Thinkpad T480 Dual heat pipe cooling fan upgrade + Thermal repaste

Thinkpad T480 Dual heat pipe cooling fan upgrade + Thermal repaste | Lenovo laptop DIY

Рет қаралды 46,764

Күн бұрын

In this laptop DIY video, I show you the steps to upgrade the cooling fan in your Lenovo Thinkpad T480 from the single heat pipe setup that comes with integrated GPU-only laptops to the dual heat pipe model that typically comes with Thinkpad T480s that are equipped with dedicated Nvidia GPUs.
Since this job entails exposure of the CPU, I'll also show you how to do a thermal repaste on your Thinkpad's CPU. As far as the CPU thermal repaste is concerned, the concepts are generally the same for other manufacturers' laptops. However, I still highly suggest doing your own research in case special steps are needed when working on your non-Thinkpad laptop.
00:00 - Intro and prep
02:50 - Cooling fan prep and removal
04:30 - Repaste
07:07 - Dual heat pipe cooling fan installation
Some popular thermal paste options:
Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut (2g, what I used): amzn.to/3B1XJfG
Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut (1g): amzn.to/3HQcHt8
Arctic MX-4 (4g): amzn.to/3LJg5a5
Arctic MX-4 (8g): amzn.to/44FuDjE
1/8"-thick foam tape (what I used, very handy for Auto DIY/rattle-hunting, too): amzn.to/3M5S2DW
Full disclosure: these are affiliate links. I earn a little from the traffic upon checkout but don't get any share from the products themselves.

Пікірлер: 128

@ChezDoesStuff Жыл бұрын

- Part number for the dual heat pipe cooling fan (for dGPU-equipped T480's): 01YR202 - AVOID Liquid Metal thermal paste if you're repasting for the first time, because it's conductive, and stick with non-conductive ones like what I used in the video. - Have a dGPU in your T480 or T580? I repasted my Nvidia-equipped T580 in this video (and did a marginally cleaner but functionally identical job with the paste application): kzfaq.info/get/bejne/ZtN6o9JeyrmqdYE.html - Some popular thermal paste options: Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut (2g, what I used): amzn.to/3B1XJfG Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut (1g): amzn.to/3HQcHt8 Arctic MX-4 (4g): amzn.to/3LJg5a5 Arctic MX-4 (8g): amzn.to/44FuDjE 1/8"-thick foam tape (what I used, very handy for Auto DIY/rattle-hunting, too): amzn.to/3M5S2DW Full disclosure: these are affiliate links. I earn a little from the traffic upon checkout but don't get any share from the products themselves.

@customrattysuk 11 ай бұрын

Great video,would the t480s heatsink model number 01HW699 fit as an upgrade to,its dual pipe but without the extra gpu section,thanks for any replies 👍

@ChezDoesStuff 11 ай бұрын

@@customrattysuk I'm inclined to think it won't, since the T480s has soldered RAM and likely a different motherboard layout because of this.

@customrattysuk 11 ай бұрын

@@ChezDoesStuff I've just looked at them side by side in pics and the 480s I was on about wont one fit as it's also not got the little side bit for the two chips,shame really as it would of been a nicer upgrade,but I have a plan in mind now to customise the one you show to upgrade to,I could remove the gpu part of it,cut the ends slightly rounded and silver solder the gap left,I know I could do it the same way you do but at the same time I also like to think outside the box,and it would be the first ever done that way to so a little unique mod 😀

@kozmo0 3 ай бұрын

You could also use 2mm thick silicone thermal pad for the dGPU cooler part.

@wilfridocortes5043 9 ай бұрын

First, I want to say: "Thank you so much for your videos, you're amazing!" I'll share my experience doing this upgrade: - My laptop (t480 refurbished, i5-8350u) reached very high temps (~80°C-90°C) when it was connected. - In idle, the temps seemed good (40°C-60°C). - Not connected and working, it reached 70°C-85°C temps. I did the same upgrade that you showed in your video, I got exactly the same cooling system (same parts), these are the results: - Connected and with a high cpu load (ML training, 90-100%), it reached 75°C at max. - Using an eGPU (rtx 2070) and training a CNN, it reached 80°C at max. - In idle, the temps are in 40°C - 50°C at max (passive cooling). So, I can say that there's a lot of improvement (10°C-20°C in average). Thank you so much for doing these videos, it helped me a lot!

