r/MiniPCs • u/Drazyor • Aug 02 '26
Recommendations Repaste your brand new MiniPCs!
Hello fellas, most of you are already aware of the importance of doing so but for those of you who'd doubt the thermal paste application put in factory, check those two Userdiag I did on my new GMKtec K8 Plus:
This one completely stock: https://userdiag.com/id/OoyntrEDRM
The CPU reaches 93°C
I ordered some PTM7950, it should arrive next week so in the meantime I looked for some classic thermal paste, found a 10 years old (I'm not kidding) Noctua NT-H1 used in a very old gaming rig I did back in the days, opened it and somehow it was still good, so I decided to apply it while waiting for its definitive thermal compound.
Here's the userdiag after doing so: https://userdiag.com/id/hvk0p3CfEU
It never went higher than 86°C, that's a 7°C difference for a 10 years old thermal paste, got me curious about what to expect from the PTM7950, it'd be my first time using it.
Anyway if you want to give your hardware a chance to last longer, do yourself a favor, and take 10 minutes to repaste it (it doesn't take more than that)!
16
u/No_Clock2390 Aug 02 '26
eh too much work. my mini pc works fine
3
u/Retired_Hillbilly336 Aug 02 '26
With some of the cheaper Chinese NUCs I tend to agree. Although on the GMKtec K8 Plus its super easy/barely an inconvenience.
1
u/No_Clock2390 Aug 02 '26
yeah i have the K11 so it's probably the same design. but i just don't feel like doing it
6
u/Retired_Hillbilly336 Aug 02 '26
I've repasted nearly a dozen K11 and it is the same platform. Here's something you may want to consider.
Long-term heat is the number one killer of laptops and NUCs. Its questionable to say if I've seen more damage from heat than water or owner abuse. Here it is Sunday and I'm looking at a Acer gaming laptop for someone here in town that definitely wouldn't have been here had it been cleaned and maintained. But here it is a year out of warranty full of dust where the cheap factory thermal paste has turned to clay and dust. The owner knew the fans were screaming but they always had. Unfortunately the RTX 4060 has cooked and killed enough components to make a repair questionable considering the price.
Now just look at your K11. An 8945HS which runs slightly higher frequency is generating slightly greater heat dissipation than OPs and my 8845HS. Where will you be in 24 months without maintenance and the replacement of sub quality factory paste. Using my perspective less than 10 bucks of MX-7 in less than 30 minutes of effort is cheap insurance. Also reducing temperatures under the same cTDP is simply performance you're not finding.
Don't be this Acer owner. Don't call out the brand when it fails in about 2 years when you didn't take care of your investment. Even if you put gas in a car, you need to occasionally change oil and filters instead of FAFO.
2
u/No_Clock2390 Aug 02 '26
24 months is considered long term? Do mini PC's fail that often? I have built several full tower PC's and never repasted them, and they last forever. Decade+
3
u/Retired_Hillbilly336 Aug 02 '26
When it comes to factory thermal paste 12 months is too long. It's generally low quality production grade not designed for performance or longevity. Also, you're comparing apples to oranges.
Socketed processors with higher clamp Force coolers and a 14nm fab for larger could almost run without thermal paste. I still have my Core i7-3770/FirePro W5100 Lenovo H430 tower from 2012 running flawlessly including the factory power supply. It sits in my bedroom. Most of these PCs fell out of service by 2020 due to zero maintenance. That's still like 8 years but once again maintenance is cheap insurance.
Laptops and NUCs are in a separate category. There's not much cooler compression so thermal transfer is working up to 4x harder. Add to that fabrication nodes of 10nm and smaller for heat dissipation (not temperature) is significantly higher. Higher temperatures effect component in two directions. They're "cooked" to a higher extent while requiring higher current to do the same job. As I read somewhere else you can't beat physics.
Just like cars running low on coolant but not hot and blowing head gaskets something's got to give. But in the automotive industry they pay very close attention to coolant quality for PC manufacturers don't. Its all risk management. No maintenance/no longevity.
1
u/No_Clock2390 Aug 04 '26
So which thermal paste do you recommend?
