[snoopy199]

I decided to take the plunge and reapply the thermal paste on my macbook.

I searched the net and found the following link iFixit Thanks to that information, disassembling the macbook was a snap. The key thing was to take my time and mark which screw goes where.

Once I got the heat pipe and fan off I noticed a copious amount of thermal paste, so much so that it had oozed off the die. Cleaned up the cpu (and I presume the GMA950) I reapplied a thin coating of artic silver 5.

Temperatures are now hovering aroud 52 to 55c where as I was running around 65c last night. I expect the savings to improve further as it will take some time for artic silver to setup.

The trickiest part is to get the keyboard assembly off the computer and making sure I didn't break the ribbon cable that connected the keyboard to the logic board.

One little nagging question is that its running so cool did I forget to connect the termerature sensor but a quick yes > /dev/null in the termal window caused the temps to increase to a point where I started hearing the fans ramp up in earnest and than after shutting the terminal window, hearing the fans slow down. A good sign that I didn't fail to connect the temp sensor.

Now I'm a happy camper

[Eug Wanker]

This thread is worthless without pix.

P.S. I went thru that iFixit page and it definitely doesn't seem like a snap. Doable for a n00b like me, but not a snap. I'm not keen on voiding my warranty... Isn't Arctic Silver easily recognizable? I don't know anything about AS 5, but I've used the first version and IIRC it was easily recognizable as being silver based, and very different from the usual $1 silicone goop.

I used the original Arctic Silver in my gaming machine way back when, but the warranty there wasn't an issue because it was a self-built machine anyway.

[Socially Awkward Solo]

I don't trust those number at all unless you exactly replicate the conditions and use of the laptop at when it was running at the higher temps.

So far there are reports going around that this is overblown and at best you will see a temp decrease by 2-3 degrees.

[Eug Wanker]

Perhaps the thermal paste issue is overblown, but I can confirm that in my PCs, even the original Arctic Silver would best standard thermal goop by several degrees (or more at maximum CPU usage), even if the standard thermal goop is put on perfectly (and computers you buy at the store almost never have the goop put on perfectly).

Thus, I would not be surprised to see a 5 degree drop at maximum usage on some machines.

I just won't do it, because it voids the warranty. Not just application of the thermal paste voids the warranty, but I'd suspect that the AS itself voids the warranty. Although it claims to be electrically non-conductive, several companies will not warranty a machine if there has been AS used. Either way, you're SOL... I just checked, and AS 5 is greyish, not the white of the normal thermal goop. Any tech would instantly know.

[Socially Awkward Solo]

I'll give you the 5 degree drop but these people are reporting 20.

I have a feeling it is the way they are measuring it. They have the MB running all day doing whatever, take a temp reading at 60 degrees. Decide to crack it open letting the inside cool off nicely for an hour. Then seal it up turn it on and take a temp reading right away.

No **** it is cooler.

[snoopy199]

I duplicated my usage pretty accurately.

Here's another statistic
My macbook before the surgey was idling at 57c - just on, no activity no interaction. It got to that temperature in about an hour maybe less.

Now its idling at 48c again I took a look at it after an hour of non-use (but on).

Believe me or not matters little to me, all I know is I'm seeing a sizable temerature difference.

As for being noticable, I doubt it. The stuff I cleaned off was silver, the stuff I put on was silver. The only difference was I used a thin layer, apple had it gooped on.

Sorry for not taking pictures, but I was more intent on not making my macbook an expensive paper weight rather then documenting the action. Besides there's plenty of pictures floating around the net. I wish I did snap a picture of how much of the thermal paste was on the cpu before I scrapped it off. If I were to estimate the amount it was probably between an 1/8 and a1/16th of an inch deep around the die, and a 1/16 and under on the die itself. The heat pipe had a bunch of it on there too.

Edit:
Addadedum
by the way its been running now for a few hours and it still floating around the low 50s. So the idea that having it opened and cooling off doesn't hold water in my case.