@dirstief 8 ай бұрын

what enclosure are you using for your eGPU? is there a compatibility list with docks and graphics cards?

@billalcorn9053 Жыл бұрын

Another excellent video. At this rate, there will be nothing left to 'upgrade' on the T480, unless you want to pull out the soldering iron

@wojtuz4542 8 ай бұрын

Nice video, the only thing I wish was better is a before and after performance testing

@Dehipnotyzer 2 ай бұрын

Thanx man! this fan with PTM7950 rocks!

@hehehexpresso Жыл бұрын

Brilliant upgrade 👌💯

@richardjosephson 9 ай бұрын

Clear presentation of how to do the job right and avoid common mistakes.

@caturdone9302 9 ай бұрын

Cool stuff doing sir

@OzanBurada Жыл бұрын

I always remove the internal batter before anything. Better to be safe. It's also how it was documented in Lenovo web page to remove cooling fans.

@jnsky0016 6 ай бұрын

Brother, this is a great reference video I have a T470 and I take it the specs is almost similar to a T480 I'm planning on doing some upgrades on mine after years of being my work laptop (now just for personal use) Just saw you're video regarding WWAN SSD Upgrade and that's what I'm planning to do first Thanks

@ChezDoesStuff 6 ай бұрын

Glad you find the video helpful!

@AutodidactEngineer Жыл бұрын

Thinkpads are the epitome of properly built laptops!!

@ChezDoesStuff Жыл бұрын

Indeed. :)

@ropehitch 5 ай бұрын

My T480 was giving me "fan error" at startup. It had gotten to the point that I consistently would have to reboot three times before the "fan error" would disappear and the machine would boot. Scary. This fixed it - I have no problems now. The old fan looks OK, perhaps the thermal paste just needed replacement. But I installed a new fan anyhow. All good now! This is an excellent instructional video. Concise yet thorough. And it's the best one I have found for this particular job. I was a bit apprehensive to dive into this job but it was so fast and easy with your help.

@mevio4665 4 ай бұрын

My ThinkPad P15 is giving me error of fan not working when starting up. I discovered that is only the video card fan which is not running. The laptop was not used much but is out of warranty. Do you think I can replace the video card only, or I have to change the whole assembly (both fans and the cooling pipe assembly)?. Thanks for the answer.

@gregmcgee529 Ай бұрын

@@mevio4665 generally speaking you replace the whole heatsink/fan assy, but if you can source the good quality original brand fans (generally Delta or Sunon), and understand how to repaste the cpu & GPU, you can reuse the heatpipes just replace the fans if careful. On some older systems the available replacement HSF assemblies are pure junk.

@mevio4665 Ай бұрын

Thank you friends for the good advices. I feel more encouraged now to try and fix it

@arikowidtrash7074 Жыл бұрын

thats pretty cool

@reria2655 7 ай бұрын

Hey!! Great video, I will be using your tutorials so much!! I was wondering, where did you buy the dual pipe heatsink piece? I saw one on Aliexpress but I'm not sure if I should buy it there or not... Regards from Mexico!

@ridge_r4cer Жыл бұрын

Excellent how-to. i wish there was an additional solution for the P52s.

@ChezDoesStuff Жыл бұрын

Thanks for watching. Sucky sound, but I did it to my T580 in the video below. The T580 is a P52s clone with less powerful CPUs and GPUs: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/ZtN6o9JeyrmqdYE.html

@wubbalubbadubdub3744 Жыл бұрын

Thanks for the video really useful! Perhaps a guide of what you then did in throttle stop after this mod would be a good video?

@ChezDoesStuff Жыл бұрын

You're welcome. I'm glad you like it. Ok I'll put that in the queue. :)

@wubbalubbadubdub3744 Жыл бұрын

Thanks I’ll look out for it!

