Lenovo ThinkPad T430 - fan and heatsink cleaning
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- Опубликовано: 31 дек 2020
- Celebrate the New Year with the greatest ThinkPad.
Here is my review video for the Lenovo ThinkPad T430 laptop, widely considered to be the best ThinkPad ever made.
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nice video ; btw the T440P was the last one to have a socketed cpu
Thanks for the correction!
God I love this laptop. It's my unbreakable workhorse in a third world country that won't allow me to buy a new laptop for an affordable price.
The more I learn about the DIY aspect going on with this laptop, the more I'm glad I own one.
I agree!
Thanks bud my laptop wasn't turning on from last month I tried cleaning it as per your video and it started working 🙏❣️
Subbed
Already experienced taking these apart myself but very well done, thorough and cleaned video!
What a great, informative video! I just bought a T430 today for 100€ and I'm planning on upgrading it and practice my tinkering skills.
I used your video as a guide to replace my fan. Much appreciated!
Happy to have helped
I literally just got one of these in 2024. I’m throwing an i7-3740QM in it next week. The CPU was $20 on aliexpress and the computer was $50 on eBay. It didn’t come with a hard drive, battery or charger, but I have a bunch of SSD’s laying around and the battery and charger were $25 on eBay. This computer is absolutely amazing in every way and I can see myself using it for a few years even though it’s over a decade old. It literally had a windows 7 sticker on it! 😂 I can’t wait to finish this project up and install Manjaro Linux on it! I’ll be able to run a VM or 2 on this thing for penetrating testing once it has a quad core and 32gb of ram.
I thought the T430 only had 16 GB RAM as its max.
Thank you for sharing
Thanks man, my laptop is already running much smoother just from cleaning out the fan, cheers
Thank you for your service !
Very informative video, first time I clean My laptop after watching this video, thank you so much bro
T430= beast.. nice video!
Very instructive video. I used it as a guide to do the same thing on my T430. Worked like a charm. Thanks a lot :)
Congratulations, you are now a ThinkPad surgeon!
How its perform. My friend want to buy it for learning and study purpose. For use of Autocad, Sketchup, Revit and basic sowtwares. Plzz reply me.. it has i5 3360M prcoessor and 1 gb nvdia graaphics..
@@archivisiondesignstudio1254 8GB of memory and an SSD you should be good to go. Maybe consider upgrading to a quad-core CPU when you have the time
Amazing video. Very helpful. Thank you. I have a T430 here. I had some problems with this which you didn't have in the video. The palmrest was s.t.u.c.k. Very hard to get off. I was twisting and janking and jerking and finally it loosened. So don't give up. Be careful but firm. Second - the powercable to the fan was stuck as well and I broke the connector trying to get it out. It still works though. I found out it's not neccesary to remove and the fan and the paste is servicable anyway. But wow what a great machine!
It was really helpful. Thank you very much!!
You're welcome!
Thanks man!!
Thanks for the great video. Liked and subscribed.
Thanks for the sub!
I just got one of these bad boys for free. I just needed to replace the screen lol. It’s amazing how convenient it is for tinkering, I love it
Thank you for such helpful video.
You're welcome!
Thanks, this was very helpful. I just got a T430 for 45$, and it was making a lot of noise and getting very hot. Turns out the thermal paste was actually thermal chalk, and that was the problem.
Thanks for sharing, good deal for you!
thank you my best teacher in all time. best wishes god bless you.
You are very welcome
You are very welcome
Thanks, great tutorial!
You're welcome!
super! worked!
Great tutorial, thanks :)
You're welcome!
Thank you mery much
Super 👍Well Explained👌
Thank you soooo soooo much for the video. It it very helpful...🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾😊
Welcome!
I have the same ThinkPad provided to me by company WFH and past few weeks it's been feeling hot and I checked with Aida64 just about a min of stress test I peaked around 95C will need to get it cleaned and pasted soon
Definitely needs to be cleaned and repasted!
Nice sir
A very nice video, THANK YOU!
I have a nice T430 I want to upgrade but it seems the used parts are getting scarce.
So your video will be very helpful to clean & re-paste the CPU.
I'll try that in a month or 2, if I can't find used parts.
