Modern processors have significantly increased the number of processing cores, but at the same time their heat dissipation has also increased. Dissipation of additional heat is not a big problem for desktop computers, which are traditionally assembled in relatively large cases. However, in laptops, especially in thin and light models, the fight against high temperatures is a rather difficult engineering task, for which manufacturers are forced to resort to new and non-standard solutions. So, after the official release of the eight-core mobile processor Core i9-9980HK, ASUS decided to improve the cooling systems used in flagship laptops and began to introduce a more efficient thermal interface material - liquid metal.
The need to improve the efficiency of cooling systems in mobile computers is long overdue. The operation of mobile processors on the edge of throttling has become a standard phenomenon for high-performance laptops. Often this even turns into very unpleasant consequences. , the story of last year's MacBook Pro update is still fresh in memory, when newer versions of Apple mobile computers based on eighth-generation Core processors were slower than their predecessors with seventh-generation processors due to temperature throttling. Claims often arose against laptops from other manufacturers, whose cooling systems often do a poor job of dissipating the heat generated by the processor during high computing load.
The current situation has led to the fact that many technical forums dedicated to discussing modern mobile computers are filled with recommendations to disassemble laptops immediately after purchase and change the standard thermal paste in them for some more effective options. You can often find recommendations for reducing the supply voltage on the processor. But all such options are suitable for enthusiasts and are not suitable for the mass user.
Fortunately, ASUS decided to take additional measures to neutralize the problem of overheating, which, with the release of mobile processors of the Coffee Lake Refresh generation, threatened to turn into even more trouble. Now select models of ASUS ROG series laptops equipped with flagship 45W octa-core processors will use an "exotic thermal interface material" that improves the efficiency of heat transfer from the CPU to the cooling system. This material is the well-known Thermal Grizzly Conductonaut "liquid metal" class thermal paste.
Grizzly Conductonaut is a tin, gallium and indium-based thermal interface from a popular German manufacturer, which has the highest thermal conductivity of 75 W/mβK and is designed for use in non-extreme overclocking. According to ASUS developers, the use of such a thermal interface, all other things being equal, can reduce the temperature of the processor by 13 degrees compared to standard thermal paste. At the same time, as emphasized, for better efficiency of the liquid metal, the company has developed clear norms for the dosage of the thermal interface and taken care of counteracting its leakage, for which a special βapronβ is provided around the contact point of the cooling system with the processor.
ASUS ROG laptops with liquid metal thermal interface are already on the market. Thermal Grizzly Conductonaut is currently used in the cooling system of the 17-inch ASUS ROG G703GXR laptop based on the Core i9-9980HK processor. However, it is obvious that in the future liquid metal can be found in other flagship models.
Source: 3dnews.ru