Quad core cpu questions

At some point soon I'm going to be tearing down my laptop and shooting compressed air all over. One of the things I'll do is replace the thermal compound (I have some arctic silver from the previous time I did this several years ago).

My questions:
1. This is a quad core (AMD A6-3400M). When I did this to a dual core Dell laptop, there was one CPU for me to clean. Is there still only one? Or will I need to look for two? I have torn down this laptop before but not for this, and I forget the layout.

2. when I've been looking at vidoes on youtube that tell how to do this, I've seen some referring to a GPU, which was the graphics card. Should I clean off and then apply thermal paste to that as well? Or does that not need it? The last time I did this, I did not do it to the graphics card.

In the three years I've owned this, I've only torn this down one time, so I might as well do everything while I'm at it.

For anyone else who is thinking about this, the last video I saw said to simply go to the Arctic Silver website, and follow the instructions there. Keeps it simple.

 

Question 1 Only one CPU. 2 http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Clean-Laptop-Fan-and-Apply-Thermal-Paste-on/

 

My first post I posted to quickly my apologies. Click on the link I provided in that post. You can also do a google search.

 

No need to apologize. It gave me information that saves me time looking for something that isn't there.

But the link did raise another question. It recommended using some plastic card to spread the paste around. But the Arctic Silver instructions said to only put a rice grain of compound on the cpu, and then to put down the heatsink and then twist it a bit, letting that do the spreading.

The second approach was a surprise to me. Like I said, I last did this a few years ago, so perhaps this is just faulty memory, but I thought that spreading the paste around would be a good idea (before the heatsink is placed down).

What are your thoughts on that?

 

My preference is to spread a very thin layer of paste around. Never tried the rice procedure.

 

Big question - have you had overheating at the CPU?
Why disturb things? If it ain't broke.... Neil.

 

Exactly!!! It must be remembered, and contrary to popular belief, TIM (thermal interface material) does not wear out, dry out, evaporate, go bad, or other wise need periodic replacement. It can and will EASILY last 10, 15 years or longer AS LONG AS the cured bond between the mating surfaces remains intact. And about the only way the cured bond can be broken is by abuse (dropping the computer), or by manually twisting the heatsink fan (HSF) assembly to remove the heatsink.

I am all in favor of opening up the computer and blasting out the heat-trapping dust, but I would urge you to leave the CPU's HSF assembly alone - other than to make sure it is clean, and the fan spin freely.

From what? Note those cans of compressed dusting "gas" work, but care must be taken to avoid spewing super cold "liquid" on your computer, and extra care must be take to avoid inhaling the fumes. Those cans do NOT contain "air" but noxious, hazardous chemicals like difluoroethane.

Note I use an air compressor and a soft, natural bristle paint brush in (or rather, outside) my shop to blast out electronics all the time. HOWEVER - there are special considerations that MUST be adhered to when using an air compressor on electronics.

1. The compressing process WILL create condensation inside the tank. This condensation collects on the walls of the tank, then runs down to the bottom. If allowed to build up, nasty, rusty water particles can be spewed onto your electronics - never good. So periodic draining is required and all air compressors have a pitcock valve on the bottom for this purpose.
2. Ensure the compressor is an "oil-less" type.
3. I prefer upright compressors to keep any condensation way down at the bottom.
4. ALWAYS - as in EVERY SINGLE TIME - use a inline moisture and particulate filter when cleaning electronics.
5. Never see how fast you can make a fan spin - you can easily exceed design limits and destroy the bearings (I use wooden glue/Popsicle sticks to hold the blades stationary).

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Either way, do it outside. No need to blast the dust, dander, microscopic critters that eat that dander, and the microscopic "stuff" those critters "excrete" and leave behind, back into your room, or lungs.

 

Sorry. Forgot to answer this.

Note the GPU is the graphics processor unit. This is a microprocessor, just like the CPU is a microprocessor. Only it is dedicated to graphics. It is NOT the card. The GPU will be mounted on the card, or if "integrated graphics ", on the motherboard. Most notebooks do not have separate cards.

And again, unless the cured bond between the GPU and its heatsink was broken, no need to replace the TIM.

Let me add this is NOT just about needlessly replacing the TIM. But sadly, many CPUs, GPUs, and motherboard sockets have been destroyed though physical handling (mis-handling!), no or insufficient ESD control, or improper re-mounting of processor and HSF assemblies. A real, totally avoidable tragedy the result of actions most likely not needed.

 

Back online. Everything is working.

The compressed air must have done something (there was a lot of dust in the fan, and all over the insides) because I don't remember the last time this laptop was so quiet. And yes the fan was plugged back in

The laptop was getting a tad too hot (shut down one time), and given that it is 3 years old, I decided to take care of thermal paste when I got rid of the dust. Perhaps it was only the dust that was hurting it--its such a pain in the rear end I really would prefer not to have to tear this down again to re-apply the paste in another 6 mos or so, if cleaning out the dust didn't do it.