@stuboyle666 5 ай бұрын

Doh! I did this conversion before watching the video and did not put the rubber pad under the video chip section. It does seems to work fine, however the fan seems to run at 100% now all the time. Not sure if its related to the lack of rubber pad.

@enricosernesi2939 Жыл бұрын

Thanks

@ChezDoesStuff Жыл бұрын

You're welcome!

@nuclearnyanboi 7 ай бұрын

ah lovely

@medmidou9859 2 ай бұрын

THANK YOU FOR THE WORK YOU DO WHERE I CAN BUY Dual heat pipe cooling fan SEND LINK PLS THANK YOU •

@Outlaw3-1 16 күн бұрын

Would adding PTM7950 improved the cooling

@animeistrash Жыл бұрын

Hey all, using a thermal pad on the copper part of the dGPU's side works as well as the foam tape for electrical insulation. Also, thanks for the video ! I've lost ~20°C (both when idle and under load). The dual pipe heatsink also has great passive cooling abilities, the fan doesn't really need to spin much anymore ! I have also switched from Noctua NT-H1 to Arctic MX-6 but I doubt it had an effect on the thermals. I have read that the MX-6 takes longer to dry but I haven't really checked that.

@ChezDoesStuff Жыл бұрын

Great to hear about your results! The passive cooling ability of the twin pipes is very much underrated. The fan on my T480 would go off literally every now and then prior to the upgrade.

@droidhacking 10 ай бұрын

How's it going so far?

@animeistrash 10 ай бұрын

@@droidhacking it's going good, the temps are still absolutely amazing and very I rarely hear the fans whining.

@muhammadsyafiq5892 4 ай бұрын

Could you share the thickness of the thermal pad you used for the dGPU side?

@animeistrash 4 ай бұрын

@@muhammadsyafiq5892 I used some Arctic APT2560, it's 0.5mm in thickness. I only had to get a small 50x50mm pad and I have half left after the mod. I couldn't tell you the exact size I cut it to without opening my laptop again but I basically cut a square the size of the BGA pins + 5mm of outline to be careful. I cut the pad on a cutting board after measuring the size on the mobo, make sure to apply the pad onto the heatsink and not on the mobo, you'll have greater chances of succeeding. By the way, the update is still going great. Amazing mod.

@monolithsoft_guy 10 ай бұрын

Great video and I'll probably do this very soon. I'm wondering about one thing, though: I learned that you only put one small drop of thermal paste on a cpu, then put the cooler on it. You literally coated the entire cpu before putting the cooler on it. Is it different between desktop- and laptop-cpus? I only have experience with the former thx!

@ChezDoesStuff 10 ай бұрын

There are several ways to apply thermal paste and not one correct way. What you need to be mindful of is not to apply too little or too much. In my case, I coated the CPU with a very thin layer to avoid the latter. Fortunately, I saw improvement from this method. Cheers

@OddWoz Жыл бұрын

What type of foam tape? Anything particular? Btw I was just in the process of exploring the dual heat pipe upgrade. This was perfect timing for me. Your channel has been a really great asset since buying my thinkpads. Thank you!

@ChezDoesStuff Жыл бұрын

Glad to be of help! No need for anything specific. I just used cheap 1/8" sponge/neoprene foam tape - same tape I use for eliminating in-car rattles. :)

@OddWoz Жыл бұрын

@@ChezDoesStuff awesome thanks again!

@ChezDoesStuff Жыл бұрын

@@OddWoz you're welcome!

@umarazmat 9 ай бұрын

how much battery backup u can get on internal battery and with external battery for wifi, multimedia )netflix, youtube n dpwm;pad ,movie)

@AlldaylongRock 10 күн бұрын

Is this possible on a T490? Have one with iGPU which is used intensively and is heating up significantly. Will change the paste but im wondering if something like this could be used for longevity and extra processing power

@joelstatosky1817 11 ай бұрын

Pro thinkpad tip, if you find a thinkpad with a cosmetic flaw on the palm rest, keyboard, or top of the keyboard.. and it happens to be significantly cheaper than an option that is more clean, just buy the one with the cosmetic flaws. The ThinkPad parts that wear down are extremally cheap, and if you play on doing the t25 conversion then your better off saving the money

@pnnebah 3 ай бұрын

Nice watch is that a Casio .?

