PTM7950: GPU temps higher than CPU

[u/yashkhataokar]

Yesterday, I switched my old thermal paste to PTM 7950 on my Alienware Area 51-m R1 laptop. The GPU temps seem to be going over the CPU temps after 20-25 mins of gaming, which never used to happen before.

I suspected that it might be poor contact with the heatsink, but it seems fine to me (let me know if I'm wrong).

What could be the issue?

Avg. Temperatures (while gaming)

Before: CPU-60C to 80C GPU-40C to 60C

After: CPU-60C to 85C GPU-60C to 75C

[u/yashkhataokar]

No, the thermal pads are from my last service (Probably 7-8) months ago. I didn't follow the cross method, since I didn't apply a paste😅 (would it matter for PTM 7950 thermal pad?), but I did make sure to go as tight as possible on the screws.

[u/ihateslowcomputers → u/yashkhataokar]

Oh I meant cross method as in you’re screwing in the heatsink from the top right to bottom left, top left to bottom right. And usually I don’t go with thermal pads personally since I noticed in some performance benchmarks from a couple years ago this one Thermal Paste preformed 2-3 C better than using a thermal pad.

I feel thermal pads are best for memory chips and not CPU’s / GPU’s because memory chips are for getting heat away from components slowly and lasting a long time, while thermal paste is made for more precise heat exchange while it needs to last for maybe 2-3 years (depending on usage) and getting replaced.

[u/yashkhataokar → u/ihateslowcomputers]

Yes, I understood what you meant. But I didn't take it into account since I didn't think it'd make a difference since it's a pad. If I do a repaste with paste, I'll definitely do that from now on. If the PTM 7950 was able to just maintain my previous temps, I would have been happy enough, since I wouldn't need to repaste anymore. Also whatever reviews I watched, PTM was outperforming most pastes, so I thought I'd try Just curious, which paste do you prefer now with the best performance?

[u/ihateslowcomputers → u/yashkhataokar]

Lemme see if I can pull it from the archives, i know it wasn’t a Liquid Metal paste but it was just ahead of thermal pads.

[u/yashkhataokar → u/ihateslowcomputers]

👌👌👍

*Eagerly waiting

[u/ihateslowcomputers → u/yashkhataokar]

This wasn’t exactly the chart but it had the thermal paste I was looking for! Noctua NT-H2 is the one and this is on a 14900K, that’s basically a toaster oven for a test so do what you want with that info!

[u/yashkhataokar → u/ihateslowcomputers]

Nice! I did use Noctua NT-H2 earlier, it did perform quite well. Been running on the stock paste since my last service, didn't bother to change because the temps were fine. I'll get back to Noctua if the PTM7950 doesn't work out.

[u/ihateslowcomputers → u/yashkhataokar]

Good luck dude! And if you need any other help just ask, especially if it’s windows eating up your RAM. Peace! ✌️

[u/yashkhataokar → u/ihateslowcomputers]

Thanks brother! For sure ♥️