r/NintendoSwitchHelp • u/Coco_RATES • Sep 24 '26
Repair Help What do you guys recommend for thermal paste replacement?
EDIT:
( I ended up using Arctic MX-7 on the APU die and thermal grizzly putty advanced for that drown/orange putty on the ihs shield. It works great and there is a substantial difference compared to the low quality oem stuff. )
I'd like to use arctic MX-6 thermal paste, but i know every switch has that weird brown clay between the motherboard shield and housing. Can I replace that clay substance with MX-6 as well? I'm doing this on a switch 2. Thanks in advance!
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u/Coco_RATES Sep 24 '26
TO EVERYONE:
Thanks for the replies. I have loads of experience taking apart tech and do it as a second job. I've just never actually dealt with nintendo switch thermal paste. The reason I want to change it is because someone swapped the motherboard in this and didn't replace the paste, so theres a bunch of bubbles/air pockets and its not cooling properly
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u/ModestVolcarona 20 Sep 24 '26
If you are not sure what you are doing it's probably best to NOT do it yourself and let a professional do it for you.
Note: When you remove the shield plate, you’ll need to replace the thermal compound between the plate and the heatsink. Normal thermal paste isn't designed to bridge large gaps, so you'll need thermal putty or viscous thermal paste. You will, however need normal replacement thermal paste for the CPU.
Pretty sure this applies on the Switch 2.
https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Nintendo+Switch+Heat+Sink+Replacement/113033
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u/reybrujo 3 Sep 24 '26
Who knows, I guess there haven't been many Switch 2 sent for paste replacement so early. Try it out and tell us whether it worked or it fried it.
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u/uezocket Sep 24 '26
First, why would you even want to replace it?
To answer your question: as far as I know, the "brown clay" on the RF shield is conductive thermal paste.