I've had my macbook for about a week its operating cooler now in these 3 hours then it as at any point in time since owning it. I'm not seeing 20 degrees savings but it seems that I'm averaging 10c

[snoopy199]

Originally Posted by Socially Awkward Solo

I don't trust those number at all unless you exactly replicate the conditions and use of the laptop at when it was running at the higher temps.

So far there are reports going around that this is overblown and at best you will see a temp decrease by 2-3 degrees.

The only report of 2-3 degrees I've seen was from the macdevcenter article and that was a macbook pro.

All of the stuff I've found here and other forums seems to show a 10c savings on the macbook.

[Star-Fire]

Oh it helps, but the Macbook I have now is running very cool so I don't plan on opening it up. It's to hard to open I could open, reapply and close in about an hour I guess.

[snoopy199]

I didn't think it was too difficult, just a lot of screws but I was nervious at trying to get the keyboard off. It was just not giving and I did not want to bend or misshape the plastic. After getting it off I noticed that the right side of the keyboard has tabs that fit into slots in the case. I could have easily snapped off the fins.

Then of course there was the ribbon cables but like i said if you take your time its a simple operation.

[Simon]

Originally Posted by darth-vader000

My macbook before the surgey was idling at 57c - just on, no activity no interaction.
...
by the way its been running now for a few hours and it still floating around the low 50s.

Which is just about the 5C most here will agree you can get.

Nobody is saying you can't drop your temp by 5C it's just that some people here wouldn't take the risk of voiding a warranty and the possibility to get 3 years of AppleCare just to get 5C less.

[greenamp]

Who gives a sh*t about a 5-degree temperature drop in a notebook. Really.

[DeathMan]

I'd like to find a way to drop the temp without voiding the warranty. 5 degrees is 5 degrees.

[n8236]

Just wait for better fan and temp management, it should be available shortly. It's like to be a trade off between fan noise and temp, but it's better than having the pos burn up in ur lap. Meh, what's a little noise

[snoopy199]

Originally Posted by DeathMan

I'd like to find a way to drop the temp without voiding the warranty. 5 degrees is 5 degrees.

That's just idling I'm noticing a 10c to 12c difference in actual operation. That's floating around 20 degrees Fahrenheit. To me that's a huge difference, I use my laptop on my lap primarily and I can now use it with no discomfort. Additionally I'll be getting a 7200rpm drive so I wanted to do this before I install the drive to better manage the heat. As I also mentioned it takes time for artic silver to setup so the temperature decrease may even be better then what I'm reporting in a couple of days.

Apple did indeed put too much thermal paste and other then changing the logic to turn the fans on sooner there's nothing that can be done to make the macbooks run cooler - don't forget fans drain the battery faster.

If your happy with you macbook great I wasn't. I wanted a cooler running laptop because I use it on my lap and it gets uncomfortable and I know how the heat shortens the life of batteries.

I'm not adovcating that everyone should do this, what I am saying is I'm noticing a marked decrease in temperature.

Edit:
One more thing. I'm confused about the warranty issue - did I really void it?
Here's my logic (which may be flawed). The warranty states that it does not cover damage resulting from anyone who is not an authorized apple service provider.

That makes sense but I did not damage anything so I would think my warranty is still valid. People have asked apple about replacing the hard drive (on non macbooks) and will that void the warranty. The answer has been consistently any damage resulting from that is not covered but if installed correctly then the warranty is intact. Why would dissasembling the computer for that be any different then the thermal paste.

[Star-Fire]

That is correct, your warranty is still fine.

[Hi I'm Ben]

Originally Posted by Star-Fire

That is correct, your warranty is still fine.

His Warranty is fine, if he was a certified Apple Repair Technician. Unfortunately he's not so it's defintely voided.
Please stop talking from your ass and use your mouth. You do realize what you say can influence people on the message board to void their own warranties because you are wrong.