I would buy new parts if available from Lenovo but that doesn't seem likely..
I don't want to buy the "new" parts on ebay, I think they are prolly fakes.
Have a GREAT day, Neighbor!
PS
Checking your "Comments" here I see you've been replying to recent comments on a TWO yr-old video!
OUTSTANDING!
Thanks for sharing!
Nice video - very informative with clear instructions. I used this video to disassemble the laptop and clean my fan, which was quite dusty. The laptop was getting warm on the left lower back (by fan), now it runs at least 20 F cooler. My fan assembly looked slightly different (bigger) but the process was the same - had to disconnect wifi connector to make room to remove fan. Sprayed it with electronic cleaner to flush out dust.
I'm glad you found it helpful
Hiya, John;
You might want to lube your fan motor.
Because "electronic cleaner" could've removed the motor lubricant.
Have a GREAT day, Neighbor!
Thanks !
You're welcome
Thanks! Replaced my 3610QM clocked at 60% with a 3612QM at 100%, repasted with kryonaut, and when I am playing subnautice sub zero, it reaches the same temps as being idle before the cleanup and repaste...
Thing was thermal throttling when I moved the mouse... so bad...
Now I can start mixxx with 4 decks playing with rubberband keylock and all filters turned (max out all possible cpu) and browse the web on my other head without even hitting 86 degreees... No more bad sounds due to thermal throttling when I just looked at the filters.
Ok, the 3612QM is of course better rated for my T430. I wonder if just the repaste would have made my 3610QM good again.
Anyway, thank you. It really is quite easy, but I have waited 3 years for this. But that thermal throttling got so bad...
Great to see!
Excellent video, helped me a lot. Huge thanks to you from France!
You're welcome!
What a great video. I've got a 'schmutzi' fan (a lot of vi.bration). Thanks with a sub/likie
Thanks!
holy shit this was helpful
Happy to help!
Thanks for this. I personally have the T430S. I would love to follow this video but I’m too scared to mess it up haha. Maybe some other day, I’ll have the courage to follow this. Fan error always appear on my laptop and if I continue to try opening my laptop it works normally again.
Performing surgery on your ThinkPad could be considered considered a rite of passage 😃
COOL
Yo I really liked the video bro great quality!
I have a question maybe you know about this.
So basically I have a t430 too and i've noticed that it gets pretty warm on the left side of the palm rest which is the part above the ssd and I was wondering if you know how to fix this? I mean the laptop is fkn great but this is really annoying tbh
It's very common with any older system that replacing the thermal paste on the CPU as well as cleaning out the fans and fins on the cooling system will help to push that heat out the side instead of it sitting under the keyboard
The area you mention sounds like it may be for the onboard graphics, which may need either a new thermal pad or new thermal grease.
@@retropcdurham I haven't tried putting on new thermal paste because I thought it was the ssd causing the heat but know that you say it im going to try it out hopefully it'll work bc I really like this laptop I use it for music production and I wanted to use it for programming but it has this problem so it's rather uncomfortable to use for a long time. Thanks so much for responding!!
Thanks for watching!
Would have been nice to add the cleaning of the fan. Since it was listed in the title... The video was very informative, and it looks to be a very easy job.
Thanks for the feedback!
@@retropcdurham You're welcome, and I would love to see more videos from your channel...
Jus a shot of air right?
I agree, since that's the reason I came here in the first place. I figure it was just compressed air, but now I don't know. Guess I have to go watch another video.
@@genipaisley4340 I used an electronic circuit cleaner (red can, CRC brand), helped completely flush our dust. I tried compressed air but that did not remove all of the debris.
SAVED. Just wondering, do you have a link to that desk/table mat??
10:49 That loose plug goes to the optional Bluetooth module that is screwed to the bottom of the palm rest cover
Bluetooth! Ok thanks
im too scared to try that
same
I was too it was fun and way scarier in my head you should try it
Man you sound exactly like Rodney Mckay from Stargate (I think his name is David hewlett?) But it was just so fucking cool thinking rodney mckay was teaching be about thinkpads I thought you were going to replace the battery with a zpm
Ha nice! Well we did grow up pretty near to each other in Toronto neighborhoods. I think he streams regularly on Twitch now
I am going to try to clean the laptop out. I been using it as a server for the last year, and recently noticed it has a temperature problem. While gaming the cpu gets to 103c, and the gpu gets to 98c. Which seems a bit warm.