As far as my second question, I honestly couldn't tell which was the GPU so I didn't even bother cleaning off that.

 

There would be absolutely NO reason to re-apply TIM unless, as I noted above, you dropped your computer and broke the cured bond. Cleanout the dust? Sure! Replace TIM because X number of days passed, never!

 

Great job psaulm119. You can't learn without doing and do and succeed you have. Redoing the CPU thermal paste even if it may not need it like in your case is a great way too learn and sometimes improve over the factory cost cutting thermal compounds used.
I use Isopropyl Alcohol 99% to clean the CPU and Heat Sink surfaces then apply a thin layer of thermal paste to the CPU contacting surface with a toothpick, as the HS compresses it will smooth out and getting a very small amount of squeeze-out is good, if way too much redo it.

 

At this point, unless someone is going to seriously make a case that dust can be a problem with a brand new laptop, I'm convinced this laptop did need a re-application of thermal compound. All I did was take away dust, and re-apply the thermal compound. This laptop has never run so quietly (the fan is working, just not nearly as active)--even more quietly than it was when I bought it from Best Buy. The first week I got it I was noticing the fan running almost every minute for several seconds, and now its not. It’s not likely that the fan activity was due to dust in a brand new computer, which suggests to me that the issue was the thermal compound--either a faulty application of it, or a poor substance being used.

 

I do believe you are a Computer Whisperer.

 

Yes, but (1) it is also a great way to have a highly destructive electro-static discharge scorch a Grand Canyon size (microscopically speaking) gouge through several million gates on the ESD sensitive CPU. And (2) factory cost cutting on the thermal compounds used??? Not even!!! Both Intel and AMD use excellent TIM with the pads they supply with their OEM coolers. To suggest otherwise is just unrealistic. Neither Intel or AMD want to replace your CPUs under warranty so they provide quality TIM and HSF assemblies.

"Brand new "? You have said this notebook is 3 years old. And you have not provided any actual temp readings throughout this discussion for when it was new, or now.

Do you monitor your temps? If not, why not? I use and recommend CoreTemp.

But regardless, in terms of potential dust build-up, "brand new" is like "hours" old because dust is sucked in any time the fans are spinning. Yes, the original TIM might have been damage during HSF mounting, but I contend if that were the case, your notebook's chipset would have detected a overheat situation and shut down the CPU and notebook immediately - or being a notebook, at least toggled down the CPU speed so it would not generate as much heat.

And besides, you said you already replaced the OEM TIM with Artic Silver so new or old, that is a moot point - unless you did it wrong before.

It does not suggest that at all to me! Especially since you never established a baseline by recording your temps, then or now. Running a few seconds every few minutes is normal. Running full speed full time is not. The fact the fan shut off indicates the CPU cooled down - which could only happen if its heat was drawn up into the heatsink, to be carried away by the air flow.

And new Windows installations and new Windows computers will be busy when new with background Indexing and other housekeeping chores, until caught up. So your first week point is weak too.

How do you use your notebook? On your lap? Never good. A hard flat surface will allow air to circulate under the notebook.

Any "squeeze out" means you gobbed on way too much! The best, most efficient transfer of heat occurs with direct metal-to-metal contact of the two mating surfaces. The purpose of TIM is to fill ONLY the microscopic pits and valleys in those mating surfaces to push out any trapped, insulating air. ANY excess is in the way and counterproductive to effective transfer of heat.

Only with TIM "pads" should you rely on the compression force of the HSF clamping mechanism. This is because these pads consist primarily of very refined paraffin with the TIM particles suspended within. This special paraffin has a very low melting point. So when the brand new CPU heats up for the very first time, the paraffin melts, spreads out distributing the TIM as the now melted paraffin then evaporates away.

Artic Silver and other non-pad TIMs do not have a component that melts and spreads the TIM so Artic Silver MUST be spread out across the TIM BEFORE the HSF assembly is clamped in place.

I use the plastic shaft of a Q-Tip. I cut the cotton swap off, bend the plastic tip to form into the shape of a hockey stick, dab a drop of TIM (about the size of a grain of rice) on the CPU die, then carefully use my hockey stick applicator to spread the TIM evenly and thoroughly across the die. Then I clamp on the HSF.

Finally, it should be noted the temperature drops between [undamaged]factory applied TIM and the best aftermarket TIM is rarely more than a few (perhaps 5° - typically less) degrees. IF that 4 or 5° makes a difference in computer stability and performance, you have other heat/cooling issue you need to deal with.

So I repeat what I've been saying all along, unless the cured bond is broken, you NEVER have to replace the TIM (assuming it was properly applied in the first place). And if the 4 - 5° you get with a new application of TIM is significant enough to make an unstable computer stable, then you have other, more pressing heat/cooling problems to deal with.

FTR, I've been using TIM for 45+ years! You can follow the link in my sig to see if I might have a clue as to what I am talking about.