Thermal Putty Guide

[@wolfwilkopter2231]

Well done mate, great guide, calm, relaxed and everything covered thats needed. Nice Hint with that PCIE Connector btw. :)

[@peterelliott4947]

Loving this guide mate! Cheers fella for taking the time to make this!

[@bat4130]

Finally got around to adding the additional putty and temps have fallen through the floor. Max hotspots of 100c have fallen to below 80c which is what I was aiming for. I can only imagine the secret sauce was puttying the back side of the card well. Thanks for what you're doing man

[@michtheocelot]

time to unleash the power of putty!

[@milankuli]

Question, the putty only covered around 3/4 area of the vram after compression, would that work? Or should I repeat the application? Thanks!

[@snarksdomain]

Up to you, if temperatures are good then no worries. I believe the actual size of the VRAM chip is smaller than what we see anyways.

[@Xerpocalypse_]

@@snarksdomainworth noting as well that VRAM is usually flip-chip, so the active silicon is actually closer to the PCB than the thermal solution.

[@WarningHPB]

Thank you so much for this video, I've only recently started looking into putty and was wondering how to apply it and stumbled apon your testing and now your youtube channel, now I am strongly considering repasting and changing over to some thermal putty on my PC and laptops.

[@snarksdomain]

@WarningHPB Thanks :) I'll be making a new proper laptop putty guide soon as that's the platform more folks struggle with. I'd also recommend looking into Phase Change Material sheets for use on CPU and GPU cotes, direct die or IHS applications. It has a much longer service life than traditional pastes do. Phase change sheets/pads melt at varying temperatures, but typically around 45 Celsius. Once the ly melt, the mounting pressure of the cooler helps to squish them down to arpund 0.038mm (0.0015"), the excess flw9jg out and resolidifying around the core/IHS as it cools. In the end over 80% of the material will pressed out.

[@MexkoGamez]

which putty was used here? this one looks really HQ and easy to manipulate. ( Probably UTP-8/6 ) but let me know :)

[@snarksdomain]

This one was Upsiren UTP-8

[@MexkoGamez]

@@snarksdomain Thanks, as you already know, its on the way :)

[@rajivratnavale1142]

Is that better than ux pro?​@@snarksdomain

[@bat4130]

Thanks for this mate. Bought a further 50g of the ux pro ultra and I'm gonna putty the whole damn card lol. Damn that stuffs not cheap. Any reason I should not putty the coils? They came without any thermal pads on them or is that the manufacturer skimping? And your thoughts on just respreading the old thermal paste? Its only been a week since I applied it. Appreciate your opinion.

[@snarksdomain]

It's difficult to reuse thermal paste. Likely best to apply fresh coat. Ideally you won't need to redo this again for a long time.....or until the paste dries. No putty on the coils is the manufacturer skimping out. Depending on cooler design you can likely add some putty for them. Yeah, UX is around $1/gram. Some others are less than $0.50/gram. If you get the wrong UX Pro from Computer Systems GR is closer to $2 - $3 per gram, although I haven't tested that one yet.

[@bat4130]

@@snarksdomain Thanks 👍

[@StatsGam4er]

Love you and love your videos.

[@NorsNorm]

Great video...I have a HP laptop with a vapor chamber and it doesn't have any pads just paste covers everything. Was going to use UPT-8 or CX-1300 from SARA-U but not sure if this is what I am supposed to use for a laptop. There is a video on youtube that shows my model Envy 16-h0000 for what you need to do after removing the vapor chamber time stamp 10:06. I would post the link but my last comment was deleted for some reason. I will be using MX-6 for CPU and GPU but have no idea what I am supposed to use for everything else. Could you recommend what would be the best solution for this?

[@snarksdomain]

@NorsNorm for that laptop I'd recommend a Phase Change Material for CPU and GPU core. Something like Honeywell PTM7950. It will be much better ling term than a traditional paste. Likely better core delta as well. For a putty you're likely best off with a soft one like Halnziye HY236. It squishes down thinner than UTP-8 or CX-H1300 can. You could try the other two, but it will take more finesse to get a good application. Most folks, including myself, use too much Thermal Putry the first few times. It took me many putty applications to stop overusing putty.

[@NorsNorm]

@@snarksdomain I already bought the MX-6 do you know how long it would last? Otherwise I will eat the loss and get the pad. My laptop runs 24/7 I use it like a desktop plugged in to my TV

[@snarksdomain]

@NorsNorm well, no harm in using the MX-6 until you notice temps degrade. I just confident the Honeywell PTM7950 will be rock solid for you once it gets a good melt.

[@NorsNorm]

@@snarksdomain Thank you. Where would you suggest to get the PTM7950 from? and the HY236? I am in the US

[@snarksdomain]

@NorsNorm For PTM7950 a lot of folks, including myself, buy it on Aliexpress for fairly cheap. It may or may not be the reL deal, but it seems to perform the same or similar in testing. Mostly we buy it from "Passionate Girl Store" on Aliexpress. You could also go woth Thermalright Heilos which is also good and has an authenticity code you can scratch on each piece of it. For Halnziye HY236 eother Aliexpress or buy it directly from Halnziye website (fill out the quote request). It will be cheapest from Aliexpress.

[@tOrry360]

How much putty will be necessary for a Gigabyte 5700 XT? It has three 0,5mm pads in VRAM, two 1,5 mm for VRM and three 3mm in backplate (if I would go short, I wouldn't change backplate's pads). At first I though use GELID Extreme but I see is not so good. UTP-8 is a good choice? I needn't a powerful putty because normally I use less than 150W, but I want a cheap putty (but not bad quality). Thanks a lot! Your videos are so cool. Greetings from Spain.

