How to replace the thermal grease: simple instructions that will prolong the life of your PC

Educational Program Devices / by admin / December 19, 2019

When the thermal paste dries, the computer really hot, but the CPU and the graphics card may be damaged.

Thermal grease is more dense substance of white or light-gray color. Its most important feature - the high thermal conductivity. Therefore, thermal grease is applied to the CPU and graphics chip to the exposed heating elements gave better heat.

Over the years, thermal paste dries, which often leads to overheating computer. If the temperature of the processor and the graphics card in your PC It rises above the allowable and thermally conductive composition has not been updated for several years, so we must act. In the service center thermal paste replacement happy to perform for money. But you can also do everything with their hands and save.

Thermal grease needs to be changed in both desktops and laptops. This guide will help in any way.

1. Prepare everything you need

First of all, you need thermal paste itself. It can be bought in any store of the computer technology.

What kind of pasta to choose - debatable. The network does not have any large-scale studies on the effectiveness of thermal paste. But service centers often recommend Zalman brands, Noctua and the Arctic. Syringe with four grams can be bought for 300-400 rubles. That should be enough for a few substitutions.

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There is also a popular budget option - thermal paste KPT-8, but the reviews about it as contradictory.

In addition to the thermal paste, you will need:

screwdriver to disassemble the computer;
dry paper cloth, cotton swabs and alcohol to remove the residues of the old material and the new excess;
Vacuum cleaner dust (preferably);
a plastic card or a brush for the application of the new thermal grease.

2. Disassemble the computer

Turn off the computer and unplug the power cord from the outlet. Then remove the cover with a screwdriver.

Improper disassembly and cleaning may damage your computer. If not confident in their abilities, not risk. And remember: the chassis intrusion lead to loss of warranty.

At this stage, it does not hurt gently vacuum the inside of the computer. By getting rid of dust, you lower the overall system temperature. But do not overdo it: the vacuum cleaner should not be touching detail.

Unscrewing the bolts on the cooling system, disconnect it from the motherboard - you'll see underneath the metal plate with the remnants of the old thermal paste. This is the processor. Next to it may be another plate - chip integrated graphics.

It happens that prevents the laptop case to separate the cooling system on the motherboard. In this case, will have to first pull out the motherboard and then disconnect it from the heat sink, as the above video example.

If your computer has a separate graphics card with its own cooling, remove it, and then remove it from the heat sink. Below him on the video card must also be a plate with the remnants of the old material - video chip.

If you have any difficulty in disassembling the computer or individual components, look for videos on YouTube with the same service model of the device, as you have.

3. Remove the remnants of the old material

Use a dry cloth and carefully remove the old thermal grease from the processor, graphics card, and cooling elements. If the substance is not to give in, wet cotton swab a small amount of alcohol and try to remove the remains with them.

4. Apply new thermal grease

Squeeze thermopaste droplet from the syringe to the processor and distribute material thin uniform layer over the entire area of the plate. To do this, use a brush, if it is sold in a set, or a plastic card, or any suitable object. The main thing that it was dry and I could not scratch the processor. If the substance gets beyond the plate, wipe it off with a paper towel.

To replace the thermal grease on the internal or external graphics card, apply a substance on its chip as well as the processor.

You can apply thermal grease as the chip itself, and the heat sink (see. video). Or you can do with only a chip: this will be enough.

5. Collect computer

After replacing the thermal paste, select all the components in place. Make sure that they are well documented and you will not miss a single bolt. Then close the cover.

Turn on the computer and watch the temperature of the processor and graphics card. If its average value falls, the replacement of thermal paste has gone on the device useful. If that fails, consider Other heating causes.