How to choose a thermal pad for a laptop (choice of thickness and manufacturer)?

Question

Do it yourself

It is required for prevention to clean the laptop. I'm thinking of doing it myself. For full cleaning, you need to purchase a thermal pad (thermal pad). This is where expert advice is needed.
1) Before disassembly, the gap between the radiator and the heating element is not known. Is the thickness of the gasket important or can you buy on ebay 2 mm thick and not bother. After all, the gasket is plastic and when the radiator is twisted, it will squeeze out the excess. Although, on the other hand, the heat-conducting base will come out, and the reinforcing mesh will probably remain and compact. The heat sink will not significantly deteriorate? Or maybe get a 1 mm sheet and put 2 sheets with a larger gap thickness?
2) Manufacturer. I did not find full reviews of thermal pads. In RuNet there is an advertisement for Coolian pads. There are a lot of thermal pads on ebaynoname . Since I do not have any statistics, I ask the community for advice. I suppose to order on ebay - there is a rating / reputation system.

Answer 1

Recently I cleaned the laptop, I managed with the usual thermal paste, why is it not suitable or what are some innovations in new laptops?

Answer 2

If the heatsink is close to the processor, then yes, thermal paste and go ahead. If there is a significant gap, commensurate with a millimeter, as they began to do for video cards, then you need a thermal pad, which is also designed to remove heat, but also contains a reinforcing mesh to protect against spreading. During these New Year holidays, at the very beginning, I dismantled my laptop completely, and so there was nothing to replace the gasket with, they don’t sell it in stores. At my own peril and risk, I generously smeared that place with thermal paste, but nevertheless, I had to change the video adapter, which costs a lot of money (the adapter itself, reballing). And wait until the repair shops open + until the ordered adapter arrives ...

Answer 3

In my laptop (Acer 5520G) I replaced this very gasket with pieces of aluminum and copper foil (where it was necessary to put aluminum thicker - only thin copper was available). From cleaning to cleaning, there were no complaints about the design.

Answer 4

Coolian rules. Excellent pads!

Answer 5

To give a lot of money for a product that is guaranteed to lose the desired properties is stupid.
Aluminum foil is an order of magnitude better than any bullshit "silicone rubber".
The only caveat is electrical conductivity.

Answer 6

Alternatively, copper pads of various thicknesses can be used as thermal pads. They are sold on ebay, mostly 15x15 / 20x20 mm, or large, with the expectation that they will be cut by yourself to the desired size. The thickness there seems to be available from 0.1mm. You buy a copper gasket for the desired gap, and hang it on the thermal paste. Such a solution in terms of thermal conductivity will definitely be more effective than thermal pads. This solution is also indispensable in cases where the heatsink is attached to several chips at the same time, and somewhere something interferes with a small gap, or the chips have different heights. And if the radiator can be attached directly to the stone, then it is better to do without gaskets at all.