[@snarksdomain]

@tOrry360 You should be able to do your whole card with 50g or less. UTP-8 is very good and relatively cheap when compared to most other top rated putties. CX-H1300 is decent as well, and even cheaper. Lately it has been noticeably stiffer. Which makes it a little harder to apply. It also performs about 2 degrees worse than the original batch I tested foe the charts. But still very good, about the performance of Laird T-Putty 607. I'd recommend using a Phase Change Material for the core like Honeywell PTM7950 or similar.

[@uparanjandas1723]

hey snark, i have a gtx 1650 on my laptop, so i ordered 20g Of CX H1300h. will it be enough for my vrms? And i removed the stock thermal putty by mistake so i am not able to measure it. Is there any other way by which i can apply the proper poprtion of putty and repaste mt Gtx 1650?

[@snarksdomain]

@uparanjandas1723 20g is enough. You will likely have some to spare. If you like, you can join the Discord server and then we can help get the putty dialed in with you. When you go to do the putty you'll want to just apply putty to the VRAM and VRM's initially and then do a test fit with the heatsink. If you like, you can put a tiny dot of paste in the middle of the CPU and GPU core to check for core contact. Then you'll fit the heatisnk, get screws started, and then apply manual pressure. Then take the heatsink back off and inspect and post pictures on the server. Then we'll help you figure out where to add/remove putty. Once putty is dialed in then you can go ahead and apply a Phase Change Material or paste of your choice. I recommend Honeywell PTM7950 sheet. Best to reshape the putty for final assembly and then follow similar steps of getting the screws started in to align everything and then applying pressure to help squish the putty.

[@uparanjandas1723]

@@snarksdomain man I didn't understand how to do the test fit and why to apply the manual pressure.

[@snarksdomain]

@uparanjandas1723 doing a test fit is just to see if you've used too much or too little of the putty. You can skip the test fit if you accurately measure the pads dimensions and use the Putty Calculator. Applying pressure is to help squish the putty. Laptop heatsinks don't typically have the high mounting pressure that GPU's have. Lately CX-H1300 has been a lot stiffer than the original batches of it were, so you will need to apply pressure to squish the putty if you want to have the CPU and GPU core contact the heatsink.

[@Askorzzz]

Just wanna ask this but is the UTP-8 sticky because i have both the utp-8 and u6 pro and the u6 is super sticky while utp is more like a clay

[@snarksdomain]

@Askorzzz where did you buy your U6 pro from? Did you get the good one (Upsiren, China), or the bad one (Computer Systems GR, Greece)? You may want to take a look at the charts located on the Google Drive (Test Chart Repository>VRAM TIM>ETCHASH). Also, considering watching my video called "U6 Pro: A Tale Of Two Putties"

[@snarksdomain]

Upsiren U6 Pro is not super sticky. It is easily formed by hand (wear gloves).

[@VigilSerus]

Great vid! Recently found someone who makes GPU fan mount deshrouds and figured it would be a great time to redo the paste and pads too! This seems like a killer combo with PTM and Noctuas. Excited to try this out.

[@snarksdomain]

@VigilSerus Thanks for checking out the video. Putty and PCM make a great combo. The putty compresses well, allowing for ideal core contact. Putty takes a bit of getting used too and is easy to use too much the first couple times. I used too much in the past as can been seen in some of my earlier videos.

[@mouseOFwood]

Good Job 👍

[@BelayaBirdy]

Thanks for the great vid, I was actually thinking of replacing the pads on my gpu with putty and repasting it ! I also wanted to thank you for your work, you motivated me a few month ago to buy thermal putty for my overheating ThinkPad p53 and it has since then been running like a charm, though to be honest I did one hell of a botched job and just spread a thick ammount of putty with a plastic spatula where the pads were and let the cooler squeeze the excess out 😅

[@snarksdomain]

That's great to hear. Which putty did you decide to go with?

[@BelayaBirdy]

@@snarksdomain I went with U6 PRO from Upsiren for a safe (cheap-ish) solution and some ptm for the CPU and GPU. I'm thinking of going for 50 grams of UX Ultra PRO and some UTG-X for my GPU repasting just to get the best performance without bothering with pads or shims.

[@snarksdomain]

@BelayaVorona22 you may want to recheck the charts. UX is great, but I'd personally go with UTP-8 if choosing an Upsiren putty. Around half the price of UX. U6 Pro is pretty good though. What are your memory temps like?

[@BelayaBirdy]

​@@snarksdomain I just made the basic assumption that pricier = better and went with the best option they had, while it's true that in practice the charts don't show that big of a difference between the two. Seems like you saved me some money ! When it comes to my laptop sadly it doesn't have any memory temps indicator on HWiNFO, all I can say is that it's an rtx3000 with an i7-9850H packed in a frame that's known for being plagued with cooling issues. I went from constant thermal throttling in any kind of demanding game/software to a way nicer 55°C GPU, and 65°C Hotspot on furmark in 1080p.

[@snarksdomain]

@@BelayaBirdy Glad you got some nice thermals now. :) Welcone to #TEAMPUTTY

[@kiren333]

Great video! Would like some advise, i would like to repaste my msi ge66 which started overheating like hell (12700+3070ti). For cpu/gpu got some ptm7950. Also i got some honeywell ht7000. Seller advised me that 2-3 ml is enough for laptop, so i only ordered 5ml. Now i saw that mostly people recommend like 20 grams. I have option to order zezzio zt-py6 or fehonda ltp81 (possible also cx-h1300, or hy-236, but i guess they are worse) So my question is: can i use both putties (if one will be not enough) and which one you will recommend?

