Questions regarding applying thermal paste (Predator Helios 300 i5 G3-572)

I am going to replace the thermal paste on my laptop. I have some questions:
1.Can all screws be opened by a regular start screw driver?
2. Should I remove my hard disk and RAM sticks before lifting the bottom case?
3. Is there an easy method to open the bottom case(like starting from a certain side, etc.)
4. Are the plugs connecting the battery and fans to MB very flimsy or can I apply some force to get them off.
5. If there are any tapes holding some cables down, will they still stick back when i peel them off?
6. How much paste should I apply?
7. Should I replace the old thermal pads? If not will they go back in the same place when I place the heatsink?
8. I am using Arctic MX-4 2019 paste, how much difference in temps should I see?
Also, if any of you did this and made some mistakes, pls tell me what mistakes you made.
Thanks

Accepted answers

Commodore_1995#

This is the correct way to disconnect the hard drive, see:

xapim

busu3 stress test doesnt mean much temp wise as youre getting the cpu/gpu at 100% usage at all times that will never happen in real life unless on a really badly optimised game for ex cod its one of those u also have rust and many others the devs do not care on optimising at all and as i already stated you need to test it gaming thats whats matters and if youre temps are 80/75 youre fine i finally did it

All comments

Commodore_1995#

I believe that your questions will be answered with these videos, published by colleague red-sand:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ph2ibK79zd8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPUCYUiGWZQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XB2Jx8UHuck

xapim

busu3 yes you should remove all removable hardware before disassembling the chassis alos i recommend you to get a proper precision tool set and pry tools to open the chassis and remove any connectors do not force them they are very easy to damage and i would use kryonaut but since u already got artic just use it and use the spread method only a thin layer covering both diodes its enough too much paste its bad also make sure to not damage any of the thermal pads in the process (they dont need to be replaced if not damaged ) and clean the fans and exit airflow properly also you need to have your windows properly optimised and undervolted or else you wont notice much improvement and make sure the back its lifted 2/3" at all times for a proper airflow

busu3

egydiocoelho said:

I believe that your questions will be answered with these videos, published by colleague red-sand:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ph2ibK79zd8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPUCYUiGWZQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XB2Jx8UHuck

I have seen some but I will watch them again. Thanks

busu3

xapim said:

busu3 yes you should remove all removable hardware before disassembling the chassis alos i recommend you to get a proper precision tool set and pry tools to open the chassis and remove any connectors do not force them they are very easy to damage and i would use kryonaut but since u already got artic just use it and use the spread method only a thin layer covering both diodes its enough too much paste its bad also make sure to not damage any of the thermal pads in the process (they dont need to be replaced if not damaged ) and clean the fans and exit airflow properly also you need to have your windows properly optimised and undervolted or else you wont notice much improvement and make sure the back its lifted 2/3" at all times for a proper airflow

I have a set of about 8 screwdrivers of different sizes. Would that be enough? Back lifted 3" means I should keep something at the back of the laptop?

busu3

Also for prying can I use a guitar pick or credit card?

busu3

I did the repaste, I think I put too much on the CPU so the temps reduced only by 5 degrees. The GPU has reduced by 20 degrees. Should I do it again?

Commodore_1995#

You can send a photo? Excess thermal paste tends to worsen temperatures. That's why I showed the videos above.

busu3

It was a little scary to do the job especially because of the flimsy connectors. So is it really needed to open it again? I tested the new paste thoroughly yesterday.
Before repaste:
CPU stress test: 88'C
GPU stress test: 93'C
CPU+GPU:CPU-95-100, GPU-93
above tests with CPU undervolt
Gaming(at 60 fps):
CPU:95-100
GPU:90
Gaming(unlimited):
CPU:same
GPU:93
gaming also with undervolt
After repaste:
CPU stress test: 82'C
GPU stress test: 80'C
CPU+GPU:CPU-93-95, GPU-80
above tests with CPU undervolt
Gaming(at 60 fps):
CPU:75-80
GPU:67-70
Avg:
CPU:72
GPU:68
Gaming(unlimited):
CPU:85-90
GPU:80-84
Avg:
CPU:83
GPU:77
I then removed undervolt and the CPU results were still the same. But my clock is going only upto 3.88Ghz but its max is at 4ghz. I also checked voltages through hwmonitor and they were 0 offset. Even with undervolt it was at 3.88ghz. So those were the before after results and if you can suggest a solution for the clock speeds pls do.

xapim

busu3 Just bare in mind the max turbo boost advertised by intel for each cpu its for one single core working only which it will never happen also your temps are still way too high even after repasting seems to me either you havent optimised your windows properly or you have a bad repaste the cpu shouldnt go above 85'ish and gpu 70/75 max if properly optimised undervolted/repasted also i recommend you to get some kryonaut and try again with the spread method as i already mentioned above

busu3

I have optimized windows by watching hotel hero's video. I didn't have anything to spread the paste so I did the X method. On CPU it came horrible and I think it was too much(it didnt look like an x either) and some of it spilled outside the CPU. The GPU got a reasonable X shape but I think it was a bit more. If I do it again I will post the application picture here.Will any of you be online at 2-3hrs from now?

xapim

busu3 i would re do it and use the spread method all thermal paste sets bring a spatula good luck

Good repaste

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/6029997/uploads/editor/zj/2nmsj9lj867e.jpg

Bad repaste (this was stock paste from a nitro 5 i repasted with kryonaut for a friend) it was completely horrible and the fans were even worse lol

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/6029997/uploads/editor/7e/gj12h0xww0xc.jpg

busu3

Ok thanks i will re do it

busu3

I did it again:
My previous repaste:

My latest repaste:

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/6029997/uploads/editor/4b/u8kofgfwe56z.jpg

Whats your view on it?

xapim

busu3 still seems to me at the first impression thats still a little bit much thermal paste anyway hope its better this time good luck

Pb101

If you are using thermal paste...Kryonaut is the way to go in my opinion. Your paste looks fine.

busu3

Pb101 said:

If you are using thermal paste...Kryonaut is the way to go in my opinion. Your paste looks fine.

The temps stayed the same lol

busu3

xapim said:

busu3 still seems to me at the first impression thats still a little bit much thermal paste anyway hope its better this time good luck

I thought I had put less amount. So should it be like my before paste picture? The pic u had sent looked really thick so I thought I should make it that thick. I will try it again but my patience needs to refill

. Thanks

busu3

Can any of you share your AIDA64 stress test temps? That would help to know how far I am.

xapim

busu3 My normal temps while gaming (i barely touch my predator now its just on 24/7 for remote access for gaming i use my shadow ultra vm rtx5000) are 70/75 cpu and 65/70 gpu and the pic i posted its not thick its just carefully properly spreaded not leaving any imperfections which might make it look thick but its just plain

busu3

Ok if I need to try it again should I remove the existing paste completely or can I just scoop some of it off and make the current layer thinner? My previous one became too thin right because the surfaces of them are visible?

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