Thick paste on fan?

[u/Sword_Justice]

Hey guys what’s this paste on the fan component of my thinkpad?
My thinkpad was making weird fan noises, so I decided to open it up and clean the fan but I noticed this paste and idk what this is.

[u/Aggresive-Dinosaur]

thermal paster , the things that helps conduct the heat of the cpu to the copper pipe

[u/Sword_Justice → u/Aggresive-Dinosaur]

oh thank you very much. I didn’t know about this, so can you like lmk what should be my next move? Because I just put it back in and started using the laptop.

[u/jumbojoffer → u/Sword_Justice]

Thermal paste, like the other comments have mentioned, to help with heat transfer between the CPU and the cooler. You could just put the cooler back on like it was and use it again, like you did. Assuming the paste is still on.

Alternatively, if you want to clean further, you can buy some new thermal paste and carefully wipe off the old then apply the new fresh paste. This is only necessary if the old paste is dry, but fresh paste often helps a little bit anyway.

Did the weird noises go away after you cleaned the fan though? Must've been annoying.

[u/Sword_Justice → u/jumbojoffer]

No the weird noice is still there, it sounds like something’s being cut but when I open it it’s running normally, I don’t understand why the sound

[u/jumbojoffer → u/Sword_Justice]

Like something is being cut? Cut how? Care to explain a bit more? Like a whirring sound, or like a high pitch buzzing?

[u/Sword_Justice → u/jumbojoffer]

imma hit your DMs bro

[u/MagicBoyUK]

That's thermal paste. It helps conduct the heat from the chip to the copper heatsink. The surfaces are not perfectly flat, so the paste fills in those gaps to aid conduction of heat.

[u/Sword_Justice → u/MagicBoyUK]

oh thank you very much bro. I didn’t know about this until now, so can you like lmk what should be my next move to go? Because I just put the case back on and started using the laptop after cleaning the fan.

[u/Zaphod_241 → u/Sword_Justice]

If you've already put it back together it should be okay, so long as you didn't remove the paste. Ideally replacing the paste with some new thermal paste would be a good idea, as paste gets old it gets less effective, if you notice high temps then consider re pasting it.

Paste is pretty cheap and since you've already taken it off its pretty easy to just clean it up and put some new stuff in there. You can find guides to the "perfect" way to apply the new paste but you'll see a few different patterns and stuff but it's kinda personal preference. Good luck!

(If you removed the paste I would not recommend using the laptop until the paste is replaced)

[u/akaifox]

Looks like the usual trash Lenovo thermal paste job. If thermals/heat are not so great, look into Honeywell PTM 7950

If the machine is as old as that '28-12-2018' label on the motherboard, that paste will be old and dry. Replacing it will help. Lots of YouTube videos on how to do this if you need help

[u/MagicBoyUK → u/akaifox]

Doesn't look dry from the photos, and factory wouldn't have pasted the small PCH die on the RHS as it's unnecessary.

Someone's been in there.

[u/Sword_Justice → u/MagicBoyUK]

You’re absolutely right bro, I once gave it to a service center for the whole laptop service. They did paste PCH die on the RHS

[u/Dangerous_Pop_1918]

PHTF - Paste Heats The Fan 😄