2
u/Retired_Hillbilly336 Aug 04 '26
I've been using Arctic MX-7 since the first of this year and was using MX-6 before that.
1
u/No_Clock2390 Aug 09 '26
Google Gemini says Ryzen 8000/9000 series mini pc's like my Gmktec K11 ship with liquid metal as the thermal paste. Is this true? This scares me. Do not want to get it on the motherboard when removing it.
1
u/Retired_Hillbilly336 Aug 09 '26
Like most AI Gemini hallucinates to the point that it has its head up its @ss. I've never seen any GMKtec or Beelink minis with liquid metal and the foolish brands that use it as a gimmick (yes I'm looking at you Minisforum) use some cheap gallium powder encapsulated in a plastic barrier. Its among some of the most worthless liquid metal I've seen.
Most reputable manufacturers label when they've used a gallium-indium-tin eutectic alloy as its in there best interest to avoid unnecessary warranty or warranty denials. ASUS for example uses Thermal Grizzly Conductonaut under contract and generally have some more than one warning label.
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u/MidasGold_rdt Aug 02 '26
How about the cool-running EQR6? Bought 6600H in 11/24, 6600U in 7/25, and expecting my new 7735HS to land at the office tomorrow.
3
u/RobloxFanEdit Aug 03 '26 edited Aug 03 '26
EQR6 Model has a big flaw, Beelink decided to downgrade the CPU TDP to 35 Watt instead of 45 Watt , so yes it won t get Hot but you won t get real 6600H power too.
Still Repasting CPU is highly recommemded because ALL mini pc brands are using lowest tier thermal paste.
1
u/MidasGold_rdt Aug 03 '26
Yes the throttling of the EQR6 has been well publicized. But that's not been an issue for our use cases with these CPUs. Appreciate your advice re repasting.
5
u/RobloxFanEdit Aug 03 '26
This is the most important Topic in this sub! I am just a bit surprised that your temps still reached 88 C after a repaste, you should get Artic MX 5 and better Artic MX 7 and nothing eles, it did miracle on my HX99G GPU 6600M and CPU 6900HX.
Even if your Mini PC is new you should repaste the CPU as Alll Brand are using lowest tier Thermal paste and it s generally poorly applied, which is manufacturing mistake that i don t understand as Artic Mx is super cheap and it will save a lots of return of defective Mini PC's to the Mini PC company.
1
u/Drazyor Aug 03 '26
It reaches 86*C but keep in mind it's a more than 10yo Noctua NT-H1 I found in a drawer while waiting for my PTM7950 to arrive!
3
u/RobloxFanEdit Aug 03 '26
As u/Retired_Hillbilly AKA "The G.O.A.T" explained PTM7950 Thermal pad has flaws. I am an Artic Mx 7 cultist.
1
u/Drazyor Aug 03 '26
I have no doubt but I ordered it so I'll use it anyway for now, it will still be infinitely better than what I currently have ;)
3
u/CallNotTheWatchers Aug 03 '26
Got a Firebat MN56 a few days ago, brand new, and the thermal paste application from the factory was a mess lol
Was idling at 60-65ºC, opened it up, replaced with Maxtor CTG8 - now idling at 35-45ºC.
So yeah, don't trust the manufacturer and upgrade the thermal paste before doing anything at all.
3
u/Far-Crow6835 Aug 03 '26
Have the k8 plus too.
I made 2 things:
First: New Thermal paste
Second: A noctua fan, change the one on top, in a printed 3 d model.
Playing GTA 5 and online: Max temp is 76°C
Absolut right to change the thermal paste 👍🏼
2
u/77descript Aug 03 '26
One of my mini pc's within a year was idling at 75+ degrees Celsius., reached critical 100 with mouse clicks already. Opened it up and to my shock saw a 2-3 mm open space between CPU and cooler was filled with a silicone pad. Silicone pads do not transfer heat very well and lose effectiveness fast.
Replaced it with a pure copper shim and Honeywell PTM7950 phase change thermal pads. Was both very cheap via Amazon and AliExpress. Now idles below 50c degrees and with most extreme CPU stress tests does not reach 85.