Here's some fine text taken directly from apple.

b. Limitations The Plan does not cover:

(ii) Damage to the Covered Equipment caused by accident, abuse, neglect, misuse (including faulty installation, repair, or maintenance by anyone other than
Apple or an Apple Authorized Service Provider), unauthorized modification, extreme environment (including extreme temperature or humidity), extreme
physical or electrical stress or interference, fluctuation or surges of electrical power, lightning, static electricity, fire, acts of God or other external causes;


I must have missed the part in the Apple manually about user-serviceable processor thermal paste application. Can you direct me to the page it's on?

[Eug Wanker]

Changing the hard drive doesn't involve dismantling the computer.

The hard drive in the MacBook is considered a user accessible part by Apple, just like memory. Thermal paste is not.

[Hi I'm Ben]

Originally Posted by Eug Wanker

Changing the hard drive doesn't involve dismantling the computer.

The hard drive in the MacBook is considered a user accessible part by Apple, just like memory. Thermal paste is not.

I think a good general guideline would be... if you've removed more than 10 screws to get to somewhere within your laptop, you're on your way to voiding your warranty.

[snoopy199]

Originally Posted by Eug Wanker

Changing the hard drive doesn't involve dismantling the computer.

The hard drive in the MacBook is considered a user accessible part by Apple, just like memory. Thermal paste is not.

emphasis added

Read my post again, I said in non-macbooks. Macbooks its easy, in powerbooks Its not as easy as and is not considered a user replaceable part (again I'm not talking about macbooks). I agree with you getting at the cpu to apply the thermal paste is a lot more work then replacing a hard drive but the logic applies. You need to remove scews and take pieces out of the laptop there's a possibility to damage/break something.

Besides since there are no seals on the computer and I left the innards in better shape then before the operation how will apple know (or care for that matter).

[j0nkatz]

Well I was idle at 70ish degrees. I did a PMU, PRAM, and NVAM reset now I'm idleing in the low 60s. I really don't think that thermal paste is the main culprit on heat issues on these things.

[snoopy199]

Originally Posted by Eug Wanker

I just checked, and AS 5 is greyish, not the white of the normal thermal goop. Any tech would instantly know.

The original thermal paste was not white but silver (or gray if you wish). It looked identical to the color of AS 5

[snoopy199]

Originally Posted by j0nkatz

Well I was idle at 70ish degrees. I did a PMU, PRAM, and NVAM reset now I'm idleing in the low 60s. I really don't think that thermal paste is the main culprit on heat issues on these things.

I had tried all of the above before the surgery.

[Hi I'm Ben]

Originally Posted by darth-vader000

emphasis added


Besides since there are no seals on the computer and I left the innards in better shape then before the operation how will apple know (or care for that matter).

I can steal Mac OS X it doesn't make it okay. And they may never find out, it doesn't mean that it doesn't void your warranty.

[harrisjamieh]

How on earth would resetting PMU, PRAM and NVRAM cool temps from 70 to low 60s??

[snoopy199]

Originally Posted by harrisjamieh

How on earth would resetting PMU, PRAM and NVRAM cool temps from 70 to low 60s??

I dunno but I tried it before undertaking the operation - I was hoping that something would alow the fans to kick in.

Originally Posted by Hi I'm Ben

I can steal Mac OS X it doesn't make it okay. And they may never find out, it doesn't mean that it doesn't void your warranty.

I don't see it that way. I'm an honest person who doesn't steal, who buys all of my software.

I take responsibility for what I did, so if broke something while disassembling the computer. I don't expect apple to repair it under the warranty.

I don't see how taking screws out of the case and exposing the cpu voids the warranty any more then taking screws out of powerbook and replacing the hard drive.

