Hi everyone, Welcome to HowFixit. In this video, I will answer the most popular questions
about liquid metal and show you all the applying methods for different CPU devices such
as PC, laptops, video cards, and game consoles. I'll start with the most popular
and urgent question - is liquid metal safe for a CPU and a copper heatsink?
Well, it took me 4 years to answer this question. Before creating this video, I decided to check out
the legend, which many people are terrified of, that liquid metal destroys the copper structure
of the heatsink, and even the processor chip. Four years ago, I used liquid metal on my laptop,
and since then, I have never removed the heatsink. My laptop's cooling system allows me to clean the
fan and heatsink grill without removing the heat pipes, so I run a 4-year test. According
to many comments, in 4 years, the liquid metal should have destroyed all the copper on my
laptop cooling system. Let's check it out now. The cooling system came off easily. Let's
take a closer look at the heatsink surface. For four years, the liquid metal came into
a powder consisting of small metal shavings; of course, this resulted from a
chemical reaction of copper and gallium. Also, this is because I applied only once and one
layer of liquid metal. A little later, I will show you the best way to apply liquid metal, so it does
not become such a condition. But, I want to note that even in this condition, the liquid metal
worked for four years, and the temperature did not rise above 82 degrees Celsius. Even under
prolonged loads, my laptop did not overheat. Wiping the surface, you can see that the copper
has absorbed the liquid metal, after which a galvanized mark remains on the heatsink surface.
There was a fusion of metals; this is a normal chemical reaction, which many people are so
afraid of and call "the destruction of copper." Liquid metal is based on gallium, indium, and tin.
Gallium has a negative potential, and copper has a positive potential, so gallium starts migrating
into the copper, making this stain. Regarding thermal characteristics, copper retains all its
original properties, and this stain on a copper plate should not be confused with corrosion.
I'll show you how to remove this stain from the heatsink surface to prove how little
the copper has absorbed the liquid metal. How to remove liquid metal from the
surface of the CPU and heatsink. I use isopropyl alcohol and Flitz polishing
paste. The polishing paste must be non-abrasive. I left a link to this paste in the description.
Also, a regular washing sponge would be helpful. Use a cotton swab with Flitz paste to remove the
top coat and prepare the surface for polishing. Apply Flitz to the stain you want to polish. Take a sponge and cut off a part
you will be comfortable using. Start polishing with the rough side of
the sponge. Polish in a circular motion for more effective removal of liquid metal.
After a few minutes of active surface polishing, remove the waste material with a
cotton swab and isopropyl alcohol. Apply the paste and continue polishing
until you get the desired result. Use the soft side of the sponge
for the final polishing step. So, removing the stain from the copper surface
took me about 7 minutes. Now you see almost pure copper. I left the outline borders of the
stain to see where I should apply a new layer of liquid metal. After another 5 minutes of intensive
polishing, you can remove this stain altogether. If you have a grinding tool, you can
remove this stain in a few minutes. I repeat once again; this is not
corrosion, but a fusion of two metals, resulting in a stain appearing on
the upper layer of the copper pad. If it had been four years of corrosion, you
would have seen a clear trace of destruction on the copper surface. And I wouldn't
be able to remove that stain so easily. So, it can be concluded that the migration of
ions into copper occurs only at the beginning of the liquid metal deposition. But the reaction is
insignificant and stops at the copper top layer. Even if you call it the "destruction of copper",
nothing destructive has happened in 4 years. Apparently, this reaction needs more time,
maybe 20 years. In this case, you can buy a new heatsink, which costs about $30. But I doubt
that you will work 20 years behind one laptop. How often do you change your
laptop, every five years? Let's take a closer look at the processor
DIE surface. Liquid metal is easily removed with isopropyl alcohol. There were no traces of
damage or stains from liquid metal. I can say for sure that liquid metal will not do anything
destructive with a silicon processor chip. If any trace is left on your processor
DIE, you can remove it with Flitz paste. Using the same paste, you can remove liquid metal
from the surface of the nickel-plated CPU cover. I don't insist on using liquid metal if
thermal paste suits you - use it. But, if you were afraid to use liquid metal because of
the incompetent assessment of various observers, you should not be scared of this; there is
nothing particularly destructive in liquid metal. Liquid metal transfers heat more efficiently
from the processor to the heatsink; I was convinced by testing the best thermal
pastes compared to liquid metal. If you are looking for the most efficient thermal
conductor and decide to use liquid metal, I will show you how to apply
it correctly and safely. What you should know before applying liquid metal Liquid metal cannot be used with an aluminum
heatsink. This is because aluminum dissolves well in gallium and forms an oxide layer
around itself, protecting the aluminum from other elements' effects. In this case, corrosion
occurs, and the aluminum structure is destroyed. Liquid metal can be used with a copper or
nickel-plated heatsink. If you have a PC, check your heatsink first. Laptops use copper-based
heat pipes so that you can use liquid metal. The next important thing you should know is that
liquid metal is an electrical conductor. If the liquid metal gets on the SMD components, a short
circuit may occur, resulting in permanent damage. If your processor has SMD components,
you must isolate them from accidental contact with liquid metal. A
little later, I'll show you how. How to apply liquid metal - depends on your type
of device. The computer processor is covered with a metal cover, but the silicon chip is open
in laptops, game consoles, and graphics cards. Choose the time code for your device.