@clone54 2 ай бұрын

This part is not compatible with T580 is it? Do you know what part number is it for T580? Thank you

@horstschluter350 17 күн бұрын

That's wonderful, thank you for the tip! I have a T480s here, do you think the upgrade fits with the same parts as in the t480? Thanks and keep up the great work ❤

@ChezDoesStuff 16 күн бұрын

@@horstschluter350 glad you found this informative. I don't have experience with the T480s to give you a definitive answer, unfortunately.

@horstschluter350 16 күн бұрын

@@ChezDoesStuff Thank you anyway! :)

@tulgg Жыл бұрын

is this a viable upgrade for T470 aswell ?, nice vid btw

@ChezDoesStuff Жыл бұрын

Thanks for watching! Vendor listings for this part also mention the T470, so I'm 90% sure it'll work. Do check with other resources such as the Thinkpad subreddit to be sure though!

@kseo-u Жыл бұрын

Would be nice to see temp benchmarks with and without tbh

@ChezDoesStuff Жыл бұрын

Good idea. I'll try to do it when I have to repaste again in the future.

@goorthiss Жыл бұрын

@@ChezDoesStuff It would be cool to see a comparison of Kryonaut vs PTM7950 with the CineBench R23 30-minute stability test how they handle holding boost cpu clocks

@animeistrash Жыл бұрын

Hey @kenta6157, I have 20°C of difference between the single-pipe heatsink and the double-pipe one. I have also switched from Noctua NT-H1 thermal paste to Arctic MX-6, but I doubt that it matters.

@dzheliezniak Жыл бұрын

What thermal pad thickness did you put on that little metal piece between the CPU and the fan?

@Zeroneii3 Жыл бұрын

1/8th inch

@PotatoStudioTV 2 ай бұрын

should have before and after benchmarks. good guide though.

@Lorenzo_Velasquez Жыл бұрын

Should you apply paste on GPU as well? I thought the manual states that you shoudn't.

@ChezDoesStuff Жыл бұрын

Hi there! If you're referring to the smaller rectangle - I only applied paste there because there was paste from the factory when I first did this job. No harm so far.

@FS-zt6tm Ай бұрын

can 3M "double coated tissue tape" be used instead of foam tape for the dgpu portion of the dual heatpipe?

@ChezDoesStuff 16 күн бұрын

I don't see any issues with that. Apologies for the late reply.

@zakimahya9002 Жыл бұрын

What about the Nvidia.?

@Zeroneii3 Жыл бұрын

how hard do I tighten? is it possible to crack the die from tightening it?

@ChezDoesStuff Жыл бұрын

I'd say finger tight and not fist/hand tight is a good measure. The laptop isn't really subject to vibration and rattling, so I think finger tight is safe.

@Zeroneii3 Жыл бұрын

@@ChezDoesStuff alright, I usually hand tighten things so I might've over tightened it

@kewner8556 10 ай бұрын

Thanks for this. I'm using an external GPU with my T480 (i5-8250U, 16GB), and with more intensive games I experience severe framerate drops that last for about 10 seconds or so. I noticed that the laptop has gotten quite hot at that point. Could this solve the issue?

@ChezDoesStuff 10 ай бұрын

The dual heat pipe mod will surely help with cooling, but I don't think it will completely eliminate the issue, maybe just lower peak temperatures.

@kewner8556 10 ай бұрын

@@ChezDoesStuffThank you for responding! When you say it might not completely eliminate the issue, do you mean that it might lower peak temperatures, but not lower them enough? Or that there could be a different problem?

@ChezDoesStuff 10 ай бұрын

@@kewner8556 Sorry that I wasn't more clear. In my experience, the dual heat pipe significantly lowered peak temperatures under my usual workload. I am uncertain, however, if the temperature drop will be adequate for your usage conditions. That said, it can only result in upside, and the mod is cheap enough to try out. Do let us know what improvements you see!