All I know is that my computer is running better and I don't believe I voided my warranty not because I'm being dishonest but tbecause I expect the warranty to cover manufactor defects

[Xmas2Dump]

Originally Posted by Hi I'm Ben

b. Limitations The Plan does not cover:

(ii) Damage to the Covered Equipment caused by accident, abuse, neglect, misuse (including faulty installation, repair, or maintenance by anyone other than
Apple or an Apple Authorized Service Provider), unauthorized modification, extreme environment (including extreme temperature or humidity), extreme
physical or electrical stress or interference, fluctuation or surges of electrical power, lightning, static electricity, fire, acts of God or other external causes;

Adding emphasis to the "unauthorized modification" out of context doesn't make you right.

[Hi I'm Ben]

If you unscrew your laptop, and change anything on the inside that isn't "User serviceable" you have voided your warranty. That's how it is, do you get it? No, probably not.

Regardless, stop arguing with me. Call up Apple and argue with them, I didn't write their policies I'm just letting you know that you are infact voiding the warranty and it would be really good if you'd stop trying to convince people otherwise.

[Eug Wanker]

Originally Posted by darth-vader000

I don't see it that way. I'm an honest person who doesn't steal, who buys all of my software.

I take responsibility for what I did, so if broke something while disassembling the computer. I don't expect apple to repair it under the warranty.

I don't see how taking screws out of the case and exposing the cpu voids the warranty any more then taking screws out of powerbook and replacing the hard drive.

All I know is that my computer is running better and I don't believe I voided my warranty not because I'm being dishonest but tbecause I expect the warranty to cover manufactor defects

You don't believe you voided your warranty, but that simply is not a correct belief. As Ben says, if you don't believe us, call Apple and ask.

If the colour is as similar as you say, maybe they won't find out if anything goes wrong and they dismantle the machine, but nonetheless if they did find out you'd be SOL. You can tell yourself whatever you want, but don't try to convince everyone else otherwise, because you're doing them a disservice.

[snoopy199]

Originally Posted by Hi I'm Ben

If you unscrew your laptop, and change anything on the inside that isn't "User serviceable" you have voided your warranty. That's how it is, do you get it? No, probably not.

Regardless, stop arguing with me. Call up Apple and argue with them, I didn't write their policies I'm just letting you know that you are infact voiding the warranty and it would be really good if you'd stop trying to convince people otherwise.

Ben dude,

relax this isn't a discussion about world peace or hunger - its just a forum and just a computer. You seemed to be getting worked up about this.

[Star-Fire]

Originally Posted by darth-vader000

Ben dude,

relax this isn't a discussion about world peace or hunger - its just a forum and just a computer. You seemed to be getting worked up about this.

Aye!

And i'm not talking out my ass, I had upgraded the hard drive in my old Tibook, not a user upgradable part and after that had to take it in for service, guess what they still did the service under warranty with the non appple hard drive in there, so long as you open it up don't break anything or what you have done hasn't caused a problem to happen, they will still service your computer. While it may "Void" you warranty in writing, real life is another story. I use to work at an apple store and had seen plenty of machines serviced with Non user upgrades, I am by no means telling everyone to crack open there new computer and change the paste inside, but if you are tech savy and feel you are up to it, try it if you like. If you break something while in there, then yes you have voided you warranty. It's like those seals they use to place on desktop computers that if you broke it, it vioded you warrenty, well guess what it didn't I sent out plenty of machines with broken seals where I use to work and had warranty service done to them. Warrenties are a very gray area and it all depends on who you deal with.

I had my Macbook swapped out 2 nights ago and the one they gave me had a scratch on the trackpad but I didn't notice till I got back to my car and looked it over, so I headed back in. They could have said "You just scratched it so we can't do anything" but insted they swaped again, thats why Apple has such good service and one of the reasons I buy Apples.

[snoopy199]

Originally Posted by Eug Wanker

You don't believe you voided your warranty, but that simply is not a correct belief. As Ben says, if you don't believe us, call Apple and ask.