[@snarksdomain]

@kiren333 20g should work for most laptops. Your 5ml is the equivalent of 17.5grams of putty so perhaps you have enough. I haven't tested HT7000 so not sure where it lands on the charts. HY236 is quite good actually and nice and soft. It's probably the easiest to work with for laptops. CX-H1300 has been stiffer lately. Still performs okay, but harder to get fully compressed.

[@snarksdomain]

@@kiren333 Fehonda LTP81 is good too, if a bit more expensive per gram.

[@kiren333]

@@snarksdomain wow! Really fast answer) Thanks!

[@archaicfossil4263]

Love it I'm gonna do this to my laptop thankyou

[@snarksdomain]

@@archaicfossil4263 I'd recommend a different putty these days. Check the charts located at the Google Drive Link in video description (Test Chart Repository>VRAM TIM>ETCHASH). Most folks go with Upsiren UTP-8 lately. Whatever putty you go with, you'll want to buy 20g.

[@EA-bv4sh]

Mükemmel yayıncısın. Termal tablolarını sürekli takip ediyorum

[@LameGaming]

Awesome channel and info! You earned a sub! Im grabbing a 3090 strix from a coworker tomorrow for $450. Comes with a waterblock and the factory air cooler. Im going to have to convert it back to the air cooler because if i spend money on another radiator,fans, reservoir, pump, fittings etc ... Then that $450 deal wont be much of a deal anymore because the cost will be in the realm of just grabbing a 7900 xtx. I planned on repadding front and back with gellid extreme pads but would need 4 different thicknesses. This seems like a better option and seems this putty method would be easier to get right since the putty compresses well. Also I need to do my old 3080 as well. Would you recommend the ux pro putty and what amount would you guess is needed for a 3080 and 3090? Also what paste would you recommend for the gpu core? Thanks!

[@snarksdomain]

Nice find on the 3090. Seems like a great price. I'd go with UTP-8 instead. Same/better performance, softer, half the price. You'll probably want to get 150g total to cover both cards. For a paste I'd recommend using a Phase Change Material sheet instead, like Honeywell PTM7950, Upsiren PCM-1, Thermalright Helios.

[@LameGaming]

@@snarksdomain Thanks! Do you think the utp8 and ptm7950 on ali are legit?

[@dieg7585]

Thanks for all the tests and guides, mate. I watched a few videos of yours and was able to identify putties that perform well. I repasted Legion 7 16ACHg6 not so long ago and PTM7950 + HY236 combo improved thermals of RTX 3080 16GB by 10C and lowered the delta between overall temp vs junction (now they hover around 8C apart, used to be 15C). Sadly Ryzen 9 5900HX is a hothead and it throttles from time to time, despite PTM7950 and 16mV undervolt. Just yesterday I also repasted PowerColor RX 7900 XTX Red Devil on my main machine with PTM7950 and Upsiren UX Pro from MIddle999's store and so far I noticed way lower delta than before (19C before vs ~10C now). The overall temperature remained the same, but the fans kick in later than before, so all in all I believe it improved the situation. Maybe I will be able to OC the card and figure out how far I can push it. I don't understand why some people give you bad rap, but I guess that's what you get if someone never repasted anything and keeps shilling for companies just for the sake of it. ;)

[@snarksdomain]

Thanks for your comment. If your fan is kicking in later, or at lower RPM, then that's a good sign that the putty has made a difference. I always lock the fanspeed at 85% for testing purposes, but in normal use I let the GPU fans do their own thing. For the most part, I just assume the folks that give me a bad rap are all CSGR troll accounts, or those that got convinced by the CSGR trolls. I find some people that are initially suspicious of my motives tend to come around after a while and DM me, rather than face the wrath of an angry Greek. For those that still seem to be on the fence about putty in general, I'm thinking we'll see them in the coming years once they open up a device that use putty from the factory, and I look forward to helping them out then. Lastly, welcome to #TEAMPUTTY 😀

[@dieg7585]

A small update on how things are going after 3 months. I was able to overclock the 7900 XTX from 2625MHz core 2500MHz VRAM to 2900MHz core 2750MHz VRAM (I noticed that I have Hynix memory while repasting ^^). I moved the power limit from default 375W up to 435W. It definitely took a while to test stability and slowly crawl up to these values, but it was worth it. Now my PowerColor Red Devil is on par with Sapphire Nitro+ and the price of Red Devil, PTM7950 and Upsiren UX Pro putty is still ~220 EUR cheaper than going straight for for Sapphire Nitro+ where I live. Putty performance on the VRAM is outstanding, as I haven't seen junction temperatures go above 85C during hot summer with fans sitting at ~2100RPM during heavy workload. With thermal pads that were there before I would have witnessed around 95C without overclock, possibly cooking VRAM beyond 100C (ouch) with overclock if I happened to use graphics heavy software or games for too long. As per Legion 7 ACHg6, summer kicked its butt and the only way to calm it down was to turn off CPU boost - Ryzen 9 5900HX was cooking. My workplace laptop with i7-10850H suffered similar fate and throttled all day long and I couldn't do nothing about it... and that's without dGPU. I hope CPU and laptop manufacturers come to senses sooner or later and either reduce maximum clocks or improve thermal capabilities of their cooling solutions. Almost every laptop I encounter these days barely keeps up with cooling, and they keep putting more power hungry hardware inside them. You can pretty much put a cup of tea next to exhaust and that alone will keep your beverage warm, lol.

[@Krzeszny95]

Thanks for the tutorial. Putty looks much more user-friendly than pads. Have you considered testing Fehonda's liquid thermal pads?

[@snarksdomain]

I have 2 different Fehonda LTPs on the way, and some of their pads too.

