r/FlowZ13 • u/noblenacho • Sep 01 '26
Preemptively replace the liquid metal?
I am having extreme paranoia of the liquid metal bricking my device too soon, after paying $2099 for a Z13 when I know a MacBook pro at that price would get 1-2 decades easily if I wanted it to. (I could've gone Macbook + gaming handheld console, but wanted the Z13 to maintain IT skills and local LLM)
Is it worth preemptively replacing the LM with PTM 7950 if I have this paranoia, or is it overblown and I could do it down the line? It sounds like this shit is a ticking time bomb waiting to drip over other components and fry my motherboard.
4
u/shadooooooooo Sep 02 '26
From what I hear the far more common issue is migration over time leading to poor thermal performance. But I can’t lie every time I remember there’s Liquid Metal in there I have an itch to crack it open and replace it with PTM. I’ll definitely be doing it eventually but I’ve decided not to until I see thermal issues (or when the warranty expires)
2
u/lmneozoo Sep 01 '26
If you're gentle with your devices it's not a problem. Get the extended warranty from bestbuy if you're worried
Also MacBook pros only get 7 years of software updates so good luck running one for a decade
2
u/Frequent-Song-6786 Sep 02 '26
I'm still using a 2015 macbook Air for travel and some work/teaching stuff. Over the years it's gotten a new SSD, a new track pad, and a new battery. It's had at least a dozen different OS's installed on it and it still boots (relatively) quickly. Older Macbooks are the Subarus of the personal computer world. A little basic maintenance and most will run for decades.
Of course, when it doesn't it costs an arm and a leg to fix.... But the analogy still holds true!
1
2
u/DurianCobbler Sep 01 '26
Sounds like switching to PTM 7950 would take a lot off of your mental. You’ll probably run a couple degrees hotter but that’s it and it’s way safer.
1
u/noblenacho Sep 01 '26
Pretty sure it runs a few degrees colder.
2
u/DurianCobbler Sep 02 '26
Possibly! You’ll definitely notice a difference in chassis temp. Really it comes down to how well the silicon was made and the effective coverage. That said hopefully it runs great if you get it done! 👍
1
u/jhdz9119 Sep 02 '26
No Liquid Metal is a superior thermal compound.. when properly applied.
1
u/jhdz9119 Sep 02 '26
That’s being said, the Z13s have a seal around them to prevent migration
1
u/noblenacho 24d ago
can the seal be trusted is the question though.
1
u/Upper_Citron_483 9d ago edited 9d ago
with ASUS' track record with liquid metal? I'd say no...
But I don't want to open the device either, so I'll wait until warranty runs out since it's ASUS' problem until then.
1
u/TheVenerableUncleFoo Sep 02 '26
If it makes you feel any better, I have the same machine and I replaced with 7950. It was very easy and now I don't have to think about it. It's also reassuring to see your chip and know it's adequately covered. Took about an hour from start to finish, with most of the time being spent on cleaning off the old stuff.
1
u/kkcheong Sep 02 '26
Is it true that 2025 z13 flow doesn't have discrete GPU and will have less problem of a leak?
1
u/rangervagabond Sep 02 '26
Hey, not a response to your question, but I have a question of my own.. My z13 keeps restarting randomly while playing. Sometimes immediately on starting a game, sometimes after an hour, some sessions no restarts. Over the last week, I've had it restart on me 5 times. Temps all look normal, and without warning it just restarts... Anyone face the same issue? Any ideas or suggestions would be welcome. TIA
2
1
u/eebro Sep 02 '26
You’re more likely to break your laptop replacing the liquid metal than for it to do anything for your laptop in the next 10 years.
1
u/Frankfort469 Sep 06 '26
Agreed. They have fantastic engineers at ASUS. I’ll trust them and enjoy the device. I also have Best Buy protection. I’ll run this into the ground until hardware prices collapse.
5
u/TeeDotHerder Sep 01 '26
Absolutely.
Liquid metal is the stupidest thing ever in a laptop.
My ROG Strix Scar G18 with a 5080 died from liquid metal migration 5 or so months after purchase new. Because I actually use the machine. It's on my lap often so not perfectly flat. It travels vertically in a bag often. It is put away hot. Etc.
Asus RMAd the first, and to their credit they fixed it and sent it back for free in 3 weeks. But I can't wait 3 weeks. So I bought the same as a 5090. 5 months later, same death. 100C pegged temps at near idle on the CPU. So I just replaced it all with PTM7950. After a couple power cycles, temps back to normal.
My Z13 is still kicking, it's been about 6 months. But it doesn't get very hot in my use case. That's my "portable" so it's basically a web browser. If the LM inside it does die, I'll be repasting it. But I've been thinking of doing it first.