I don't need to call them because I'm not the one hung up on the warranty. Both you and Ben seem to be.

I weighed the risks of the fix, I decided it was worth it, now I have a Macbook operating better then it was before and since I did not do any damage I have a intact warranty. There's no need to call them, just read the warranty itself.

I'll use Ben's own warranty quote.

(ii) Damage to the Covered Equipment caused by accident, abuse, neglect, misuse (including faulty installation, repair, or maintenance by anyone other than
Apple or an Apple Authorized Service Provider), unauthorized modification, extreme environment (including extreme temperature or humidity), extreme
physical or electrical stress or interference, fluctuation or surges of electrical power, lightning, static electricity, fire, acts of God or other external causes;

It doesn't say the warranty is voided becase a non apple authorzed agent removed the screws, or opened the case. It states that damage to covered equipment caused by...

Basically the warranty states explicitly what is covered, talking to apple is meaningless because this is the documented policy and warranty.

I'm not trying to split hairs here, I'm just reading what is says.

[e_x_blofeld]

hi there,

well i dit it too, just for kicks, though i was happy with the machine.
( i have this gambling thing )
now the idle temp is usually between 50° and 58° at 1,5 GHz
before it was around 60 to 65...
i remember that my good ol' powerbook 2400 was always in the 60ies, so i don't worry very much.

so it does help but i'm worndring if it really makes a huge difference.
btw.: i have this slight whining thing too, but it is not worse than on my previous 1,5 powerbook g4, so i guess i got used to it and it does not spoil the fact that this machine is really awesome!

i guess arctic silver will wonder about their slight sales volume increase


the only thing that would get me annoyed would be the processor throttling down if it is working on 2ghz for a long time, since i paid for a 2GHz machine ...

[snoopy199]

Originally Posted by e_x_blofeld

the only thing that would get me annoyed would be the processor throttling down if it is working on 2ghz for a long time, since i paid for a 2GHz machine ...

I hear ya, this bugs me too.

I paid good money for a 2.0 and it usually sits at 1.5. Yeah when I start throwing more at it, it steps up but I'd rather have it always run at 2.0

If I wanted a 1.5GHz I would have bought one, but no I wanted a 2.0 and I thought I was getting one.

All in all I'm very pleased with the MB and to be honest I wonder if this throttling is more of the intel thing then then apple - not sure

[Hi I'm Ben]

Originally Posted by darth-vader000

I hear ya, this bugs me too.

I paid good money for a 2.0 and it usually sits at 1.5. Yeah when I start throwing more at it, it steps up but I'd rather have it always run at 2.0

If I wanted a 1.5GHz I would have bought one, but no I wanted a 2.0 and I thought I was getting one.

All in all I'm very pleased with the MB and to be honest I wonder if this throttling is more of the intel thing then then apple - not sure

I may get in trouble for this, but I just wanted to say, you are horribly stupid.

[snoopy199]

Please enlighten me, since you seem so intelligent.

Besides I do not stoop to name calling to belittle people so since you;ve just done that to me, why not at least explain yourself.

[Eug Wanker]

Originally Posted by darth-vader000

I don't need to call them because I'm not the one hung up on the warranty. Both you and Ben seem to be.

I weighed the risks of the fix, I decided it was worth it, now I have a Macbook operating better then it was before and since I did not do any damage I have a intact warranty. There's no need to call them, just read the warranty itself.

It's fine if that's what you want to do with your own machine, but telling others to do this and saying it doesn't void the warranty is simply wrong. We're just warning people to tell them that while they can also choose to do whatever they want, disassembling the machine in this manner does indeed void the warranty.

Whether Apple would even notice, or would follow-through in denying the warranty if they did, is a completely different question, but it's prudent for people to know what they're potentionally getting themselves into before doing this procedure.