[@diegoescobal9381]

Hey buddy! I am up to apply the utp-8, do you recommend me to apply like in this video, I mean between the edges of these square modules. I am first timer applying putty, I will check your videos and see your thermal putty guide , than you so much sir! My greetings from spain 😊

[@snarksdomain]

Hello Diego! I like packing putty around those square coils to potentially reduce coil whine, although the effect is not significant. This step isn't necessary, more of a personal preference. This guide should help walk you through it and you can also use the Putty Calculator located on the Google Drive link below (Test Chart Repository). If you run into any issues you can get thr fastest help on the Discord server :) Welcome to #TEAMPUTTY.

[@djBaro_official]

I am planning on using Uprising U6 pro for my laptop. My laptop already has stock thermal putty, so I cannot validate the thickness of anything. I am considering using the method of applying thermal putty first, putting the heatsink back on and screwing it, then unscrew it to remove extra and install thermal paste on the gpu and cpu. Do you know if this impacts cooling performance in any way?

[@snarksdomain]

@djBaro_official good idea on the test fit. It's the best method if you aren't really confident on putty amount to use. For Upsiren putty I'd go worh UTP-8 over U6 Pro. Higher performing than au6 Pro and UX Pro, soft, and affordable. Another good option is Fehonda LTP81, or Honeywell HT10000. When you remove the excess putty you will want to reform the stuff that's there, either by rolling logs with it, or using fingers/paste spreader to make it "stand up" a bit. You want to finally compression of the putty to be done by the heatsink when you apply pressure (after starting the heatsink screws for alignment). I'd also recommend considering using a Phase Change Material rather than a traditional paste. Can go woth Honeywell PTM7950 or similar (Upsiren PCM-1, Thermalright Heilos, or Laird TPCM7200 [needs higher temp to melt])

[@djBaro_official]

@@snarksdomain Thank you for the reply. I had researched (with your videos mostly, thanks) that U6 Pro is easier to work with than UX Pro, hence I already bought the U6 Pro. I didn't really think about going with UTP-8 before I bought it, I guess my research lacked there. I hope it is not too much performance I am missing out on haha, difference is only 2 euro for the 100g option. Also, do you know a reliable source where to get the Honeywell PTM7950? I already have MX 4 paste, which I wanted to use, but I have heard a lot about the Honeywell one but didn't go for it because I read that there were also fakes being sold.

[@djBaro_official]

Also thanks for telling me to let the putty stand up a bit again. I will definitely do that. The annoying thing is that the Intel I7 12700h cpu has 2 dies, and MSI is cooling the smaller die with a thermal pad and raised the heatsink to make room for the pad. So I'm gonna have to experiment with how putty goes on the smaller die, I assume it does not have to be cooled that much, which is why they used a thermal pad there. I cannot use thermal paste because of the raised part in the heatsink. Last time I took it out I tore the pad a bit and just put paste on it as a temporary solution lol

[@snarksdomain]

@@djBaro_official You can either get PTM7950 from Passionate Girl Store or Middle999 Store, both of which are on Aliexpress. That's if you want reasonable prices. If you want to pay more than Moddiy or LTT.

[@snarksdomain]

@djBaro_official judging by the price, it sounds like you at least got the good U6 Pro (China) and not the bad one (Greece).

[@AbdulBasit-rp7zi]

Hi, my throttlestop log file is saying VRTEMP for my laptop, does that mean my vrms are heating alot? This happens when I'm plugged in and gaming and after 5 mins power to cpu fluctuates too much and with that FPD stuttering occurs. Your help will be appreciated, if yk what the problem is so Kindly guide me

[@AbdulBasit-rp7zi]

Specs: i5 1235u Iris xe igpu 16gb dual channel ram Laptop: lenovo v14 G3 iap

[@snarksdomain]

I managed to find a teardown video and also the maintenance manual (surprisingly). The heatsink on your laptop is very small and seems to only cover the CPU and another little chip beside it. From what I can tell, the VRM isn't actively cooled at all. It's not ideal, but it might be possible to put some thermal putty between the VRM and the bottom cover (which is plastic). This MIGHT be enough to dissipate a but more heat. This would depending on whether it's solid plastic of if there are airflow slots/holes above the VRM. If you were into a bit more inventive modification you could add some heat pipes and putty and try to connect the VRM to the cooler, but this has lots of added risk woth the potential for copper heatpipes to create a short by touching something it shouldn't. You might be better off trying to get a Laptop cooler and using that while gaming.

[@stealth3206]

This is for VRM / VRAM, correct? Can I use this for my ROG Strix G18 Gaming Laptop?

[@snarksdomain]

That's correct. Putty is for anywhere there is a Thermal Pad. For a laptop you will likely use 30-40 grams. I'd suggest getting 50 grams which should cost you around $15-$20 depending which putty you buy. I like using Phase Change sheets like PTM7950 on the CPU and GPU core. There are other Phase changes such as Upsiren PCM-1, Thermalright Helios, and a few others. They all seem to perform similar after a good burn in. I won't be know the performance difference until I can improve my core testing setup.

[@stealth3206]

@@snarksdomain Is it possible I use the K5 Pro on my vram?

[@snarksdomain]

@stealth3206 possible? Yes. Advisable? No. You'll want to take a look at the most recent charts located on the Google drove link below (Test Chart Repository). K5 Pro runs about 34 degrees hotter than the top end putties. Currently the two best putties that I've tested at Upsirem UTP-8 and Fehonda LTP81. I consider them tied for 1st place.

[@checkoff8281]

Ive read somewhere, it helps against coil whine? But in which areas should i put the putty to get rid of coil whine?

[@snarksdomain]

It may help coil whine a bit. I'm packing putty between the coils at the 20:42 mark. It can't get rid of all the coil whine, since the coil can still vibrate inside it's plastic housing. Some folks go as far as drilling tiny holes into the plastic casing and filling them with stuff like Crazy Glue. I haven't done that myself yet, and doubt I will.

