Acer G9-791 (Predator 17) -Need to know the Thermal Pad Size to Order

DJNJ

Hey Guys, 

I replaced my Thermal Paste last night on the Acer Predator G9-791 as it was heating up a bit.

While opening, I noticed that the chips around the GPU and CPU has some Thermal Pad installed, Which got ruined (Collected dust while opened) and I've got to replace them. 
When I tried to order, I saw that they come in multiple sizes (Thickness) - Like 0.5mm, 1mm, 1.5mm .. Any idea which one is it that I should order?

Thanks in Advance! 

DJNJ

I Have embedded a Pic, If anyone can take a guess what size it is ... 

Rares95

Would like to know as well

Red-Sand

I replaced my thermal pads on the Helios 300 and it was a combo of 1.0mm and 1.5mm. 

Would be safest to get two decent square sheet of each size pads and measure them side by side.

mdmaarschalk

The guy in the youtube video with title "Acer Predator Helios 300: How to Open & Apply Thermal Paste - Teardown" uses 1,5mm thermal pad.

HAL2020

mdmaarschalk said:

The guy in the youtube video with title "Acer Predator Helios 300: How to Open & Apply Thermal Paste - Teardown" uses 1,5mm thermal pad.

I will chime in here.  I've been needing to replace these as heatups keep knocking my system into a restart.  You'll find some areas indented on the metal about 0.5mm.  I'd use 1.5 mm on those, going from your photo. (I'll mark where I can and upload later).  There are also some areas upraised.  You'll need 0.5mm on those.  The whole Idea here is to be about 1mm thick all the way around, if you want to get artsy with it.  Ultimately, this will be very difficult without a diagram and really steady hands.  Besides, I feel this is woefully underdone to begin with.  The cooling cannot be very efficient with this setup.

Check these out:  Special Thermal Pad For Chipset Cooling, 35 X 35 X 1Mm - Newegg.com
I'm not selling, only noting.  I'm thinking of trying it.  I'd also put 1mm pads all down the pipe to keep it off the mobo, and to absorb any excess heat.  That way, the sink would be able to wick it away without shorting to the board at all, and would be better shockproofed.  I'll also be looking into heat spreaders for my ram, and for my ssd's.  These will all have to max out at about .5mm to work properly without causing damage to other parts.
Ram and SSD's are more affected by the spare arctic-chill caddy fan that came with these.  I have mine installed, and it is helping, but my system still gives me hell once in a while.  I believe there are several possible causes: 1. Cmos battery is haggling with the TPM module, system don't like it.
                         2. Ram heats up or overheats up and sends error code, system don't like it.
                         3. Chipset is upset about heat and system don't like it.
                         4. System is upset about thermal paste (not enough, too much) and doesn't like it.
I'll hammer at all of them.  CMOS battery holder is not perfect anymore.  Holding plastic piece snapped off.  I might have to solder it in place, but If I do, I'll use a new batt and leave it at that.  Anybody have any experience on this.

I recently upgraded to win 10 pro and 64gigs of ram.  I'll be looking for an 4-16tb Sata SSD for my system, and I'll be moving things so that my m2's are in raid mode for working space, while I pop in another ssd for a backup of my system.  Files I can cloud when necessary, system... ...not so much.  Where is the other ssd?  I'll be acquiring another ODD caddy.  Min'es dead anyway, so I can probably figure out how to lock an SSD into it for use as my backup.  The new caddy will be a rebuild of the original ODD, so I can still use some of my old discs, and still burn some (It's what I do).  I have a scheduled notification pop up to tell me to start a backup, and I can run that simply enough right now, it'll only get easier and faster later.

HAL2020

HAL2020 said:

mdmaarschalk said:

The guy in the youtube video with title "Acer Predator Helios 300: How to Open & Apply Thermal Paste - Teardown" uses 1,5mm thermal pad.

I will chime in here.  I've been needing to replace these as heatups keep knocking my system into a restart.  You'll find some areas indented on the metal about 0.5mm.  I'd use 1.5 mm on those, going from your photo. (I'll mark where I can and upload later).  There are also some areas upraised.  You'll need 0.5mm on those.  The whole Idea here is to be about 1mm thick all the way around, if you want to get artsy with it.  Ultimately, this will be very difficult without a diagram and really steady hands.  Besides, I feel this is woefully underdone to begin with.  The cooling cannot be very efficient with this setup.

Check these out:  Special Thermal Pad For Chipset Cooling, 35 X 35 X 1Mm - Newegg.com
I'm not selling, only noting.  I'm thinking of trying it.  I'd also put 1mm pads all down the pipe to keep it off the mobo, and to absorb any excess heat.  That way, the sink would be able to wick it away without shorting to the board at all, and would be better shockproofed.  I'll also be looking into heat spreaders for my ram, and for my ssd's.  These will all have to max out at about .5mm to work properly without causing damage to other parts.
Ram and SSD's are more affected by the spare arctic-chill caddy fan that came with these.  I have mine installed, and it is helping, but my system still gives me hell once in a while.  I believe there are several possible causes: 1. Cmos battery is haggling with the TPM module, system don't like it.
                         2. Ram heats up or overheats up and sends error code, system don't like it.
                         3. Chipset is upset about heat and system don't like it.
                         4. System is upset about thermal paste (not enough, too much) and doesn't like it.
I'll hammer at all of them.  CMOS battery holder is not perfect anymore.  Holding plastic piece snapped off.  I might have to solder it in place, but If I do, I'll use a new batt and leave it at that.  Anybody have any experience on this.

