Acer Spin 3 (2018) SP314-51-52YX loud fan noise and high thermals - how to change thermal paste?

suv81

My Acer Spin 3 (2018 model) with i5-8250u had loud fan nose and high thermals from the beginning. 2-3 minutes after startup, the temperature already reaches 57 degrees with the fan spinning furiously. With just Chrome open with 15 tabs and a few other lightweight applications, CPU temperature reaches 72 degrees. I use this mostly for programming and when I compile on it, temperature reaches up to 87 degrees. It is impossible to work with this on lap and is annoying on quiet environments.

Now that warranty is over, I took this to a repairer who said it is most likely bad thermal paste. Moreover, the fan vent  is at the bottom and not on the sides or at the back making ventilation difficult. But the repairer is quoting equivalent of $50 to do the job. I am thinking of doing it myself. Does anyone know if there is a guide or service book out there to do this? What thermal paste can be used? Any suggestions would be welcome.

Model: SF314-51-52YX
S/N or P/N: NXGZRSA004XXXXXX
BIOS:  v1.14

Edited the content to hide sensitive information
Acer-Samuel

billsey

It's fairly involved, IMHO $50 is a bargain... However, you pull it down by taking off the bottom cover then pulling the battery. Next is the I/O board which has a cable that's in the way. You might be able to leave the board itself in and just remove the cable, look to see if it is in the way of the fan assembly. Same with the speakers, the wires might be in the way and they might not. Check next on the WLAN card, it sits right between the fans and the motherboard so it or it's antenna wires might be an obstacle. Next is the eDP cable going up to the screen, I'm pretty sure that is in the way. Disconnect the fan wiring and peel up that sticky mylar from the heat shield. Try not to get it dirty since you will want to stick it back on. There are two screws holding the shielding in place, and there are hooks holding it in place on all four corners. Once the shielding is out of the way there are four screws on the heat pipe itself around the processor and six screws on the fans. The heat pipe and fans come off as one assembly. Clean and apply a good quality thermal paste, but no more that needed then reverse the process to get it back together.