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Update: I used to hate thermal paste reapplication but then my laptop hit 95C
My 3 year old gaming laptop started crashing during simple video calls last Tuesday, and I finally checked the CPU temps hitting 95C under load. After watching a 10 minute vid on repasting, I spent $8 on a tube of Arctic MX4 and dropped temps to 75C after a 20 minute job. Anyone else put off basic maintenance like this way longer than they should have?
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angela432mo ago
Oh man, I feel you on that 95C scare. I put off repasting my laptop for over a year because I thought it would be some huge complicated thing, but I finally did it last month when my fans sounded like a jet engine trying to take off. Watching that 10 minute video is the key - I used a different brand paste but the drop was just as crazy, went from 92C under load down to 72C. The trick I learned is to put a pea-sized dot in the middle and let the heatsink spread it, don't try to spread it yourself. Also make sure you clean the old paste off completely with isopropyl alcohol and a coffee filter, a cotton swab leaves little fibers behind.
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adam_hernandez2mo ago
Thing is though, 95C isn't really THAT bad for a laptop. Most modern ones are designed to sit right around there under heavy load and it's totally fine. I'm not saying don't repaste it if you want, but I wouldn't lose sleep over it.
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