Acer Nitro 5 AN515-54-51M5 - What specific signs mean I need to repaste my CPU or GPU?

Ninjakitty844

I got my Acer Nitro 5 (AN515-54-51M5) not too long ago, and for some reason it seems like the average temperature of the CPU in general has gone up a lot since then and somehow switching windows now always causes a spike in CPU temp. I might just be going crazy and maybe my laptop is operating just like it used to, but it still kinda worries me. Could've sworn Shadow Warrior 2 (most demanding game I own) used to only get up to 75, now it gets up to 94 (possibly not safe for long play sessions) and there's thermal throttling, whereas some non-demanding tasks can fluctuate up to 70 occasionally for some reason now. It also seems to take longer to cool down. I know Nitros can have a bad thermal pasting job right out of the factory, but wouldn't that mean it would just be bad from the start and not get worse over time as I use the laptop?

Anyway, what are some specific sure-fire signs that mean I should repaste the CPU?

Don't want to risk any damage if I'm just remembering wrong :P

(sorry to those people who keep answering my questions just to see another one pop up from me, lol. Figuring out what's going on with this laptop isn't as straight forward as I'd like it to be)

andylb

Unfortunately many people with Nitro's have reported pasting problems and improving temperatures after repasting. There's a couple if good youtube videos on repasting a Nitro 5. I would use Grizzly Kryonaut

ven98

Usually, you can't determine thermal paste performance by games, as the load on the CPU and GPU is not constant and they both share one heatsink, which means the heat generated by the GPU affects the CPU temperature. 

You might check if there is any background tasks using CPU resources, which might not have been running before, as well as the total CPU usage. You mentioned that you bought the device not long time ago, but if it is for more than 3-4 months, then some dust might have accumulated during this time, which prevents airflow and therefore affect temperature.

'Anyway, what are some specific sure-fire signs that mean I should repaste the CPU?'

If the CPU hits 98C straight away even on medium loads, that would 99% indicate that the CPU has to be repasted. 

andylb

Unfortunately many people with Nitro's have reported pasting problems and improving temperatures after repasting. There's a couple if good youtube videos on repasting a Nitro 5. I would use Grizzly Kryonaut

andylb

@Ninjakitty844 I also use a Targus USB powered cooling pad which are quite cheap and play my most demanding games with the fans set to Max

Ninjakitty844

I repasted it, still getting up to 94 on pretty much any modern/semi-modern game

andylb

Ninjakitty844 said:

I repasted it, still getting up to 94 on pretty much any modern/semi-modern game

I know it sounds obvious but are your drivers up to date and are your games selected to operate on the Nvidia graphics card

Ninjakitty844

Yeah, I've checked

andylb

So to recap. You have repasted, the fans are cleaned of dust, everything is updated and set to run on the Nvidia card and you are using a cooling mat. If this is the case I would undervolt your CPU

Ninjakitty844

I've repasted, there was no dust, and the Nvidia drivers are updated. I haven't gotten a cooling mat, but I honestly think my pc should be running a little cooler than this without one...? Looking at the temps other people have recorded for this laptop playing high end games with little to no tinkering, mine gets a lot hotter. 94 is the max temp before the laptop starts to throttle, and I think it's only a few degrees below the shutoff temp for the laptop (though luckily I've never reached this).

andylb

Agreed let me sleep on it