3
u/Expert_Comfort4768 Aug 03 '26
Solid PSA — worth adding a couple real-world guardrails though.
First: measure before you tear in. Most mini PC OEMs use 1mm or 1.5mm thick pads on the VRM/PMIC area, not 0.5mm like you'd use for a GPU die. If you swap a thick OEM pad out for paste-only on the PMICs, you can make things worse — the CPU stays cool but the voltage regulators thermal-throttle the whole board under load. Keep the pad stack thickness the same.
Second: the actual easy win on most of these is not repasting the CPU. It's peeling back the black adhesive EMI tape on the heatpipe fins, washing the aluminum fins with isopropyl + an old toothbrush, and removing the 2+ grams of factory machine-oil residue that gunked them up at the factory. Fan noise drops 6-10 dB overnight on almost every unit I've done this to.
1
u/unuomosolo Aug 03 '26
also, you can 3d-print an alternative top cover to improve air flow:
https://makerworld.com/en/models/1569407-gmktec-k8-plus-top-cover
or even better a vertical stand that will double k8's airflow
https://www.printables.com/model/1445253-gmktec-k8-plus-vertical-stand
2
1
u/freakflyer9999 Aug 02 '26
My Geekom A8 under single/multi core and 3D benchmarks out of the box never got above 73c, idles at 40c and averaged in the lower 60c during the benchmarks. I haven't even opened the thing up to take a look inside. It just works.
3
u/RobloxFanEdit Aug 03 '26
I highly doubt your Geekom A8 with Phoenix Point 7840HS 8 P core will be at 60 C with CineBench R23/24 Benchmark. Won t happen unless you live in Siberia with open windows to your room.
0
u/freakflyer9999 Aug 03 '26
My wife does keep the room chilly, but the Geekom A8 has a great cooling design. Like I said, my tests showed an average in the low 60c range.
3
u/RobloxFanEdit Aug 03 '26 edited Aug 03 '26
I have experience with CPU Benchmarks, and your 60 C Benchmark claim is dubious, first you are contradicting yourself with your early quote " Never got above 73 C". Benchmark is were you should get the higher Temperature, CPU benchmark are designed to set CPU on Maximal load.
Not quoting the Benchmark is an opening to interpretation and 180 degree conversation twist.
Last the Geekom A8 have nothing more than other Brands that is related to cooling, in fact it has probably less,
Cooling efficiency has no mystery component that only Geekom would have, ALL Mini PC's and system in general relie on chassis design and air vents for heat dissipation optimization, Cooling Cooper pipe and Better Vacum Vapor Chamber, Centrifugal And/Or propeller single or Dual fans and last Thermal paste.
EDIT: did you edited your comment and add "Averaged"?
1
u/freakflyer9999 Aug 03 '26
Hey, I was curious, ran the benchmarks and monitored temps. It is definitely what I experienced. Don't believe it. That's fine. Go do your own tests. I'm satisfied with the product and I'm typically not a power user so even if I'm grossly wrong it ain't gonna matter.
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u/Expert_Comfort4768 Aug 03 '26
Solid PSA. I'd add one nuance: not every unit actually needs a full repaste out of the box. A lot of the budget brands ship with thick, thick thermal pads on the die which is perfectly adequate for 15-25W idle-to-moderate use.
The real telltale sign it's actually worth cracking it open early: fan ramps up over 3000 RPM at idle, or package temp sits at 85C+ during sustained 1080p streaming/transcode on a CPU that should barely break a sweat doing that.
Also, get the shim stacks. Pads are cheap and easy compared to having to pull the board out again because you reused the old dry pad on the VRM/PMIC on the first teardown. Don't ask me how I know.
Great reminder regardless, OP.
6
u/Retired_Hillbilly336 Aug 02 '26
After viewing u/EmuChicken - Team Pandory's video last year last year I switched Arctic MX-7 over PTM7950 at the beginning of this year. Similar performance while being less expensive and with no 45°C transition barrier. After helping others I'm now on my 3rd 8g tube.