly onto the contact plate, but sanitary lot that is
able to do that needs to get too hot and I cannot prevent the pipe from getting hot and bulging/exploding :/

 

[RyoX9]

Liquid metal is not a good idea in a hand held as liquid metal can be dangerous for components, liquid metal is also not stable and held in place like other thermals, if you drop your switch then a shock can cause liquid metal to escape from the processor area to other components which can be dangerous and switch does not produce that much head that someone would bother with liquid metal. liquid metal is not only bad for aluminium but copper aswell in long run..
conclusion : its not only a silly idea to replace it with liquid metal but dangerous.. i would recommend arctic silver instead.

 

[guily6669]

Artic silver is too damn old... Use a modern Artic MX-4 or other good safe thermal compound.

Remember Nintendo switch is portable, it will be shaken all day by you moving, running, going on bycycle, car, motorbike...

I wouldn't dare using liquid metal in it. Even in the PC if you put just a slightly bit more than needed when you open it up, it looks like a mess.

 

[tomcoleman]

anyone would think we are talking about a £3000 laptop here LOL

its a £250 switch - if it explodes or dies, buy a new one - i knew that before modding.

if you cant afford to spend £250 if it breaks DONT DO IT

 

[guily6669]

I guess thats up to each person to decide... I'm currently unemployed, another 330eur switch is not a option to me

Since you opened the console do you know if there's any clearance to add copper pads?

Do you think I can put 1mm thick pure copper pads all over the place?

I want to order a few from eBay, but I have no idea which thickness should I buy for the switch. I just bought mine a few days I'm still testing for defects as I don't want to ruin the 2 year warranty and open it now to then have some defective problem.

I'm also waiting for TX chip, so I will open it and fully mod it only when the chip arrives to solder it. I will probably cut the dock too for more cooling

Hell if I go nuts I might even solder a LCD with thermals monitoring on it.

 

[b_dasher]

I just discovered this thread and I think you have a Switch with possibly the first new revision motherboard. (hac-cpu-10 vs hac-cpu-01). I'm not a super hardware guy or anything but these types of things interest me. I wonder if battery life is different with this version.

 

[SirNapkin1334]

Liquid Metal? As in...Mercury? That's highly toxic and would probably evaporate from the extreme heat into a deadly vapor...

 

[Deleted User]

Liquid Metal? As in...Mercury? That's highly toxic and would probably evaporate from the extreme heat into a deadly vapor...

gallium based liquid metal. which is why it's dangerous to aluminum

switch is even vertical in docking all the time, paste may leak out through the time and cause short circuit.

a PC motherboard is vertical in most cases, all the time, people still do it

 

[SirNapkin1334]

gallium based liquid metal. which is why it's dangerous to aluminum
a PC motherboard is vertical in most cases, all the time, people still do it

Ah, Gallium-based. Good idea, the processor heat will keep it from solidifying. Is it better than thermal compound though?

 

[Deleted User]

Ah, Gallium-based. Good idea, the processor heat will keep it from solidifying. Is it better than thermal compound though?

no idea, i've only heard from a few cases where it lowers temps by 20C, but that's with liquid cooling, not air

 

[The Real Jdbye]

Ah, Gallium-based. Good idea, the processor heat will keep it from solidifying. Is it better than thermal compound though?

I believe it's actually Galinstan or something very similar to it which is Gallium, Indium and Tin with a melting point of -19C (far lower than the individual metals), it could potentially solidify if left somewhere cold in the winter, such as in a car, I don't know if that might damage anything or ruin the cooling performance though.
It's WAY better than thermal compound (check the LTT video posted earlier in the thread, and also the newer "liquid metal cooling a phone" video they did), although the claimed thermal conductivity is bullshit.
But hardly necessary for the Switch or even worth the risk.

 

[guily6669]

Ah, Gallium-based. Good idea, the processor heat will keep it from solidifying. Is it better than thermal compound though?

Yes it is the best thermal compound it lowers temps quite better than any other thermal compound because nothing gives more heat transfer than the liquid metal...

But the thing is that it makes a huge mess, any slight more liquid metal will spread outside the chip all over the place and it's very electrical conductive and corrosive to metals like aluminium...

And since the Switch is a portable device it will shake quite a lot with you carrying it all over the place, a single bit of liquid metal on other components will short out and eat the solder which get liquid\broken.

I would recommend Artic MX-4 it's one of the best safe thermal compounds and claim 8 years of use.


But if you really want to get as much lower temps as possible then go with liquid metal compound and make sure to protect components surrounding the SOC...

 

[CallmeBerto]

I've replaced all the thermal paste in mine with Artic Silver 5. Seems to keep it a lot cooler. Now instead of getting a little too hot for me it gets a bit warm.

@tomcoleman - Did you ever use LM? What were your results?

 

[nero99]

I've replaced all the thermal paste in mine with Artic Silver 5. Seems to keep it a lot cooler. Now instead of getting a little too hot for me it gets a bit warm.

@tomcoleman - Did you ever use LM? What were your results?

The liquid metal is far from a good idea. It will keep it cooler than as5, but you also run the risk of shorting out your system because of solder splash and what not

 

[HamBone41801]

I would never racoomand that s mod for obvious reasons, open ur switch and apply this will nullify ur consol's warranty and and all switches are officially guaranteed for 2 years of Nintendo's assistance, if ur console is burnt for overheating, Nintendo sure will replace or repair it. then why even bother open it and might possibly screw urself trying to apply this "mod"?

opening up a device no longer voids your warranty, iirc.