[@checkoff8281]

@@snarksdomain I thought the whine is because the coils touch the backplate sometimes. Ok will just put stuff around them like you, maybe it helps a bit. My card is quite ok anyway, but less is always better :)

[@huzaifavawda8383]

Which thermal putty makes the least mess in case you need to get back in there? And how do you clean a putty job up?

[@snarksdomain]

@huzaifavawda8383 any of the top 11 putties will be fairly similar for cleanup. Use a paste spreader/spatula to scoop up the majority of it for reuse, then clean the rest off woth a combination of Isopropyl Alcohol, Make-up wipes, Q-Tips, Toothbrush (old one). The higher performing ones tend to clean up easier than the mid to low performing ones. That's because they are dryer in nature, having more powder filling (thermal boosting powders like Aliminum Oxides, Nitrides and other non-electrically conductive thermal boosters. This makes them slightly grainy in nature and less sticky.

[@huzaifavawda8383]

@@snarksdomain thanks for the videos and replies! I really appreciate your detailed answer. What is your favourite putty to work with?

[@snarksdomain]

@huzaifavawda8383 My favourite? Probably TG-PP10. It's discontinuation initiated the hunt for alternatives, and it's still the benchmark for longevity. It may not match the thermal performance of putties we have access to today, but I still enjoy using it now and then. I have maybe 300g left of it, and it's still soft and maleable. As for my current preferred choice of putty it would be Upsiren UTP-8. It has excellent performance, is reasonably priced and fairly accessible. I also like Halnziye HY256 for times when gaps as small as 0.1mm occur (like with shims).

[@huzaifavawda8383]

@@snarksdomain Thank you, I appreciate your help. Being based in Africa, I have both heat to deal with, as well as not having access to Thermal Pads locally, and by the time I pay to get pads here, the transport price has killed me lmao. So I think this would just be the superior choice for me

[@fizzleman]

Very comprehensive great video thank you

[@kpm4620]

Have you tried upsiren ultra? What are your thoughts on it over this putty?

[@snarksdomain]

Upsiren UX Pro (Ultra) is on the charts. It's a good putty, but UTP-8 is just slightly better. I also prefer the consistency/viscosity of UTP-8. UTP-8 is also a more reasonable price. Currently 100g of UTP-8 goes for between $33 and $45 CAD. Most cards use 45-60 grams (3090 uses 75g)

[@kpm4620]

@@snarksdomain thank you for the explanation

[@JAKFUD]

Hello very good work you are doing thank you for this and i have a question i am gonna use this same putty for replacing the peds in my laptop do you think ball method or line method is gonna be affect performance? i dont know if 10g is enough to cover everything and can you guess how much putty you used in the video bc it seems like i am gonna use the same as well roughly thank you

[@snarksdomain]

Either ball or line method works good. I prefer lines myself. I've made a putty calculator located on the Google Drive (Test Chart Repository link below). For this card I used 44 grams. 10g is not enough for a laptop. I would recommend buying 50 grams of your putty of choice. You might use 30-40 grams on your laptop, just depends on the laptop. No matter what method you use, you'll likely need to press down on the cooler during application after you've got the screws in. Laptops tend not to have as high of mounting pressure as a videocard does. I recommend pairing putty with a long life paste or Phase Change Material for the core and CPU. Then you won't need to open it up again for years. If you run into issues, then you can get in touch with the growing community over on the Discord server. It's a great place to connect with others that have done what you're planning to do. I've learned a lot from others in the community over the last few years.

[@snarksdomain]

Heh, I just noticed you've already joined the Discord. Welcome aboard.

[@JAKFUD]

@@snarksdomain oh wow i bought 10 grams bc there was a huge discount for new accounts so i got it for 5 dollars but i guess i need to buy more thank you for responding

[@snarksdomain]

@JAKFUD if going woth Liquid metal, you'll likely want to protect the area around the CPU and GPU core with Conformal Coating. I really like MG Chemicals 422C. Is glows under UV light and makes it easy to see what is covered. MG 422C is also remains semi flexible, once cured. TG Shield would also work well. I personally like Phase Change Materials as they do not conduct electricity. They do require a burn in the get a good melt. They also improve over time as they get thinner days/weeks/months later.

[@JAKFUD]

@@snarksdomainthank you for your concern the laptop already has liquid metal from factory and has protection around it i am just going to repaste bc the factory job is not that good

[@zen_xenomorph]

How long does putty last before it needs replacing? And which Upsiren putty is the best? I don't mine btw, just gaming. I've heard that putty in general doesn't last as long as pads and i've seen hardware repair channels not recommending it because of dried up putty that's cooked some cards they've had to repair (although it wasn't Upsiren putty).

[@snarksdomain]

I believe you're talking about K5 Pro. I too have seen a few different PC repair channels recommend against using it, and I'd fully agree, just based on it's performance, and how heat seems to effect it (potential offgassing, visible from air channels/bubbles upon dissassembly). I've been using TG-PP10 for around 3 years and have found it to remain effective and maleable for that entire time. You can watch some of my streams where I reshape the TG-PP10 that's been on the VRM'S for a couple years now. It will be years before we know the longevity of the newer thermal putties. Pads often don't last years, especially during 24/7/365 usage. Putty is getting used more by manufacturers in various devices, so you may have some in your home already. Some devices you will find Thermal Putty include Sony PS5, EVGA 30 series videocards, Lenovo Legion gaming laptops, newer ASUS AMD videocards, newer ASUS gaming laptops, some cell phones, some cars, etc.