P.S. If you must know, I've called Apple before specifically about exchanging the hard drive in previous model Mac laptops. They flat out told me: Change the hard drive = void the warranty (unless you pay a service technician to do it). Period. Luckily for us, that is no longer the case with hard drives in the MacBook, but it is still the case with removing the heatsink.

[frdmfghtr]

Originally Posted by darth-vader000

I hear ya, this bugs me too.

I paid good money for a 2.0 and it usually sits at 1.5. Yeah when I start throwing more at it, it steps up but I'd rather have it always run at 2.0

If I wanted a 1.5GHz I would have bought one, but no I wanted a 2.0 and I thought I was getting one.

All in all I'm very pleased with the MB and to be honest I wonder if this throttling is more of the intel thing then then apple - not sure

I'm not sure I see the problem. If the load on the CPU doesn't warrant running at 100% speed, why should it? Let it throttle down to save heat and power, especially on battery power.

Check the Energy Saver settings for a processor speed setting...if you really want it to run at full bore even at idle, you should be able to set the processor speed to "highest."

Mind you that this is coming from a iBook user, but I would presume the MacBook line has a similar setting.

[Eug Wanker]

There is no "Highest" setting on the MacBook.

[e_x_blofeld]

before you people kill yourself, i'd like to state my conclusions of my thermal paste adventure:

it helps a little bit but not enough to justify the whole process - in my case that is
temperature drop is somewhere around 3°-6° .... thats homeopathic in my view



frdmfghtr:

Mind you that this is coming from a iBook user, but I would presume the MacBook line has a similar setting.

ben:

I may get in trouble for this, but I just wanted to say, you are horribly stupid.

[snoopy199]

Originally Posted by Eug Wanker

It's fine if that's what you want to do with your own machine, but telling others to do this and saying it doesn't void the warranty is simply wrong. We're just warning people to tell them that while they can also choose to do whatever they want, disassembling the machine in this manner does indeed void the warranty.

I'm not telling others to do it and that it doesn't void my warranty. I was excited to post such a success here but you seemed to be having a problem.

P.S. If you must know, I've called Apple before specifically about exchanging the hard drive in previous model Mac laptops. They flat out told me: Change the hard drive = void the warranty (unless you pay a service technician to do it). Period. Luckily for us, that is no longer the case with hard drives in the MacBook, but it is still the case with removing the heatsink.

Was that person qualified to speak to you on behalf of warranty fulfillment, or was he/she just the front line tech support? I'll ask you this, which is better, a verbal comminucation or a written published statement of the warranty.

That written statement does not say if a non authorized apple representatve opens up the computer, or services it the warranty is void. It states that if the non authorized apple rep services the computer and damages it, that damage is not covered.

I've been up front all along that if I damaged my computer during the reapplication it was my fault and I'm on the hook. If down the road, the keyboard malfunctions, I expect apple to repair it. With their own warranty statement in hand they are bound by law to fix it.

Edit: (addition)
One more point, I'm not perfect, I'm don't know everything. If you can show me in the warranty where opening the computer and/or doing what I did voids the warranty even if I didn't damage any component, I acquiesce.

Finally for the record, when I started this I assumed I voided the warranty it wasn't until I started thinking things over in this thread about did I really void the warranty. Notice my earlier post questioning the warranty.

[Hi I'm Ben]

Originally Posted by darth-vader000

Edit: (addition)
One more point, I'm not perfect, I'm don't know everything.

You don't say!

[Star-Fire]

Ah well that explains it all, Obviously Ben is, look at his signature.

[stuffedmonkey]

Speaking as someone who used to do warranty work for Apple for 2 and 1/2 years, I can honestly tell you that it is a huge grey area. If you do the paste swap, do a terrible job of it, and burn up your processor, you are screwed. That works for customer installable parts too. If you go in mangle the ram slot while you are doing in install that is all you. You are taking that risk.

If you do it properly, you are 99% fine. I've sent customer's machines in for repair that have had customer mods before. One guy had completly painted the inside of his iBook shell orange - but several months later had a bad cd drive. It wasn't related to the work he did - so I fixed it for him.