About a year ago I tried cleaning it on my own, and it has never been the same after I tried. So, hopefully from your guidance in this video, it will turn on after (:
103C is a bit warm? You can cook meat on it!
@@politicalwrong3289 Sure! Lol.
Very helpful. My T430 has a keyboard problem. The mute button has stopped working. I've updated all the software drivers but the problem remains. Do you think a new keyboard would fix it? Thanks
If you are still able to mute in Windows and it's just the button , yes that sounds like a fix.
Thanks. I’ve never opened up a PC or laptop before but will definitely give this a go to my T430 that I’ve just bought. How did you clean the fan as you didn’t show that and I’ve never done it before?
I took the fan assembly outside and sprayed it out with a can of compressed air. In hindsight I should have brought the camera with me 🤔
hi ! ! Chris , very nice video about T430 , I love this laptop , listen I bou¡gth one refurbished and now I need to replace the video flex , do you have any video showing how to disasemble the screen ?? thanks a lot Jorge from Uruguay S.A.
Sorry, I don't have a screen replacement video up for the T430 , but I am sure you will find one, it is a great popular ThinkPad. Hello from Canada!
@@retropcdurham thanks a lot in any way ! 👍🏻👍🏻
questions #1 you are talking degress celsius or fahrenheit? #2 my laptop when is handeling normal 44 - 66 - 77 depends on what im doing #3 do i need to apply thermal past ? my actual processor i5 3320m factory stock. pls advise thanks rgds. excelent video.
1. Yes referring to Celsius.
2. Those temps don't seem too bad, but if you still have the original factory paste it's probably worth the effort to replace it.
3. If your CPU is acceptable to you, no need to upgrade, but you can get a quadcore CPU for very good prices if you want to drive more performance.
Ngl the fat screw removing part is tough
Awesome vid! Would this help resolve any issues with the hot "chemical" smell coming from the fan vent area?
Possibly, if you have something built up in the fan assembly that smells,
I have one where the screw of the heatsink is broken, what don't let me change the thermal paste. All this situation make my cpu goes to 100ºC on AIDA stress test. Next week I will take it to technical assistance.
BTW, I bought a mSata to use on WLAN socket and put 16GB of DDR3 RAM, a 9-cell battery and a AC power of 90W to prepare for a future quad-core CPU.
Hope the screw can be replaced without any permanent damage. Great upgrades!
Thanks for the video!
I went ahead and lubricated the fan as it was buzzing. It's still buzzing though. Should I go ahead and buy a new fan or do you have any other suggestions?
Many thanks.
Is it an electronic buzz? That could be coil whine.
If it is a mechanical buzz the fan may need to be cleaned before oiling, or the blades may be touching the assembly
@@retropcdurham It's a low mechanical buzz and it's the fan for sure as it gets louder as the fan ramps up. I cleaned the inside/base of the fan so I guess it must be hitting the assembly somewhere. It's hard to pin point.
I bought a new fan and it's much quieter now, and when it ramps up the noise is much more pleasant. Thanks for the help!
So question... that copper thing that goes from the fan to the processor, is that a hollow tube or solid? Is this why you can't just blow the fan out from the outside? Thanks.
Copper heat pipes are sealed with air inside them. This allows heat to transfer from the heat plate over the CPU to the heat plate over the fan. Cleaning the cooling system includes removing any dust that has built up inside the fan enclosure, between the fins of the exhaust, as well as replacing the thermal paste between the CPU and the heat plate. This ensures that you have the best flow of heat.
Nice video. Thanks for sharing. You mentioned "greasing the fan". Is it really a doable thing ?
Yup, in almost every computer fan you can either access from removing a sticker and rubber stop, or my gently pulling the fan out of the assembly, lightly cleaning with a qtip dipped in isopropyl alcohol, and then a single drop of small engine oil.
@@retropcdurham Nice... Thx again
This really helped me a lot getting this done. Btw, how can I tell if its the speakers that need to be replaced? Coz external speakers work and sound icon says internal speakers are working but no sound coming from them?
