Most optimal cooling mod without solder?

[Soler37]

So after changing the thermal paste in my Switch twice due to heating being a bit excessive, I'd love to know what would be the best way to mod the Switch in order for it to be kept the coolest, no drilling or soldering of any kind, what I mean is how much thermal paste and where, if to remove the metal copper shim covering the SOC, if to add thermal pads anywhere etc..
I don't mind buying parts for this as I love tinkering with the Switch, its my first ever real project and I love it, I changed the lcd+digitizer and want to optimize it as much as possible and with the temps its getting now, I cant really OC it.

 

[binkinator]

So after changing the thermal paste in my Switch twice due to heating being a bit excessive, I'd love to know what would be the best way to mod the Switch in order for it to be kept the coolest, no drilling or soldering of any kind, what I mean is how much thermal paste and where, if to remove the metal copper shim covering the SOC, if to add thermal pads anywhere etc..
I don't mind buying parts for this as I love tinkering with the Switch, its my first ever real project and I love it, I changed the lcd+digitizer and want to optimize it as much as possible and with the temps its getting now, I cant really OC it.

Your temps are well within spec. Here’s an active thread in the topic of cooling.

https://github.com/mattytrog/FUSEE_SUITE#brief-instructions. OOPS! Ignore!

https://gbatemp.net/threads/exchanging-thermal-paste.506597/

There’s also a thread about adjusting the fan curve to make the fan kick in earlier. Will see if I can find it.

E: found it here:

https://gbatemp.net/threads/adjust-the-nintendo-switch-fan-speed.576561/

I added a fan that claims to be 10% faster/more efficient/really, really…really ridiculously good looking. Will find a link to that as well.

E: found it in context:

There's fans available on AliExpress that are labeled update, it has a different fitting which I think makes it a little quieter ,

I couldn’t bear to wait another 2 weeks for an AE shipment. I went ahead and paid the Amazon tax on one of these (10% faster and balanced blades..or so they say…we’ll see.)

 

[Soler37]

Your temps are well within spec. Here’s an active thread in the topic of cooling.

https://github.com/mattytrog/FUSEE_SUITE#brief-instructions

There’s also a thread about adjusting the fan curve to make the fan kick in earlier. Will see if I can find it.

E: found it here:

https://gbatemp.net/threads/adjust-the-nintendo-switch-fan-speed.576561/

I added a fan that claims to be 10% faster/more efficient/really, really…really ridiculously good looking. Will find a link to that as well.

E: found it in context:


I couldn’t bear to wait another 2 weeks for an AE shipment. I went ahead and paid the Amazon tax on one of these (10% faster and balanced blades..or so they say…we’ll see.)

Hey blink,

The problem with my temps are as I stated, OC is an issue as it gets way too bit for my liking.

I think the link you sent me regarding the cooling thread is a different one than intended as it relates to trinket.

I know that fan but tbh I'd rather buy it on Aliexpress, I couldn't find it there though.

Do you mind sharing your temps on a V1? Also what is the best way to apply the thermal paste? I repasted again yesterday and to try and optimize, I removed the metal copper sheet between the SOC and the heat sink. I think now my switch runs hotter.

 

[ghjfdtg]

Remove the copper foil, apply your favourite thermal paste and done. It just works. Between shield and heatpipe i used 0.5 mm thermal pads.

Others also put thermal pads on their RAM but i can't see this doing anything really since it will only transfer to the shielding which has terrible heat transfer anyway.

As for temps about 62°C on stock clocks docked in Super Mario Odyssey in an area with high GPU load (over 80%).

 

[binkinator]

Hey blink,

The problem with my temps are as I stated, OC is an issue as it gets way too bit for my liking.

I think the link you sent me regarding the cooling thread is a different one than intended as it relates to trinket.

Doh…fixed!

I know that fan but tbh I'd rather buy it on Aliexpress, I couldn't find it there though.

Understood. Maybe you can find it on taobao? Dunno.

Do you mind sharing your temps on a V1?

I can in a bit. Let me find some games I can use to stress the cooling system.

Also what is the best way to apply the thermal paste? I repasted again yesterday and to try and optimize, I removed the metal copper sheet between the SOC and the heat sink. I think now my switch runs hotter.