But to be fair - I was the most permissive person on the staff. If you got my friend - who shall remain nameless - let's just say he was a law and order type who followed the strict letter of the warranty.

[snoopy199]

Originally Posted by Star-Fire

Ah well that explains it all, Obviously Ben is, look at his signature.

I just consider the source, and in his case, I just added him to my ignore list. He seems incapable of conveying anything intelligent and mature. If he was able to add value to the discussion that would be one thing but his immature posts are quite another.

[The Grammaton Cleric]

Originally Posted by darth-vader000

If you can show me in the warranty where opening the computer and/or doing what I did voids the warranty even if I didn't damage any component, I acquiesce..

You will never see a line like that in any warranty written by anyone that works with warranties. It would be proof of that company violating federal law.

Apple can not deny you warranty coverage due to anything you, or anyone else did to the machine, unless that act caused the failure, if you remove the thermal paste, replace the memory, replace the hard disk, and snap the keyboard in half while at it, then after that the screen fails, the repair or replacement of the screen should still be covered. That is federal law, look up the magnuson moss act of 1975.
That said, they could argue any modification, including replacing the ram, (which is considered a user serviceable part), caused heat to route differently threw the system, which caused X part to fail prematurely. Your attorney will charge you more to start a law-suit then it would have cost to just buy a new MBP.

[rhashem]

The warrenty, as it is written, does indeed support Darth's interpretation. Lawyers don't use words for kicks. Every word they use has meaning. The "damage caused by..." bit is there for a reason. If they meant that simply opening your box to perform unauthorized service would void your warrenty, they would've said so. What Apple considers "user servicable" is really not relevant. Again, if Apple wanted to create a distinction between user servicable items and other ones, they would've made that distinction in the warrenty.

The text of the warrenty is the final indicator of what Apple is promising with regards to the warrenty. It's the only thing they can point to if they get dragged into court by an irate customer. If Apple's lawyers wrote the warrenty the way they did, they did so on purpose.

[PER3]

Maybe this differs from country to country. I bought a PowerBook in Russia a couple of years ago, and there was a sticker over one of the screwholes. If the sticker was broken, so was your warranty.

I had to pay an Apple repairman $40 to change a hard drive. His company's receipt was evidence that I hadn't mauled the machine should I have had to get a repair done under guarantee.

[Socially Awkward Solo]

Originally Posted by PER3

Maybe this differs from country to country. I bought a PowerBook in Russia a couple of years ago, and there was a sticker over one of the screwholes. If the sticker was broken, so was your warranty.

I had to pay an Apple repairman $40 to change a hard drive. His company's receipt was evidence that I hadn't mauled the machine should I have had to get a repair done under guarantee.

I've seen that on certain parts of the internals of macs also. But never a hard drive.

[kizilelma]

listen, guys, do you really think that if your macbook breaks in some other way, not having to do with reapplying thermal paste, i'm pretty sure that Apple does't snoop around the inside of your laptop, taking off heatsinks and finding the AC 5 you put on and saying, "Aha! We've caught that bastard! No warranty for you!" As long as no seals were broken and they can't tell you got in there, i'm pretty sure you're fine. I'm not saying that everyone should go run and do this immediately. People shouldn't be doing everything they read on the internet anyway without putting some thought into it.

[mavherzog]

Ok, I have a MacBook on order and I plan to reapply the thermal paste (using AS5). No, I am not advocating others do this themselves, and Yes, I realize there may be some warranty issues with doing so. However, having seen pics of what some MacBooks look like inside, I just GOTTA do it.. (my property, my prerogative)

That being said...I am fully willing to document the whole process and take tons of before and after measurements and/or whatever.

So, if you are at all interested in the results, give me a test plan. What before and after measurements/temps do you want to see? And under what conditions? What, specifically, would you like to see photographed?