And check the video section "How Often You Should Change Liquid Metal"; this is
important information for copper heatsinks. How to prepare a laptop for
liquid metal application. I use Thermal Grizzly Conductonaut because it
is the most common liquid metal on the market. You can use liquid metal from any other
manufacturer, such as Coollaboratory - I left the links in the description.
On the HowFixit channel, more than two thousand step-by-step video instructions on
how to disassemble laptops of different models. All video guides are completely free; use
them to disassemble the laptop successfully. Typically, these alcohol pads come with a
liquid metal to remove the thermal paste. Or use a regular cotton pad and isopropyl
alcohol to degrease the surface of the CPU and heatsink. The surface must
be clean and free of all residues. On the CPU surface, there may be SMD components or
contact points. These components must be isolated. You can isolate components using
a Thermal Grizzly TG-Shield, or high temperature-resistant liquid insulating
glue - I left the link in the description. Apply insulation coating only to
SMD components and contact points. Leave for 30 minutes to cure the insulation layer.
As a result, you get an isolated surface. Now the CPU chip is ready to apply liquid metal.
In my case, there are no components on the CPU and GPU and pasted protective film; if you have
the same, you do not need to isolate anything. How to apply liquid metal to a laptop.
Set the micro tip to the syringe. Gently squeeze a small drop
of liquid metal onto the CPU. If you squeezed out a little more liquid metal,
you can remove excess material with a special tip. Spread liquid metal with the supplied cotton swab.
An increased contact pressure of the cotton swab can facilitate the application of the liquid
metal over the surface of the processor chip. For the GPU chip, squeeze out the
drop of liquid metal a little more. After the chip is done, do the same with the heatsink. Spread the liquid
metal around where the processor is attached. If a trace of the processor chip remains on the copper
pad, spread the liquid metal within these borders. You should get a spot similar to the size of the
chip. You can make the spot a little larger if you doubt that you will not guess with the sizes.
And check the video section "How often do I change Liquid Metal"; this
is important information for copper heatsinks. Applying liquid metal to a CPU
As you know, the silicon chip of the PC processor is under the nickel-plated cover, called
- IHS (Integrated Heat Spreader). So, you have two options: apply liquid metal only to the surface
of the nickel-plated cover, or additionally apply it between the silicon chip and IHS.
For the best thermal conduction, recommended remove the metal cover and apply
the liquid metal directly to the silicon chip. Removing the IHS cover is called "Delidding".
The delidding process requires a special tool and extreme care not to damage the SMD
components. According to some tests, this reduces operating temperatures by
15 to 25 °C, depending on the workload. Additionally, you can replace this stock
nickel-plated IHS with a copper one, which will lower the temperature even more, about 10°C.
The delidding process is quite risky and voids the processor warranty, but the result is
worth it if you're overclocking the CPU. I made a map of options for
using liquid metal for a PC CPU. As you can see, there are five different ways to
use liquid metal, but you need to delid a CPU for four of them. Anyway, "how to delid CPU" I show
you in a separate video - link in the description. This application is safe for an aluminum
heatsink or if you don't want to apply liquid metal to your copper heatsink.
This method is the most popular. If you are overclocking the CPU and
every degree of Celsius is essential, this method is the most effective.