@kewner8556 10 ай бұрын

@@ChezDoesStuff No problem, you were clear, just wanted to make sure I understood. I really appreciated you taking the time to help out, and if I decide to do the modification I'll definitely report back. I've never even checked the thermal paste in all these years of using the laptop, so even that alone might help a bit.

@tomatotom984 10 ай бұрын

@kewner8556 do you have a video of this laptop on games? Im interested to see how it holds up

@NDREWx64 Жыл бұрын

I just had this mod and it seems okay but still feels warm. Does your touchpad and keyboard feel warm when above 65c-70c?

@ChezDoesStuff Жыл бұрын

It still feels warm under heavy load, but not under 95% of circumstances. Do check out my ThrottleStop video to see if that works for you.

@NDREWx64 Жыл бұрын

@@ChezDoesStuff thank you so much for your response and will check it out too. :)

@muhammadfariel2209 4 ай бұрын

Sorry because my English is bad but I want to ask, can the MX150 GPU chip which is sold separately be installed on a T480 laptop board that doesn't have an MX150?

@renji104 Ай бұрын

Technically yes. But it will need another bios and something to do with north or south bridge, I guess. Anyway you need a very good repair shops master to tell you if it is possible.

@wingcommanderbob8268 Ай бұрын

provided you also install all the power delivery components for it and switch the dgpu presence and gpu ID resistors over, yes. but good luck doing that without a boardview.

@myxamatozis 4 ай бұрын

Жаль не показали температуру в тестах до и после замены кулера.

@micmike 2 ай бұрын

So, question after you insert the battery you don't have to return to the bios and enable the battery?

@ChezDoesStuff Ай бұрын

No, it will re-enable itself on the next charger plug-in.

@PedroJello12 Ай бұрын

how is the temperature before and after? is it substantial and worth the upgrade?

@ChezDoesStuff 16 күн бұрын

I don't have exact temperatures for you, but the T480 kept cycling the old single heat pipe fan on and off before, even when it was just idling. This no longer happens with the dual heat pipe fan.

@madcat4563 Жыл бұрын

I would have loved to see a simple before and after benchmark. Something like Cinebench. Though it is a surprisingly affordable upgrade, I might do it myself and post it on the Thinkpad subreddit. Did you notice any improvements?

@ChezDoesStuff Жыл бұрын

Fair points. Prior to the fan upgrade and repasted, the T480's fan would go full blast every now and then, even under light office use. That's not an issue now, and the laptop stays silent most of the time.

@jesus2621 Жыл бұрын

yes is useless without benchmark

@droidhacking 10 ай бұрын

Did you do it?

@Camslaw- Жыл бұрын

I bought the thermal paste that you said you used in the bio, but mine is pink and yours is gray? I'm confused lol. I bought the 2 gram kryonaut extreme. Why is mine a different color?

@Camslaw- Жыл бұрын

Also, what's your idle temps after this? I'm at 45 degress celcius. Haven't put it under load yet.

@ChezDoesStuff Жыл бұрын

@@Camslaw- thanks for pointing this out! Extreme is the higher end variant, so pink is definitely better than the gray. As for idle temps - I'm at 41 on i5-8350U WITH undervolt.

@Camslaw- Жыл бұрын

@@ChezDoesStuff ok cool, sounds like im good then. Im on an i7-8650u, 45 WITHOUT undervolt is to be expected. I assume the main benefits for the dual heatsink is less throttling under load, resulting in better performance. And probably the fan spinning up less often. Thanks for the videos, I'm using all of them to upgrade and max out everything for my t480.

@ChezDoesStuff Жыл бұрын

@@Camslaw- fan spinning less was the biggest benefit I saw from this mod. Glad the vids are helpful. Cheers

@hYpercritesde Жыл бұрын

I have a T480 with the MX150. I already reapplied the thermal paste twice but still get about 98°C peak with the i7-8650U on load. any idea how to tweak this or is this "normal"?

