Dell G3 17" heat sink removal issue.

Andrew_227

Commendable
Dec 19, 2016
1
0
1,510
Obligatory "I'm a newbie to laptops". Please excuse my lack of knowledge on the topic.

Model: Dell G3 17" i5 8300h, gtx 1060 maxQ, 2 days old

So after finding out that this model's cooling solution wasn't the best, hence the high GPU and CPU temps that hover anywhere from 72-85 degree celcius when gaming, quick research led me to believe that I should try and reapply thermal paste. After all, I would like to maintain the GPUs life and performance for as long as possible. I've heard horror stories of GPUs dying prematurely as a result of consistent overheating. I spent a pretty penny on this laptop (my first laptop ever) as a college student on a budget, so the last thing I would want is to be left with a fried GPU in less than a year's time. (I don't think I'm being paranoid, but let me know if I am lol. I've already had a person tell me that so far)

I watched this vid https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=biPpnH7KnXo as reference for this little undertaking (except I'm merely reapplying thermal paste, not employing any kind of liquid metal. The process for that seems much too involved for my level of experience).

I opened up the chassis and unscrewed the heatsink screws, but unlike in the video, the copper plating just wouldn't budge. As I looked more carefully, I realized that there was some very strong black adhesive tape holding the plating and the fan together. There was no such tape like this in the video, granted he did say it was his second time opening up the chassis.

I began to try to peel off the corner of the adhesive tape, but it was so strong that it barely budged, and when I added some more force, bits of the ripped pieces remained stuck on the surface. Looking at the video, there is no sign of any kind of struggle to remove any tape that may or may not have initially been present in his case. As a newbie, I feel so apprehensive to try and completely rip this tape off; it's almost as if it's screaming "DO NOT PEEL" lol...

So I guess my question is, do I have the go ahead to peel this tape off - brute force - or am I better off not messing with it? On top of that, in the case of the guy in the video, why does it seem that there is no adhesive of any kind holding the heat sink plating onto the fans like in my case?

I really would like to be able to reapply thermal paste, but I don't want to get overzealous and start savagely peeling away at the adhesive at the expense of messing something important up.

If you read this all, thanks a bunch. Any kind of advice or insight is appreciated
 
Solution
Look to be honest given the investment I suggest you take it to a place that services laptops and get them to do it this time as I would hate to see you trash it given it is only going to cost you $100 or so to get a tech to redo the thermal past on both dies.
Look to be honest given the investment I suggest you take it to a place that services laptops and get them to do it this time as I would hate to see you trash it given it is only going to cost you $100 or so to get a tech to redo the thermal past on both dies.
 
Solution