I recently upgraded to win 10 pro and 64gigs of ram.  I'll be looking for an 4-16tb Sata SSD for my system, and I'll be moving things so that my m2's are in raid mode for working space, while I pop in another ssd for a backup of my system.  Files I can cloud when necessary, system... ...not so much.  Where is the other ssd?  I'll be acquiring another ODD caddy.  Min'es dead anyway, so I can probably figure out how to lock an SSD into it for use as my backup.  The new caddy will be a rebuild of the original ODD, so I can still use some of my old discs, and still burn some (It's what I do).  I have a scheduled notification pop up to tell me to start a backup, and I can run that simply enough right now, it'll only get easier and faster later.

To clarify, if you are going to put on new pads, you only need buy enough 0.5mm to cover, though you will have to put some of it one atop another.  You could also buy 1mm and 0.5mm, same situation.  Personally, I would like 1mm distance all around.  I'm starting there with some really good padding, some 1mm, some 0.5mm.  Where it is upraised, 0.5mm should get you there.  Where there is an indent, a 1mm and a 0.5mm will give you 1.5mm, put them together before you place them on the sink, cut them as close to the same as possible.  Everywhere else, where it's flat, 1mm will do just fine.  This will give you airflow and keep you off the mobo.  I'm adding a little more in small dots at the corners, just to be safe.  I'm also adding some MX-4 2019 style.  That should bring the chips down to functional.  Leftover 0.5mm will go on top of my m2 drives to spread the heat evenly.  I'll probably find a way to put some on the ram as well, where it can go safely.  This should help spread the heat and maintain performance inside the system.

I want to thank you for your photograph, mine are so messed up that it's pathetic.  IF I cannot do this safely with the good stuff, I'm using my link from above around the processor.  I might even try it around the GPU.  I know I'll be putting some along the sink metal piping, I don't like it swingin around on a mobile board.  A short is just itching to happen.

Red-Sand

I would say go with 1.0mm and 1.5mm to be safe.
Too thick of a pad can always be squished, but too thin is just a waste of money.

I owned both the Predator 15 and 17 and I believe I used 1.5mm all around and just tightened the spring loaded screws till they stopped and the heat plate created the correct spacing itself.

HAL2020

Red-Sand said:

I would say go with 1.0mm and 1.5mm to be safe.
Too thick of a pad can always be squished, but too thin is just a waste of money.

I owned both the Predator 15 and 17 and I believe I used 1.5mm all around and just tightened the spring loaded screws till they stopped and the heat plate created the correct spacing itself.

I might go with you on that.  But there are other concerns.  I looked over my board, did some measuring.  !.5 is the thickness you need.  However, I'm going to retract on the depth problem.  There are a couple of more fragile components that may require less pressure, hence the indents, and there are a few solid ones that might benefit from the extra surface area provided by the squish along raised areas.  However, should you open it again, you will need to redo these again, with 1.5mm, as the squishing will pull them loose, even if you have them run cold.  I would also use a ruler to measure them out to just inside the size of indents or raises.  I'm enclosing the altered photograph, with indications of where the thicker would go in blue, and where I'd add the thinner with it if I only used 1mm and 1.5mm.
I also consulted with an engineer.  The thinner material, rated for the same heat transfer, would react the same as the thicker, but with a little less physical stress on the components in the tightening of the sink.  According to this person, it wouldn't be a waste of money in the consideration of this, but it would be a cost of time and effort, as the thinner material isn't always as durable; it might stretch wrong or become un-applicable if mishandled, which is more likely than with a thicker material.
She added that 0.5mm might be useful on ram and ssd, especially with a thin metal sink-spreader, which would increase longevity, and might even ensure that the function will be less variable (it will be more normal wear; the effect of heat decreased and common effective speeds will not vary so much).  Not a bad idea.  She also added that these should be replaced every 1.5 to 2 years, or anytime I clean the heatsink, since the adhesive will pick up dust etc on the ssd's.





The blue areas are where I would place some 1.5 or 1mm, Where you see red only, 0.5mm would work, as they are raised about that much (so the total lift would be about 1mm).  Purple are where there is an indent that may require both to make a 1mm lift to keep it flat.  On the metal, I placed a few where there were none before.  You can ignore them.  I was just thinking that I don't want the board catching the heat from the pipes.  Here I might use some low transfer thermal pads.  I just don't like the bare metal over my board like that.  It's just a bit scary.  A short or a dustbunny in the wrong spot and blam... ... bury it in a shallow grave.  I would like to get some thoughts on this, just in case I'm being a paranoid noid.

I may put some 0.5mm on my m2 ssd's.  The spreading of the heat would definitely help performance, and I've had some burn up.  I may put some sink's on the ram I got, just to hedge my bets.  Of course, any thoughts on those would be welcome, even if they are "Don't do that you *****!"  just be sure you give me a good reason with those, and I'll thank for the spank.

Red-Sand

If something comes loose from 0.5mm of pressure from a thermal pad then it's safe to say it wasn't manufactured correctly in the first place.

Just for a little history.. I've owned:
Helios 300 (2017) both 15" & 17"
Predator 15
Predator 17
Helios 500
Helios 300 remakes - both 2019 & 2020
Triton 500
Triton 300 SE

Nitro 5

And the above only include *Predator* systems I own.
I can vouch for the solid build these systems have, as I wouldn't be purchasing them if they weren't.

Given how chip pins pierce PCBs and solder on the other side, I seriously doubt the pressure would cause any issues at all, especially if you place the heat plates back on directly vertical without any sliding in place (which would mess up thermal paste application anyway).