@ChezDoesStuff Жыл бұрын

Hmmm I can't really suggest undervolting, since you're facing temp issues under load and not during idle. Did you try a different brand of thermal paste on the second go? Do you have the slim battery? The fatter 72Wh external one might help, since it props the bottom of the laptop up for more air flow.

@hYpercritesde Жыл бұрын

@@ChezDoesStuff undervolting does not work (maybe because of the vPro? idk, but it does not apply at all). i use the kryonaut too and never had an issue so i don't think its the paste. yes i have the slim battery because of its size, the 72Wh one is just too big. but i will try to lift it a bit while under load just to see how it will perform.

@ChezDoesStuff Жыл бұрын

@@hYpercritesde I hope propping it up a little works for you. I don't have a dGPU on the T480 but do have it on the T580. Both machines use the i5-8350U and undervolt fine (and also have the fat 72 Wh). On the T580 with MX150, I get around 75-80 deg C under load.

@hYpercritesde Жыл бұрын

@@ChezDoesStuff i can't really tell why undervolting doesn't work but i read somewhere it has something to do with the vPro-stuff. i guess its about the processor itself and that 98°C peak-temperature is considered "normal". :/ idk, maybe i do something wrong with throttlestop, could be a new idea for another tutorial i guess. :P

@ChezDoesStuff Жыл бұрын

Throttlestop idea queued. :) I won't have access to the i7 though

@code-inc Жыл бұрын

Can i add gpu chip?

@ChezDoesStuff Жыл бұрын

I'm afraid that's not feasible, short of a motherboard swap.

@mrjoker260 9 ай бұрын

Great guide but there are a couple of things if you want to improve it. 1. The first step always should be to phisically disconnect the battery. 2. Since it is a guide you should be following that screw pattern on the cooling assembly. 3. Why would you waste these heatpipes going to the gpu when you could be dumpng heat to otherwise unused part of a board. Good THIC thermalpad required :) Also you should look into CoolerMaster's cryofuze thermal paste. Found out a couple of times that it works better than kryonaut ;)

@aaabbb8777 11 ай бұрын

Are you doing this nbcause the top of the laptop get warm?

@ChezDoesStuff 11 ай бұрын

That's one reason. Another was because the laptop would keep running the single heat pipe cooling fan every few seconds or so - very loudly, at that.

@aaabbb8777 11 ай бұрын

@@ChezDoesStuff The top left side of my T440P gets uncomfortably warm. Eventhough the CPU temperature is only 50 degrees. I am also thinking of upgrading to dual-pipe.

@ChezDoesStuff 11 ай бұрын

@@aaabbb8777 if such a part is available for the T440p, I think doing the upgrade is a great idea.

@aaabbb8777 11 ай бұрын

@@ChezDoesStuff In the mean time, I am using an app (TPFanControl) to increase the CPU fan speed. It works quite well, but using an app to control the CPU fan is a bit risky, imo. Like if the app crashes, then there is nothing protecting your CPU from meltdown.

@maulanashidiq1999 Жыл бұрын

Can you add a dedicated GPU?

@ChezDoesStuff Жыл бұрын

That would require a motherboard swap, unfortunately.

@adam1709 Ай бұрын

That one core is the processor and the other?

@ThakurMehul16 Ай бұрын

Graphic card

@ThakurMehul16 Ай бұрын

Inbuilt Intel graphic card

@adam1709 Ай бұрын

@@ThakurMehul16 Ohh meaning they are separate. In a desktop computer it is together so it surprised me.

Жыл бұрын

Will perform better with the dual heat pipe in terms of cooling?

@ChezDoesStuff Жыл бұрын

Yes, huge difference. The single heat pipe and old thermal paste would force the fan to run loudly every now and then. That doesn't happen as much with the dual heat pipe cooler. Using ThrottleStop to undervolt the CPU reduced those occurrences further. I'm going to come up with a guide for that soon.

Жыл бұрын

@@ChezDoesStuff thank you 🙏

@ChezDoesStuff Жыл бұрын

@ you're welcome!