[@zen_xenomorph]

@@snarksdomain Thanks, and yeah i'm pretty sure it was K5 Pro. Suppose i'll test out some Upsiren UX Pro on my Gen 5 NVMe drive heatsink, just to see how it compares to the Gelid Ultimate pads on it. Plus it's a much quicker test than taking my card apart, and even if temps are slightly worse it might still be worth it for ease of use and reusability.

[@snarksdomain]

@zen_xenomorph Be sure to take a look at the latest charts on the Google Drive link in video description (Test Chart Repository)

[@zen_xenomorph]

@@snarksdomain So from looking at your (very useful) chart, UTP-8 is at least as good as UX Pro and it's cheaper. What are your thoughts on UTP-8? I see people mentioning TG-PP10 when searching for the best putty and wondered how UTP-8 compares.

[@snarksdomain]

@zen_xenomorph I've personally bought 1100 grams of UTP-8. I definitely like it a lot. TG-PP10 is the putty a lot of people used for quite a while, including myself. It was discontinued about 2 years ago. When that happened, I started searching for alternatives and started testing putties. I found some much higher performing putties since then, and some that are worse.

[@Sald8Trin]

How much putty goes on a gpu approx? I have Asus 4090 to repaste and to change pads and wondering if 30-40g would be enough

[@snarksdomain]

@@Sald8Trin I used 44 grams on this 3070. You will likely need 50g at the very least. 100g is a decent purchase for around $35 CAD.

[@Sald8Trin]

@@snarksdomain And this is u6 pro that you used here right?

[@snarksdomain]

@Sald8Trin This is Upsiren UTP-8. This is the latest putty from Upsiren. It is basically tied with Fehonda LTP81 if you look at the charts on the Google Drive.

[@Sald8Trin]

Thank you for all your answers 🙏

[@hanszaam]

Im really considering ux pro ultra uprisen because of your vids. only concern I have is shelf life. According to uprisen its shelf life is 18 months. Im also using ptm7950 because I never have to look back at maintenance. Is this the best solution apart from great cooling results? Suggestions, research into? Pads are hit or miss I take it because of comperession??

[@snarksdomain]

I'd likely go with UTP-8 over UX Pro. UTP-8 performs slightly better than UX, and is a bit softer, and it's also cheaper. I'm not too concerned with stated "shelf life" for putties. I've been using the same TG-PP10 in the test card and reworking it for around 1.5 years now, and it passed it's shelf life quite some time ago. It does gradually get firmer over time, but this process is fairly slow. If anything, "shelf life" is the timestamps in which the manufacturer believes the consistency/viscosity will remain roughly the same, making application consistent. It doesn't mean the materials have changed and no longer transfer heat. Oxides and Nitrides are fairly stable in an of themselves. The silicone does very gradually seep out of any silicone based paste/pads/putty, although I find the process much slower in a outty than I have with silicone based pads. You should never see a puddle of oil next to putty. You'll likely see a slight staining of silicone oil around the putty after years of use. I hope this information is helpful. Also, when applying PTM7950, be sure to do a good burn in for a couple hours. Temps usually look quite bad for the first little bit until it can melt from 0.2mm or 0.25mm down to 0.038mm. It typically improves the most in the first 2 hours of burn-in, and then gradually over the following weeks.

[@lalafrancine8055]

@@snarksdomain hey snark! I’ve been watching your vids recently since i’ll be using thermal putty and honeywell ptm7950 when it arrives. My pc is water cooled, can i run a game or furmark for the initial heating of the pcm? Thank you! Your videos are very helpful.

[@snarksdomain]

@lalafrancine8055 One technique for a watercooled system is to take the top cap off the reservoir to allow for thermal expansion and prevent over pressuring of the system, and then running a light/moderate load and having the fans either off or at a minimum until the water temp gets to around 50C. Having it run like that for a couple hours should be enough to get it melted and thin.

[@lalafrancine8055]

@@snarksdomain alright thanks! Will do that

[@slowjocrow6451]

Any AliExpress budget recommendations that still perform better than pads? Is putty sticky enough if you turn the board over, small heatsink won't fall off?

[@snarksdomain]

The current go-to budget option on Aliexpress is CX-H1300. Lately the batches have been not as soft or high performing as the original batch I tested, but it's still on par or slightly higher performing than U6 Pro. It just takes extra care to get a good application. I would recommend wearing gloves and kneading in your hands for a minute to soften it uo as much as possible, and then roll into logs. The new batches seem a little on the dryer side, so you want to lightly press down on the rolled logs once placed on the components. It should still stick enough not to fall off when held upside down. I recommend lightly pressing on any hand formable putty to make it stick the a surface. It's also important to clean surfaces with 99% Isopropyl Alcohol to remove any residual oils from the previous thermal pads or putty.

[@slowjocrow6451]

@@snarksdomain thanks very much 😁

[@snarksdomain]

If doing a loose small heatsink that won't be mounted or fastened to the device, I wouldn't trust it to stay in place if upside down or vertical long term, though. Gravity will win eventually. If this was the plan, I'd look into a way you could at least use a zip-tie or something else to hold it there oing term. In most of my streams where I apply different putties, I do a "tilt test" before reassembling the card.

[@slowjocrow6451]

@@snarksdomain have you ever tried PTM7950 vs putty? I see many people impressed by PTM7950

[@morgan3392]

Appreciate the video. Been trying to repaste my GPU, can't find what the appropriate pad thickness would be for it, so I read about thermal putty.

[@AbdulMoiz-km9oh]

What if we apply putty to the backside of the dies in a laptop?? Would it make a difference

[@snarksdomain]

If there is something the putty could transfer heat to it might have a slight effect. The biggest thing with Laptops is that if it managed to lower the CPU/GPU core temps even 2-3 degrees it would be significant. On Videocards, there is usually such a large cooler, that putty on the back of the die has little effect. But with laptops having such a small and heat soaked cooler, there's a better chance of seeing a difference. I'd say go for it.