It could be driver related; are you still able to get system beeps?
@@retropcdurham got to get them working. just unplugged & plugged back the speaker board socket. apparently it was just slightly pulled out of it not making contact. but I still replaced them with new ones coz the right speaker was already making crackling sounds. thanks!
@@arrowhead3993 good catch!
Nice video! Did you clean the fan with bottled N2 or??
The usual compressed air took care of it and there wasn't any noticeable build up that required a swap
I have one of those 😉
Have you done much upgrades to it?
@@retropcdurham left it as is. Opened it once to clean the fan cause it had got stuck
Hi! By no means I'm not telling you to do so. But I fixed my issue - the computer was heating up like crazy- by only using my home vacuum cleaner. I didn't need to take it apart.
I'm not a fan of using vacuums due to the negative static electricity they can build up, which can be very bad for electronics.
Thanks for your video it was very helpful. I cleaned the fan of my T430 and redid the heatsink compound etc. The cooling is fine under normal use but when I'm using the processor at full blast rendering videos it still gets very hot - 95 degrees C. I've not had any errors or shutdowns. The thermal limit for its i7 3520M processor is 105 degrees so it's pretty close! I'm using the laptop on a cooling stand. It doesn't seem to help much? Any suggestions? Can I somehow slow the processor down a bit or will it do that itself if it gets critical? Thank you.
Is the OS windows or linux? if windows 10 could be tbe background app running.
could be a few possible reasons, lousy thermal paste, fan is faulty, heatsink is something wrong (but u usually cannot see naked eye). U can get a new thermal heat sink with a new fan + good thermal paste
Install a linux like MX linux and play video to measure the temperature and measure after u do the above.
For mine own test, after i did the above with SSD + i5-3320M, it usually 45 to 59 MAX C degree playing HD or FHD video. (non air con and hot room)
sometimes is due to the fan and heatsink cannot support ur processor some much power. Can tell you are full blast rendering videos ( like video editor rendering out put) i assume. then thats too much to handle
It's old processor and a very old graphic card that isn't suitable to render videos at all for today modern uses.
@@yes_man_lol Thank you. I cleaned the fan of dust and redid the heatsink paste. It only helped a bit though. My processor is rated at 2.9ghz but can go up to 3.4ghz. That's what was causing too much heat. Under advanced power options (win10) I limited the processor to 2.9ghz and now it only heats up to about 74⁰C when working hard.
@@NarrowboatJourneys Did u use it to do video editing render videos?
@@yes_man_lol Yes, it was rendering flat out for an hour at 2.9ghz and didn't get too hot. Rendering took a bit longer than usual but not annoyingly so. I set maximum proc essor speed to 99% which just seemed to disable the turbo boost. I'm happy with that.
@@yes_man_lol
AGREE!, RE: MX linux, it rocks on old hardware!
Do they have the same screw that you took out from the back and some in front? Except the speaker screw and the little one?
If memory serves there are 4 different screw lengths for the T430, but it is pretty well labelled for which screw belongs, and there are schematics available online as well
@@retropcdurham Thank you so much!
would my lenovo T430s heat up because of windows 10 installed?
It could, Windows 10/11 uses a bit more resources compared to Windows 7 or Linux, so it could make your fans work a bit harder.
I'd argue t420 is right up there with the t430, since the keyboard on the t420 is the non chicklet style.
You can modify t430 to fit classis keyboard
cool video. How did you clean the fan?
I went outside and sprayed it thoroughly with a can of compressed air
@@retropcdurham thank-you for responding. I could finally clean my t430 now too.
Hm, why didn't you spread the thermopaste?
Not sure which s/n is compatible with my lenovo t430.
I checked on aliexpress and ebay, and found two different s/n models for the 04W3270 fan (since my laptop has a dedicated graphics card).
One model is: s/n 0B41089
the other one is: s/n 0B41088
Do you know if there is a difference or which is the best one to choose?
thanks ! :)
They are actually the same part, just a different number. IBM parts often had a bunch of different 'part numbers' depending on how they were being sold/packaged, included Option Part Number, FRU, CRU, ASM, L1 and L2.