See the corrected thread above. Grain of rice to pea size are recommended.

 

[Medel87]

I added a fan that claims to be 10% faster/more efficient/really, really…really ridiculously good looking. Will find a link to that as well.

E: found it in context:

I couldn’t bear to wait another 2 weeks for an AE shipment. I went ahead and paid the Amazon tax on one of these (10% faster and balanced blades..or so they say…we’ll see.)

Do you really feel that 10%?

Is that on aliexpress too?

 

[binkinator]

Do you really feel that 10%?

Is that on aliexpress too?

Yes, maybe, no…not really. The issue is that the Switch uses fan curves so it will escalate speed based on temperature so you really don’t notice temperature differentials except at the upper ends of the scale. In the middle ranges it’s how quickly you reach each threshold and how effective the fan is at preventing you from getting to the next threshold. I look at “time to fan speed” rather than raw temperature.

 

[Soler37]

Remove the copper foil, apply your favourite thermal paste and done. It just works. Between shield and heatpipe i used 0.5 mm thermal pads.

Others also put thermal pads on their RAM but i can't see this doing anything really since it will only transfer to the shielding which has terrible heat transfer anyway.

As for temps about 62°C on stock clocks docked in Super Mario Odyssey in an area with high GPU load (over 80%).

62c sounds high for stock docked mode, what is the purpose of removing the foil? since my repaste and removing the foil, it seems like my temps are worst, im beginning to believe that I made some error since my fan is fucked now and my temps go up higher.

 

[binkinator]

https://gbatemp.net/threads/what-te...ns-at-50-c-on-most-games.586502/#post-9435026

If you're not getting an overheating warning (which happens at ~84C SoC) and the fans aren't going crazy, you're fine.

The switch will increase the fan if it thinks it is in danger.

What are your fan speeds?

If it is at 100% fan speed and the temps aren’t coming down…then you have an issue.

 

[ghjfdtg]

Honestly i don't know why they put the copper foil there in the first place. Possibly shielding? Having 2 surfaces with thermal paste will only make it worse.

If it helps i also did 2 additional steps. I bent the mounting points of the heat sink side slightly upwards so when tightening the screws it presses down a little more on the SoC. And i pressed down and rotated/moved the heat sink a bit to spread the paste.

It's an Erista Switch so obviously it runs a little hotter than the Mariko ones. When i have time i might test this again and include fan speed.

 

[CameronCataclysm]

Sorry to revive an old thread but out of curiosity, @Soler37, did you ever figure out your issue? Not saying that I am facing this issue. Just curious.

 

[Soler37]

Sorry to revive an old thread but out of curiosity, @Soler37, did you ever figure out your issue? Not saying that I am facing this issue. Just curious.

After repasting a second time (this was a while ago) and also changing my fan due to it cutting off what seems to be around 85% speed, I still seem to get higher temps than most people, not sure what it is but I made a new thread about it today.

 

[Engezerstorung]

its been a while since this thread have been posted but ive read something that i needed to correct :
"See the corrected thread above. Grain of rice to pea size are recommended."

!!!ABSOLUTELY NOT!!!
when applying paste for a chip that is silicium direct contact like the Switch you want to manually spread paste all over the chip, thin layer yes, but DO.NOT use the "pea an pressure spread" technique in those situation
you take a huge risk of having surface of the chip not making contact with the cooling device and having a the chip burn out
its only a good advice for ca se with an IHS (Integrated Heat Spreader) like you have on a desktop computer cpu

 

[Soler37]

its been a while since this thread have been posted but ive read something that i needed to correct :
"See the corrected thread above. Grain of rice to pea size are recommended."

!!!ABSOLUTELY NOT!!!
when applying paste for a chip that is silicium direct contact like the Switch you want to manually spread paste all over the chip, thin layer yes, but DO.NOT use the "pea an pressure spread" technique in those situation
you take a huge risk of having surface of the chip not making contact with the cooling device and having a the chip burn out
its only a good advice for ca se with an IHS (Integrated Heat Spreader) like you have on a desktop computer cpu

I tried both methods and had bad results on both unfortunately, in fact, the first time I reapplied the paste WITH the copper shim, temps were a tad lower.

 

[linuxares]

I always spread my paste. I never trust the coolers to do a good job