[@AbdulMoiz-km9oh]

@@snarksdomain Ahh Okay, I just got a secondhand acer nitro 17 about a year old and temps on the ryzen 7 7735HS can reach over 95 C in spite of having LM The GPU (rtx 4060)can hit 88-90 C as well which I know definitely isn't good, in spite of having a 2 fan air cooler under the laptop and being in a cool environment The ptm7950 and cx-h1300 putty I ordered finally arrived today so I'm pretty excited to see how much of a difference it'll make, I watched your vids regarding application as well, good stuff!

[@alfiethefeline3311]

which putty is this? where can we get it?

[@snarksdomain]

I used Upsiren UTP-8 for this video

[@jaiselcervantes5243]

@@snarksdomain I have an MSI GS66. What thermal putty do you recommend? Based on your testing list I am leaning for the 13.5 CX-H1300.

[@snarksdomain]

@jaiselcervantes5243 CX-H1300 is a decent putty, and certainly a good budget pick. The only issue I've had with it lately is the batch variance where it's much stiffer than the original batch and performs a couple degree worse as well. This still puts it very high on the chart. The main issue is getting it to squish. This means you will need to apply a bit more pressure during reassembly to achieve good core contact. It can be done, but will take some trial and error on your part.

[@jaiselcervantes5243]

@@snarksdomain Thank you for your reply. I considered that temperature fluctuation of 2 degrees that you mentioned and still seems to be a good option. A second option that I considered was the UX pro.

[@snarksdomain]

@@jaiselcervantes5243 CX-H1300 is definitely still good, just stiffer than ideal for a laptop. I'd get Upsiren UTP-8 over UX Pro. Similar/better performance, softer, and costs less. Fehonda LTP81 is also very good You might want to look at the most up to date charts located at the Google Drive link in video description (Test Chart Repository>VRAM TIM>ETCHASH).

[@acehoodman]

Uprisen UTP-8 doesn't ship to Europe anymore. I can only get CX-H1300 over here :(

[@snarksdomain]

@acehoodman you might want to try your luck with Fehonda LTP81 or Honeywell HT10000. CX-H1300 was great when it was nice and soft. Lately the different batches I've received have all been quite stiff. Still perform okay, but not as easy to use. It's likely fine for an experienced putty user for Videocards. You might be able to get UTP-8 from Ebuy7 still

[@acehoodman]

@@snarksdomain LTP81 on Aliexpress doesn't ship to Germany either and I couldn't find HT10000 at all. UTP-8 would be the perfect putty for my Xbox Series X but I haven't found any shop that ships to Germany. I also had no luck at ebuy7, it's not even listed there.

[@acehoodman]

@@snarksdomain I couldn't find Fehonda LTP81 or Honeywell HT10000 at all but I found 100g Uprisen UTP-8 for ~33€ at dhgate and placed an order. I just hope that the Putty will arrive at my door in a couple of weeks. I have never used dhgate before and it has terrible ratings at Trustpilot but it was the only option for me as Aliexpress doesn't ship any Thermal putty made by Uprisen to Germany/EU anymore.

[@valour549]

Why cant we use honeywell PTM everywhere instead of putty?

[@snarksdomain]

@valour549 A couple reasons come to mind. For starters you would need to stack 8-10 layers in places to span the gap, that would make it quite expensive to do so. If it did work, and melted, then fluid dynamics and gravity would take over. It would likely shift around enough to lose contact with some of the components, especially in larger gaps. If that didn't happen and it all stayed in one placed it would essentially be like gluing the card to the cooler. It would take a lot more force to pry apart. But the number one reason why it's not a great idea is that it would likely not perform as well as a putty. PTM7950 needs the ability to be in liquid form so that it can become very very thin. A top end thermal putty does not have this requirement of becoming super thin. As such it will often be loaded with more thermal boosting powders than the Phase Change could incorporate into it's mixture, and still be able to achieve liquid form. You are certainly welcome to try, but I would personally strongly recommend against it.

[@valour549]

@snarksdomain I see. So what's the difference between what u have in this video (looks like play dough), compared to something like Cooler Master thermal pads? Is it the fact that with what u have one doesn't need to worry about the thickness? I always don't know what pads to buy because they come in so many thickness... and when I take my laptops heatsink off the original pads there are already torn so it's not like I can measure them lol

[@snarksdomain]

@valour549 most good putties are like this one and can be molded by hand (with gloves). It takes the guesswork out of pad thickness and eliminate the need to buy multiple thicknesses as well. You can either figure out the correct amount of putty with "Trial and Error", or if you happen to know the pad thicknesses or there is a good pad thickness guide online, you can punch those numbers into the Thermal Putty Calculator on the Google Drive link below (Test Chart Repository). Laptops use around 20g, most videocards use 50g or less, a 3090 uses around 75 grams. The 2 main benefits of thermal putty, over traditional thermal pads, is that it forms better around tiny components, and that it compresses much easier than pads do. This in turn let's the Core have more of the mounting pressure, which helps to get a super thin layer of Phase Change, or paste if that is your preference. As long as putty is soft enough to form by hand then you can also reuse it. I have been reshaping the same TG-PP10 inside my test card for close to 75 applications now (about 2 years of use). Also, the TG-PP10 I took out of my 3090 was still soft after 2.5 years of heavy use. Putty is likely what you will see in most cards and laptops 5 years from now, but we already see it in Lenovo Legion laptops, ASUS AMD videcards, some Acer laptops, Playstation 5's, to name a few. It is also often cheaper than pads, depending which putty you go with. Feel free to check out the charts located on the Google Drive. I've tested a few dozen Thermal Putties and also a decent selection of pads so far.