@@retropcdurham ok. So there’s no reason why the 0B41089 is more expensive than the 0B41088 s/n,? Is it possible one of them is better quality or something, because I think I noticed in a few different listings that the 089 is always a bit more expensive than the 088?
@@thea.d.dproejctjamband6034 AFAIK the only difference would be how they were packaged originally by IBM, if they came with screws, documentation, etc., or just the part on its own
What is the slot next to this ram on the back?
That is a PCIe mini slot, normally for a WWAN adapter, but can also be used for an mSATA SSD
@@retropcdurham Thank you very much .
I am not sure why but when I re attach the palm rest and snap all the clips back into place the lid lock switch becomes jammed. I have taken it off and re tried many times ....
Maybe an incorrect screw, missing/jammed spring, or broken plastic in the lock?
@@retropcdurham I figured it out just now. Such a small issue that I didn't see. There is a long piece of metal that runs along the palm rest that piece was sliding normally but it was not seated correctly so it appeared to be fine but once the snaps go down it only moves with force...
Just upgraded my t430 to a 1080p screen. All good now.
@@JJ-hi2jr good job, glad it wasn't something broken!
Hey there. My t430 fan makes noise and the laptop slightly overheats. The technician cleaned the fan and applied new paste but said that it’s not possible to oil the fan for these models. So my fan is still making noise and I’m not sure what to do. I considered buying a fan replacement set. Do you reccomend that or something else?
It is possible to oil the fan but does require a little bit of surgery to disassemble the aluminum frame around the fan assembly. I've done it once before on a T510 and apart from the tape sealing the gap between the fan assembly and the fins being a little torn it went well. That being said, there are loads of replacement cooling assemblies on eBay and aliexpress you can order for pretty cheap if you are willing to hunt for a good deal and wait a while for slow shipping.
@@retropcdurham thanks for the reply :). Is there a specific sub model to look for for the fan, or every t430 fan listed on AliExpress and eBay should be compatible? Is there a specific listing you reccomend?
@@SimchaBinyamin if your T430 has a GPU, look for 04W3270, if it's a no GPU model you can also use 04W3268.
@@retropcdurham wow thanks! How do I check if my computer has a gpu?
@@SimchaBinyamin The simplest way is probably to open the device manager in Windows and look at the display adapters twisty. If you have a GPU modei you should see both the intel HD graphics as well as an Nvidia graphics.
What screwdrivers did you use?
The orange handled driver is one that used to belong to my dad, so a bit of nostalgia for me. The bit set I think I got at Princess Auto a number of years ago, nothing special.
This seems to be the version without the gpu?
Correct, that blank space on the PCB to the left of the CPU is where the GPU would be, and there would be a heatpipe and plate on the cooling system over that space as well
@@retropcdurham honestly I didn't know it existed without it very informal video honestly, I was looking for a video servicing the CPU and the GPU either way it's still helped got my laptop second hand it's been a year and I've noticed it's starting to stutter so I presume thermal paste is needed honestly the GPU is decent, runs games at least before 2015 for example fallout 3 fallout New Vegas they work fine without any performance drop without mods. Run stuff like left 4 dead 1 and 2 very well. But I've noticed there is random points where my GPU and CPU would stutter for no reason whatsoever even if there is no load I tried running some of my games on the integrated graphics which is Intel of course CPU then run it on Nvidia Optima think I spelled that wrong for some reason the CPU is running far more better.
T430 is an excellent computer, arguably my favorite thinkpad!
I’m not entirely sure why t440p is so much more popular, after playing around with both. My t430 gets more attention.
The t430 still an excellent choice, even buying today. But it does require some attention however, which arguably can be skipped if you get a t440p (which can do ok with the i7-4600) but both imo are still project computers in they need a couple basic upgrades to really respark their performance.
Ivy bridge is easier to cool than hasswell. The 3740qm usually out performs a 4710mq and both are equally as easy to manage heat wise, probably the 3740qm a pinch easier. And the 3740qm (could be) overclocked, if you are really into it, with some simple heatsink modification.
Both can support the same ram, but it’s easier to overclock and run 2133mhz on t430 (not sure if possible on t440p, coreboot perhaps?).
