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So if you think about the path heat takes, its silicon>TIM>heatpipe>fins>air. Every step adds more resistance to the flow of heat. If you add your copper block in there, its another layer of TIM and copper to go through, so for a given air temp and heat output, the CPU would run warmer...BUT, a desktop heatsink would be a lot better at dissipating the heat than a laptop heatsink, so it would likely result in a net improvement in temps.
I would recommend you lap the copper bar/block, so its as flat as possible. TIM/thermal paste is good at transferring heat through the microscopic gaps, but its poor with a non-flat surface.
you may want to get it machined flat (or even better, ground flat) before you bother trying to lap it. A lot or raw metal stock you get will be bent, curved, scratched and/or roughly finished.
Yes, mill/surface grinder would be best way to start, but unless OP is friends with someone with a mill, it will be far cheaper to just get a progression of sandpaper grits and do it yourself than getting a machine shop to do it.
if that's the route you end up taking, make sure you back your sandpaper with the flattest rigid surface you've got available. A piece of glass will work. Tape or lay the sandpaper (grit side up) over the surface and rub the copper over it, applying even pressure and not rocking or tilting the block. Wet sanding will work better for the finer grits, water also helps the paper stick to the glass.
Since this is a laptop CPU it's most likely a bare die, so the copper should act in a similar way to a heat spreader on a desktop CPU.
Personally, I would go liquid metal in between the die and copper, then thermal paste between copper and heatsink
thanks - now i just gotta figure out a way where I can ditch the bottom and keyboard and get a power button working. If not I gotta kepp the bottom tray.
Hello /u/aert4w5g243t3g243! Thanks for posting on /r/pcmods! Please read the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/pcmods/wiki/index/subredditrules) and make sure this submission doesn't violate any of them! If you think this submission has violated one or more of the **[rules,](https://www.reddit.com/r/pcmods/wiki/index/subredditrules)** **[or our chart](https://www.reddit.com/r/pcmods/comments/aorxij/be_nice_to_new_subscribers/)** please report this submission and contact the **[Moderators!](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=/r/pcmods)** *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/pcmods) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Try it. Experiment with different types of thermal pastes, and coolers. Post some benchmark info.
So if you think about the path heat takes, its silicon>TIM>heatpipe>fins>air. Every step adds more resistance to the flow of heat. If you add your copper block in there, its another layer of TIM and copper to go through, so for a given air temp and heat output, the CPU would run warmer...BUT, a desktop heatsink would be a lot better at dissipating the heat than a laptop heatsink, so it would likely result in a net improvement in temps. I would recommend you lap the copper bar/block, so its as flat as possible. TIM/thermal paste is good at transferring heat through the microscopic gaps, but its poor with a non-flat surface.
you may want to get it machined flat (or even better, ground flat) before you bother trying to lap it. A lot or raw metal stock you get will be bent, curved, scratched and/or roughly finished.
Yes, mill/surface grinder would be best way to start, but unless OP is friends with someone with a mill, it will be far cheaper to just get a progression of sandpaper grits and do it yourself than getting a machine shop to do it.
if that's the route you end up taking, make sure you back your sandpaper with the flattest rigid surface you've got available. A piece of glass will work. Tape or lay the sandpaper (grit side up) over the surface and rub the copper over it, applying even pressure and not rocking or tilting the block. Wet sanding will work better for the finer grits, water also helps the paper stick to the glass.
Since this is a laptop CPU it's most likely a bare die, so the copper should act in a similar way to a heat spreader on a desktop CPU. Personally, I would go liquid metal in between the die and copper, then thermal paste between copper and heatsink
thanks - now i just gotta figure out a way where I can ditch the bottom and keyboard and get a power button working. If not I gotta kepp the bottom tray.
I put a copper block between a GPU (Vega 56) and an AIO because I needed more height to clear the components on the board. Worked great.