[@ggj1987]

I’m trying to repaste my laptop but this putty is hard to apply

[@snarksdomain]

@ggj1987 While this putty is very high performing, some folks are having trouble using it on laptops with very thin gaps. If you like you can join the Discord server and we can try to help troubleshoot it with you. We might still be able to get it to work for you. If not then you'll likely need to get a Thermal Putty like Halnziye HY236 which can compress down to 0.10mm much easier. I believe it has a much smaller particle size than UTP-8 does.

[@OwlyEagle]

This is fking top tier

[@makingtechfriendly]

Shared with my audience, hope you get monetized soon and enable membership.

[@snarksdomain]

Thank you so much, that is very thoughtful of you. I'm not sure if I will add memberships or not, but I may consider it at some point. Kind regards from Canada :)

[@3nkiy]

hi buddy, is the thermal putty reusable?

[@snarksdomain]

Yes it is.

[@3nkiy]

@@snarksdomain when i separate the backplate, the thermal putty kind of separates/breaks and stays on both sides, is that normal?

[@snarksdomain]

@3nkiy yes. You just need to scoop it up and reform with gloved hands, and put back in place. Some putties are less prone to doing that, and predominantly stick to one surface. These putties include Penchem TH949-1, Penchem TH855-5, Upsiren UX Pro, and Upsiren UTP-8.

[@3nkiy]

@@snarksdomain thanks buddy u help me a lot😁

[@a4man90]

i bought ut8 upsiren :D today ... and ill try it in a few days when it comes... and ofc ill sent data... i have found some strange way to benchmark my gpu with game called SCUM... when u enter in main menu and just staying there it is such an inpact on gpu coz it isnt optimized and pull all ur gpu can give :D ... BTW it is on 3090 suprim and mby i will record and send u to implement in some video...

[@snarksdomain]

That sounds good. Feel free to join the Discord if you like. It's a great place to share your results and also see what others are doing with putty.

[@Garu_Df]

theres no risk to put it alone in backside i think its strange

[@snarksdomain]

@@Garu_Df no risk. This stuff is a strong electrical insultator, so it doesn't conduct electricity. It can be used anywhere a traditional thermal pad can.

[@izhanshafiq324]

Would love to see a video for replacing the blue putty/paste on PS5's

[@the4cats524]

hey I have a dumb question but before that I already did something to it. so I put a THERMAL PASTE on my laptop nvme SSD with the copper plate heatsink. the reason I did it was because the nvme SSD just always hit 80c max temp. it already had a thermal pad and copper heatsink, it's a Dell latitude laptop. so I do a research on internet and had found an interesting video about the thermal pad on SSD's are actually not contacting the controller only the memory chip, that's why it's still hit 80c. this is the video I am talking about kzbin.info/www/bejne/f2m9YWykippoarM. so, unfortunately I don't have couple thermal pads with different thickness, and because of that I just put a THERMAL PASTE instead of thermal pads and press it with the copper heatsink. and as I can see it did cover up the memory chip and controller FLAT with the heatsink. and you know what?? the temp NEVER reach 58c. it's mindblowing so the question is... do you think we can put thermal paste on the gpu VRAM and mosfet/vrm instead of thermal pads? (very sorry for my long explanation) cheers

[@snarksdomain]

Putty over paste for sure. Paste is design for direct contact between Silicon/IHS and Heatsink. Putty is designed as a thermal gap filler and is meant to be used in place of pads. My recommendation will always be to use putty to fill gaps and not paste. Putty will also be much cheaper. Can get 100g of a top rated Putty for around $35-$40 CAD.

[@Th3EvilGod]

Potatoes

[@TheKozary]

tried this with a water block and thermals are worse then an air cooler will be going back to pads. Bought from official upsiren store To even run at tdp power i had to use copper shims to keep the VRMs cool enough

[@snarksdomain]

That's odd. I wonder if you ran into compression issues. What were your core temps like? This putty outperforms any pad I've tested so far, and others have also had similar success and results. Edit: I suppose the other possibility is not using enough putty to fill the gap. How many grams did you purchase/use?

[@diegoescobal9381]

Hey ! Do you recommend me to replace my thermalpads (I've got a Legion 5 pro), yesterday I've cleaned the old ptm7950 from the dies, and applied ptm7958... I was thinking about to apply utp-8. I got 50g od it .. but not sure if I could reuse the old thermalpads if I am not convinced with the temps

[@snarksdomain]

@TheKozary I just realized there is another possibility. Which store did you buy it from? Aliexpress, or Amazon?

[@snarksdomain]

@@diegoescobal9381 If you've already got UTP-8 I'd recommend using it instead of pads, but save your pads in a clean plastic bag in case you run into issues and decide you want to switch back for some reason. A good high performing putty like Upsiren UTP-8 or Fehonda LTP81 is a great pair with PTM7950. It allows good core contact and avoids pad compression issues. Also keeps VRAM and VRMs nice and cool.

[@diegoescobal9381]

@@snarksdomain thank you! I think I will try with the utp-8 ;) another question for you, not sure if you have tried the ptm 7958 , yesterday I tried and it's "curing" ATM, this afternoon I will mount and pray to the gods everything is fine lol

[@CuriousGamer022]

And the good thing about putty is that it squishes so u dont have to worry about contact issues

[@snarksdomain]

@CuriousGamer022 For the most part yes. It seems some gaming laptop models have quite thin gaps, which can make it easy to overuse putty, and more difficult to compress and get good core contact. I'll be attempting to roughly measure minimum bondline thickness of each putty and adding that info to the chart. Not all putties can get down to 0.1mm