Question [K55VJ laptop] Is replacing 8 yr old original thermal paste recommended just because its old? Also Asus original fan or replacement?

c050

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Dec 14, 2018
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ASUS K55VJ-SX026H
i7-3630QM CPU @ 2.4GHz (turbo 3.4GHz)
16GB DDR3L PC3-12800 = DDR3-1600
Nvidia GForce 635M 2GB


Bought ASUS K55VJ second hand 2015 (manufactured 2012, but believe it's run since 2013 at least), ie 7-8 years. The fan is a goner, I will replace that.

a) Will thermal paste age? Is there a point replacing 8 year thermal paste just because it's old?
Note, I don't need to disassemble the thermal paste junction to replace fan unless I chose too.

History of the fan.
When I first got the laptop the fan could spin up and make a thunderous "tornado" roar with temperature. But I only surfed the web until 2018, so that was a rare occurrence. Still 1-2 times it shut itself off due to overheating which obviously must've been a built-in overheat protection. 2018 I started playing DCS, a very demanding game and everything was fine. Just once did it shut itself off when I tried to simultaneously with DCS run Intel's video recording app. Temp 85-92 while running DCS fine (2 years).

3 weeks ago the fan started to make mechanical noise periodically. Noise is gone since last week. I believe the fan no longer can manage spinning up to higher speeds and that's why it stopped making noise. Come to think of it, it might be a years since I last heard the fan go into it's "tornado" mode which I remember from 2015. It still spins up a bit audibly but nothing like it used to. Since a week now, whenever I play DCS, it will shut itself off after a few minutes. Long story short, the fan is finished, I will replace it.

Second question.
b) Should I buy from "ASUSparts" to guaranteed get an "ASUS approved" or will a cheaper OEM do?

"ASUSparts.eu" is what "ASUS service" told me is the authorized source for parts. Selecting "ASUS" -> "Notebook" -> "K series" -> "K55VJ" and checking "cooling" (auto edited link below works):
gets me four listings from "ASUSparts.eu":

Asus K55A TH FAN
Part No. : 13GN8910P010-1
Stock status : 2 in stock

Asus K55VM TH MOD ASSY
Part No. : 13GN881AM010-1
Stock status : Remote stock

Asus K55VM TH MOD ASSY
Part No. : 13GN881AM010-2
Stock status : Remote stock

Asus K55A TH FAN
Part No. : 13GN8910P010-2
Stock status : Remote stock

of which the first and last are fans (little image given). The other two must be copper assemblies (no image given). I get two part designations: "13GN8910P010-1" and "13GN8910P010-2" that refers to each other as "alternatives" so they must be compatible. On ebay I find the designations with wildly different prizing : $8.3 - $53. ASUSparts it's $29. They're all designated "13GN8910P010-1" or "13GN8910P010-2".

Third question
c) Could there be a higher rated fan I could buy that provides better cooling that fits in the slot? Nothing custom, just a higher airflow version approved by ASUS.

Also I emailed "ASUSparts.eu" using their questionnaire, 4 days no reply (they claim replies in 1-2 days).

c050,
 
Last edited:
ASUS K55VJ-SX026H
i7-3630QM CPU @ 2.4GHz (turbo 3.4GHz)
16GB DDR3L PC3-12800 = DDR3-1600
Nvidia GForce 635M 2GB


Bought ASUS K55VJ second hand 2015 (manufactured 2012, but believe it's run since 2013 at least), ie 7-8 years. The fan is a goner, I will replace that.

a) Will thermal paste age? Is there a point replacing 8 year thermal paste just because it's old?
Note, I don't need to disassemble the thermal paste junction to replace fan unless I chose too.

