Acer Nitro 5 an515-45 thermal paste and thermal pads

Pocdan
Pocdan Member Posts: 3 New User
in Nitro Gaming
Hi ! I wanted to redo the thermal solution in my laptop for some time so i looked for some teardowns and guides . I saw that Acer used some kind of viscous paste for some chips and i can't really find something similar locally . For the cpu and gpu i have some arctic silver 5 around somewhere but i was wondering if i can replace that viscous stuff with regular thermal pads and what type of pads should i use in that case ? While i'm at it i want to upgrade the ram as well since 8 gigs in singlechannel isn't getting me that far but this is another thing in its own . I would really appreciate if anyone knows a solution to replacing that pink paste or if its ok to just reuse what's already applied like a traditional thermal pad . 

Best Answer

  • AnhEZ28
    AnhEZ28 ACE, Member Posts: 4,277 Pathfinder
    Answer ✓
    @Pocdan that pink paste is a thermal putty. It is used for the VRAMs and can be reused as long as you keep that paste inside the chip region. If you want to replace it, use a 1mm or 1.5mm height thermal pad.
    Please remember to include @AnhEZ28 when you want to reply back to my comment so that I can check your response.
    Thank you and have a nice day!

Answers

  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,868 Trailblazer
    Don't re-use old paste. Clean heatsink and CPU/GPU surfaces with soft cloth moistened with rubbing alcohol. ArcticMX4 or Kryonaut pastes are recommended. Try to keep paste from oozing onto any mainboard components.

    You should be able to install up to two 16GB DDR4 sodimms 3200MHz for a total of 32GB max RAM. Single/dual channel or single/dual rank sodimms should work about the same.

    Jack E/NJ

  • Pocdan
    Pocdan Member Posts: 3 New User
    JackE said:
    Don't re-use old paste. Clean heatsink and CPU/GPU surfaces with soft cloth moistened with rubbing alcohol. ArcticMX4 or Kryonaut pastes are recommended. Try to keep paste from oozing onto any mainboard components.

    You should be able to install up to two 16GB DDR4 sodimms 3200MHz for a total of 32GB max RAM. Single/dual channel or single/dual rank sodimms should work about the same.
    I get that its not the greatest ideea to reuse paste on the cpu/gpu but what about the different chips that are under the heatsink ? Those have some kind of thick pink paste from what i saw in different videos . Is that replaceable with regular thermal paste or thermal pads because from what i saw after the heatsink is removed that isn't going to adhere the same on said chips . I know people advise to use k5 pro to replace that as well but i can't find any locally and i was wondering if there are any other alternatives .
  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,868 Trailblazer
    Please post a phone photo of the other chips you're talking about. If the heatsink doesn't cover them, then the paste that are on these other chips oozed out from between the heatsink and processor. In other words, a sloppy pastie job.

    If you can't find the proper paste locally, then order it on line. If for some reason you can't order the proper paste on line or get it locally then if it was mine I wouldn't be trying to re-paste the heatsinks in the first place. Otherwise, you risk creating overheating by re-using old paste or collateral damage to other components just from doing this laptop surgery.

    A usually suitable alternative is electrician's sealing putty. It's usually a gray-colored putty. Widely available in stores that sell house AC mains wiring supplies like hardware stores, HomeDepot, Lowes, etc. You knead and mold the putty into a thin sheet by hand that covers the entire processor/heat sink  surfaces.

    Jack E/NJ

  • AnhEZ28
    AnhEZ28 ACE, Member Posts: 4,277 Pathfinder
    Answer ✓
    @Pocdan that pink paste is a thermal putty. It is used for the VRAMs and can be reused as long as you keep that paste inside the chip region. If you want to replace it, use a 1mm or 1.5mm height thermal pad.
    Please remember to include @AnhEZ28 when you want to reply back to my comment so that I can check your response.
    Thank you and have a nice day!
  • Pocdan
    Pocdan Member Posts: 3 New User
    JackE said:
    Please post a phone photo of the other chips you're talking about. If the heatsink doesn't cover them, then the paste that are on these other chips oozed out from between the heatsink and processor. In other words, a sloppy pastie job.

    If you can't find the proper paste locally, then order it on line. If for some reason you can't order the proper paste on line or get it locally then if it was mine I wouldn't be trying to re-paste the heatsinks in the first place. Otherwise, you risk creating overheating by re-using old paste or collateral damage to other components just from doing this laptop surgery.

    A usually suitable alternative is electrician's sealing putty. It's usually a gray-colored putty. Widely available in stores that sell house AC mains wiring supplies like hardware stores, HomeDepot, Lowes, etc. You knead and mold the putty into a thin sheet by hand that covers the entire processor/heat sink  surfaces.

    I think those covered by that paste are ram chips for the gpu . The vrms or what it i at least think are vrms still use thermal pads .
  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,868 Trailblazer
    OK. The pink paste seems pliable and can simply be scooped up & smoothed out equally spread on both surfaces with a putty knife. Maybe not use it all to keep it from touching other components. If you can't get a thermal pad for the other stuff, the gray electrician's putty should be OK.

    Jack E/NJ

  • Uparanjan
    Uparanjan Member Posts: 2 New User

    Bro how did you solve it ? I removed the pink paste and now games lag and crashes .

  • kazuviking
    kazuviking Member Posts: 3 New User
    https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/comment/1194165#Comment_1194165

    You removed the thermal putty and now your vram is overheating. You re-apply putty and it should fix it.

  • ParthMandaliya
    ParthMandaliya Member Posts: 2 New User

    I am trying to replace thermal paste but few heatsink screws are almost impossible to open.

  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,868 Trailblazer

    heatsink screws are almost impossible to open.

    That probably because the threads have been coated with a blue or red coloered thread-locker like "lock-tite". Try heating the end of the screwdriver so it's quite hot. Then immediately insert the screwdriver into the screw head for a few seconds to heat the screw threads and help soften the thread-locker. Then try to remove the screw.

    Jack E/NJ

  • ParthMandaliya
    ParthMandaliya Member Posts: 2 New User
    https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/comment/1227230#Comment_1227230

    Jack, I have tried this already it does not work.

    And while opening the laptop I found some blue-coated screws, and out of 7 heatsink screws 5 I was able to unscrew. and #6 and #7 screws are unable to open and the technique you mentioned is not working as well.

  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,868 Trailblazer
    edited September 2023

    Soak a cotton swab (Q-tip) or small ball of TP with rubbing alcohol. Place it atop the screw head. Cover it with a small piece of aluminum foil to retard evaporation. Let it soak in for a few hours. Then try it again. If not, repeat. Try to be patient. It will eventually unscrew. Don't use brute force because the broach nuts are only a press fit, can spin & then pull out of the board.

    broachnut.jpg

    Jack E/NJ

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