Applying liquid metal only to the surface of the nickel-plated cover will also give a good thermal
conductivity compared to the thermal paste. I use Thermal Grizzly Conductonaut
because it is the most common liquid metal on the market. You can use liquid
metal from any other manufacturer, such as Coollaboratory - I left
the links in the description. How to apply liquid metal to a CPU.
The first step is to prepare the CPU surface for applying the liquid metal. Alcohol pads come with
a liquid metal to remove the thermal paste, or use a regular cotton pad and 70% isopropyl alcohol
to degrease the surface of the CPU and heatsink. The surface must be clean
and free of all residues. Set the micro tip to the liquid metal tube.
Gently squeeze a small drop of liquid metal onto the CPU.
Spread liquid metal with the supplied cotton swab. An increased contact pressure of the cotton
swab can facilitate the application of the liquid metal over the surface of the CPU.
After applying it to the CPU, do the same with the heatsink. Spread the liquid
metal around where the processor is attached. If a trace of the processor chip remains on the copper
pad, spread the liquid metal within these borders. You should get a spot similar to the size of the
chip. You can make the spot a little larger if you doubt that you will not guess with the sizes.
Now install the heatsink on the CPU. And check the video section "How
often do I change Liquid Metal"; this is important information for copper heatsinks. Applying liquid metal to a
graphics card or game console The process of applying liquid metal on
a video card or game console is almost the same. Most importantly, ensure your
heatsink has a copper pad because some graphics cards still use aluminum-based heatsinks. Game consoles starting with the PlayStation
4 Pro, Xbox Series X, and Xbox Series S have a copper pad that allows you to apply liquid
metal. I did a test comparing liquid metal and thermal paste on PS4 Pro and the result was good
- I left a link to this video in the description. The GPU and APU look very similar, with
many SMD components around the silicon chip. These components must be isolated
from accidental contact with liquid metal. How to apply liquid metal to a GPU
or APU using PS4 Pro as an example. Remove all thermal paste from the
silicon chip and heatsink surface. Use isopropyl alcohol to degrease
the surface of the chip and heatsink. You can use a soft brush to clean the SMD
components from thermal paste residue. The surface must be clean
and free from any residue. Use liquid insulating glue or Thermal Grizzly
TG-Shield to protect SMD components - I left the links in the description. You
can use any other product, but it should have two important properties: electrical
insulation and high-temperature resistance. Wipe off excess insulation from the chip surface. Leave for 30 minutes to cure the insulation
layer. As a result, you get an insulated surface and now the processor chip
is ready for applying liquid metal. I use Thermal Grizzly Conductonaut because it
is the most common liquid metal on the market. Set the micro tip to the syringe. Gently squeeze a small drop
of liquid metal onto the CPU. If you squeezed out a little more liquid metal,
you can remove excess material with a special tip. Spread liquid metal with the supplied cotton swab.
An increased contact pressure of the cotton swab can facilitate the application of the liquid
metal over the surface of the processor chip. After the chip is done, do the same with the
heatsink. Spread the liquid metal around where the processor is attached. If a trace of the
processor chip remains on the copper pad, spread the liquid metal within these borders.
You should get a spot similar to the size of the chip. You can make the spot a little larger if
you doubt that you will not guess with the sizes. How often you should change liquid metal.
At the beginning of the video, I showed what liquid metal looks like after four years - it was
dry and like a metal powder. To avoid this and to keep the liquid metal in liquid condition
for a long time, you need to allow 3 or 4 weeks for the ions to migrate into the copper.
After about a month of the first application of liquid metal, take apart your
device to reapply the liquid metal. Gallium will sufficiently combine with
copper during this time, forming a stable copper-gallium alloy surface. The new layer of
liquid metal will no longer fuse with the copper, allowing it to remain in a liquid condition.
Using this application method, you will not need to change the liquid metal often; it
will remain liquid even after two years. I suggest liquid metal experimenting.
After this second liquid metal application, I'll leave my laptop for two years. It
will be six years of using liquid metal on my laptop. Let's see what the condition
of the liquid metal and heatsink will be. So, after two years, I will create a new video and
leave a link in the description below this video. I really appreciate you watching my videos;
you can ask all additional questions regarding the liquid metal in the comments. For
more info check out the links in the description. You were on HowFixit. Thanks for
watching and see you next time.