History of the fan.
When I first got the laptop the fan could spin up and make a thunderous "tornado" roar with temperature. But I only surfed the web until 2018, so that was a rare occurrence. Still 1-2 times it shut itself off due to overheating which obviously must've been a built-in overheat protection. 2018 I started playing DCS, a very demanding game and everything was fine. Just once did it shut itself off when I tried to simultaneously with DCS run Intel's video recording app. Temp 85-92 while running DCS fine (2 years).

3 weeks ago the fan started to make mechanical noise periodically. Noise is gone since last week. I believe the fan no longer can manage spinning up to higher speeds and that's why it stopped making noise. Come to think of it, it might be a years since I last heard the fan go into it's "tornado" mode which I remember from 2015. It still spins up a bit audibly but nothing like it used to. Since a week now, whenever I play DCS, it will shut itself off after a few minutes. Long story short, the fan is finished, I will replace it.

Second question.
b) Should I buy from "ASUSparts" to guaranteed get an "ASUS approved" or will a cheaper OEM do?

"ASUSparts.eu" is what "ASUS service" told me is the authorized source for parts. Selecting "ASUS" -> "Notebook" -> "K series" -> "K55VJ" and checking "cooling" (auto edited link below works):
gets me four listings from "ASUSparts.eu":

Asus K55A TH FAN
Part No. : 13GN8910P010-1
Stock status : 2 in stock

Asus K55VM TH MOD ASSY
Part No. : 13GN881AM010-1
Stock status : Remote stock

Asus K55VM TH MOD ASSY
Part No. : 13GN881AM010-2
Stock status : Remote stock

Asus K55A TH FAN
Part No. : 13GN8910P010-2
Stock status : Remote stock

of which the first and last are fans (little image given). The other two must be copper assemblies (no image given). I get two part designations: "13GN8910P010-1" and "13GN8910P010-2" that refers to each other as "alternatives" so they must be compatible. On ebay I find the designations with wildly different prizing : $8.3 - $53. ASUSparts it's $29. They're all designated "13GN8910P010-1" or "13GN8910P010-2".

Third question
c) Could there be a higher rated fan I could buy that provides better cooling that fits in the slot? Nothing custom, just a higher airflow version approved by ASUS.

Also I emailed "ASUSparts.eu" using their questionnaire, 4 days no reply (they claim replies in 1-2 days).

c050,

I can't answer all of these questions, but YES thermal paste can age. It can dry up and yeahh you know very inefficient thermal conductivity resulting in increased temperatures. You should be fine replacing the fan as long as it's the same size, (obviously ;p) same voltage, and same power draw amps/watts. also make sure they have the same connector.
I wouldn't recommend getting a more powerful fan, especially since it's a laptop. and pleaaase replace the thermal paste on that.
 

c050

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Dec 14, 2018
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The fan ("13GN8910P010-1 ") is on order. Good thing ASUSparts finally answered and confirmed that's the one to get.
If its just the fan itself you need please choose this part:
https://www.zandparts.com/en/Asus-13GN8910P010-1
Regarding a more powerful fan and compatible ones this is unfortunately nothing I have information regarding. I can only see the original spareparts for the computers using the computers serialnumber.
But ASUSparts website lists "13GN8910P010-2 " as alternative so that would've worked too I guess.

I had had decided to leave the paste untouched, now I'm reconsidering. Now I'll have to find the best paste and try not to screw it up.

Searched for "does thermalpaste age", looked at 5 videos, no one found any significant temp change. Not even with 7 or 8 year old paste.

Did find this though. Replacing original paste could be a good idea.
Some people go a step further and recommend replacing the thermal paste on your CPU every two to three years regardless of whether you touch the heat sink. Most seem to agree that doing it every year is a bit excessive.

If you have a prebuilt PC then we and others recommend replacing the thermal paste that came with no matter how old the PC. This is one of the easiest and cheapest ways to get some more performance out of your PC. Typically PC manufacturers cut corners to maximize profit through some mean. Be it through a cheaper case, lower quality thermal paste, or something else.

Now, what's a good paste? Most talked about Arctic Silver, different versions of.