ASUS TUF Gaming F15 Fan Cleaning & Thermal Paste Replacement, by Bongkar Laptop on YouTube. 15 min 38 s.
- Video length
- 15 min 38 s
- Time to do it
- 45 minutes
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Steps
- 10
What you need
Steps
Power the laptop off completely, unplug the charger, and hold the power button for a few seconds to drain leftover charge. Work on a clean, flat surface away from carpet.
Remove every screw from the bottom cover with the Phillips screwdriver. Keep the screws grouped by location, since lengths differ and a long screw in a short hole can damage the case.
Slide the plastic pry tool into the seam along the edge and work it around the cover to release the clips. Lift the bottom cover off slowly and set it aside.
Disconnect the internal battery connector from the motherboard first. This prevents accidental short circuits while you touch other components.
Unplug the fan cable from the board, remove the fan screws, and lift the fan out. Hold the blades still and brush the dust off with the soft brush, then clear the vents and heatsink fins.
Loosen the heatsink screws in the numbered order stamped on the metal, turning each a little at a time. Lift the heatsink straight up once all screws are free.
Wipe the old, dried paste off the CPU and GPU with a microfiber cloth dampened with isopropyl alcohol. Keep going until both chips and the heatsink contact plates are bare metal.
Apply a small pea-sized dot or thin line of new thermal paste to the centre of each chip. Do not flood the surface, since excess paste spreads onto the board.
Set the heatsink back down and tighten its screws gradually in the same numbered order. Reconnect the fan cable, then reconnect the battery.
Press the bottom cover back on until the clips click, refit all screws, and power on to check the fan spins and temperatures look normal before you close everything up for good.
Tips and common mistakes
Do not let the fan spin freely while you blast it with air, because over-spinning can damage the bearing.
Too much thermal paste is worse than a little too little, so keep the dot small and let the heatsink pressure spread it.
Tighten heatsink screws in small increments in the numbered order so the chip is pressed down evenly.
Take a photo of the screw layout and cable routing before removing anything, which makes reassembly much faster.
Questions
Do I have to replace the thermal paste every time I clean the fan?
No. Clean the dust whenever it builds up, but only replace the paste when temperatures stay high after cleaning or the paste looks dry and cracked.
Will this void my warranty?
Opening the laptop yourself can affect the warranty in many regions, so check your ASUS warranty terms first if the machine is still covered.
How do I know the cleaning worked?
Watch your CPU and GPU temperatures and fan noise while gaming. Lower temperatures and a quieter fan mean the job went well.
This guide was drafted from the video's details and general task knowledge. It has not been checked against the full video. Check the video and relevant product instructions before following a procedure. Report a correction.