Both usually come with a dual core cpu.
You’ll probably want to upgrade this off the bat anyways to a quad core. Both usually come with a cruddy tns display, either 720p or 900p. You’ll want to upgrade this to a 1080p ips- but the t440p takes the cake here being able to skip a $50 converter piece.
T430 has the express card slot, which can be fun to use a eGPU or other things.
And quirky features like the lid latch, and ability to use a t420 non-chiclet keyboard are restricted to the t430.
T430 is easier in whitelisting, for network card upgrade and battery restrictions
If you want a computer for a good price that is built like a tank, and can be incrementally upgraded into a super machine that holds up even today (the cpu is literally as good in benchmarks as quad core i7s up until skylake, it’s 5 generations of i7 further until they get any significantly better performance- even then the ivy bridge can be compared rather than smoked. Haswell is similar)
…then look no further than a t430 or t440p, however I think the t430 is probably even a better buy than the latter since you can get it off the bat along with either a new cpu or ram and ssd upgrade off the bat for the same price as a t440p. They are literally dirt cheap. If you are into nerding around with your computer like the great host on this video, or need a good performing computer on a budget- these are both superb and practical (not just novel) choices even in 2021 q4.
I got my first thinkpad just this year, late to the game and quickly become obsessed :). My first was a t540p but I’ve ended up on the t430; it’s my favorite to be honest
I'd probably choose a T430 over a T440p as well
I bought t430 put new ram and 16gb of ssd in and turn on just fine.I had i7-3610qm 45tdp processor so i took out a battery and cleaned heatsink and fan (used pressure air spray to clean it of, I accidentally forgot to keep it in place with finger so it was spinning fast for few seconds I replaced processor with i7-3610qm but back heatsink and battery turned it on and nothing think light powers on power button on keyboard stays green fan spins for 5 seconds and stops and i have black screen no thinkpad logo or bios. I again tore it apart same as before put back original i5 again same happens. Now I wonder did I kill the fan or the motherboard. Theres no beep sound or nothing. I tried taking out ram ssd and disconnecting cmos battery but its same story. I already spent too much money and I am feeling quite down. Also heatsink does get got after laptop is on for few secs but fan is not spinning nor i have anything on screen.
Hard to say but it could be that you shorted the board; I have never personally experienced this from fan spin. Have you tried doing a hard reset as well? Remove the battery and CMOS, hold the power button to fully drain all caps on the board, then reconnect everything and try to power on.
@@retropcdurham It was dead board.
@@phobiac281 sorry to hear
How bad this laptop now?
For basic computing still okay, much better performance if you go with a Linux install instead of Win10/11 though.
So, I followed the instructions here, and now my Laptop will not turn on. Any ideas?
First check that everything got plugged back in. I have forgotten to plug the DC Jack in many times before.
Also, you many have to do a reset before powering back on, which is removing the battery and power, holding the power button for 20 seconds to fully drain all capacitors, then plug it all back in
It should work with the keyboard plugged in and the "fan cable" and some power, right?
Do I need to reapply thermal paste?
@@leidenfrost3821 yes normal you should be able to boot with as little as AC power and the keyboard (for power button).
@@retropcdurham well, damn, I did make a few mistakes. I vacuumed the fan with a household vacuum, but the fan was disconnected. And I drilled the long screws that hold the keyboard accidentally into the ports for the captive screws. So unless that's really bad, I honestly don't know what could be causing this
@@leidenfrost3821 For the fan, if it was disconnected there would be no worry of ESD from the vacuum, but the fan could be damaged if it spins too fast. That would not prevent the system from starting though since the BIOS would report a fan error
من هم این مدل را دارم
Always a favourite of mine
Great video, except you didn't actually show how to clean out the fan. :(
Yea, I realized after that I should have recorded spraying it out with channed air
@@retropcdurham In any case this helped me alot on my own project so thanks friend. :)
Conclusion: Lenovo can not plan an ergonomic hardware.
Next, upgrade ur CPU to Quad core + g-Fan
I don’t really like this American accent but it’s way better than the Russian English speaking ! Haha
It's a Canadian accent, sorry!
@@retropcdurham at least my laptop is clean before my trip to Kongo :)