ASUS Strix G15 i7-10870H RTX 2060 Repaste and Undervolting Guide

ASUS Strix G15 thermal paste replacement slightly improves cooling, but undervolting CPU and GPU yields better results.

### ASUS Strix G15 Repaste and Undervolting Guide
* 🛠️ Removed bottom panel by unscrewing eleven screws and carefully disconnecting the battery and RGB ribbon cables.
* 💨 Removed the cooler, noting the factory-applied liquid metal on the CPU and thermal paste on the GPU.
* 🧽 Cleaned the CPU and GPU dies, and the cooler, using isopropyl alcohol and cotton swabs.
* 🧴 Applied Thermal Grizzly Conductonaut liquid metal to the CPU and Kryonaut thermal paste to the GPU.
* 🔄 Reassembled the laptop, ensuring the cooler was properly secured and all connections were made.
* 🌡️ Tested the thermals, finding minimal improvement (~1°C) in GPU temperature after repaste; both CPU and GPU remained in the mid-to-upper 80s.
* ⬇️ Undervolted the CPU by 80 millivolts in the BIOS, resulting in a 4°C CPU temperature drop and a 2°C GPU temperature drop.
* ⚡ Further undervolted the GPU to 0.8 volts at 1700 MHz, achieving a 10°C drop in both CPU and GPU temperatures with nearly identical frame rates, reducing wattage from 115W to ~95W.

Greetings everyone, this is a replacement guide for the ASUS Strix G15 featuring the i7-10870H and a 115-watt RTX 2060.

First, remove ten Phillips head screws and the eleventh in the top left-hand corner.

It will stay attached to the bottom panel. Carefully flip the bottom panel over in this direction, and please be careful not to pull on the

RGB ribbon cables as they are quite short. Unplug the battery by sliding the metal clip away from the plug, then pry the

plug straight up off of the motherboard. Remove the eight Phillips head screws that secure the cooler to the motherboard.

One of these has a tamper-evident sticker. The fan to our left does not need to be

removed for this operation. I didn't realize this until a bit later. The right fan is held in place with three screws and

the fan cable. It's lightly attached to the cooler with tape. Carefully pry up with a plastic pry tool

in these locations. Don't hulk it out! To my surprise, there's factory-applied liquid metal on the CPU. Between this and the factory

thermal paste, I'm in for a bit more work, but I'm prepared. Removing liquid metal just

takes a bit more time. After some cotton swabs, paper towels, and isopropyl alcohol, the CPU and GPU die are clean. Do the

same for the cooler as well. As far as the blue thermal paste, you do not need to completely remove it,

but carefully scrape most of it off. I'll replace this with Kryonaut.  I'll apply it all over the components previously

covered. The right amount is applied based on experience; there is no way to measure the precise amount; you just know it when you see it. I'll

use Thermal Grizzly Conductonaut (liquid metal) for the CPU and Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut for the GPU.

for the GPU, for no other reason than it's a great product and I have plenty of the nickel-plated

CPU section of the cooler. We'll get a thin layer of liquid metal, and the CPU die itself will get a gentle massaging of

liquid metal until I'm satisfied with the amount. Don't let it pull up, but you don't want any bald spots

either. Trust me, I'm bald. ASUS is using a small foam barrier and custom protective tape over the surrounding CPU die

to limit contact with liquid metal. I'll be sure not to compromise their standards and move on. I'm satisfied with this, so

it's time to secure the cooler to the motherboard, reinstall the fan screws, and plug in the

fan cable. Next, reinstall the eight cooler screws, plug in the battery, snap the bottom panel into place, and fasten the single screw in the top

left-hand corner. Now let's flip the Strix over, power it on before reinstalling the remaining bottom panel screws,

to make sure we didn't forget a step along the way. Power it on, give it about 30-40 seconds

to boot into the operating system. No need to soil your britches; it should power back on. Okay, here's the moment of truth. Let's

see if this improved thermals using the manual profile and maximum fan speed. Here's the stock versus today's re-paste.

Yep, it's pretty close to the same. Stock thermals on the left had the GPU thermal

throttle at 86 degrees Celsius, and the wattage begins to lower below 115 watts. As a result, the re-pasted solution

had the GPU hit 85 degrees Celsius, but it's just too close to really matter in the long run.

Both tests have the CPU in the mid and upper 80s. Okay, it's time to do some more work. Done.

ASUS allows a CPU undervolt in their BIOS of a maximum 80 millivolts.  Those results allow the CPU to pull

about 4 watts less on higher gaming loads. This dropped temperatures on the CPU by about 4 degrees Celsius

and also resulted in a small decrease of 2 degrees Celsius on the graphics card. One part always affects the other on a

shared cooling solution. With that said, taking this a step further, I will break out my GPU undervolting guide

and go for an easy limit on the GPU of 0.8 volts at 1700 megahertz. This dropped

the GPU wattage from 115 watts to just under 95 watts and gave us nearly identical frame rate performance with a

10-degree Celsius drop on both CPU and GPU. Take this how you need to when servicing your laptop. Links for the GPU

undervolting guide are linked here and in the description below. Thanks for watching.

Strix G15 Repaste!  (10870H 2060 115w)

Bob Of All Trades

Remove eleven screws from the bottom panel.

Carefully flip the bottom panel, avoiding the RGB ribbon cables.

Remove the right fan (three screws and cable).

Thermal Paste and Liquid Metal Application

Clean CPU and GPU with isopropyl alcohol.

Apply Kryonaut to GPU and Conductonaut to CPU.

Apply a thin layer of liquid metal to the CPU.

Respect the foam barrier and protective tape around the CPU.

Secure the cooler, reinstall the fan, and plug in the cable.

Power on the laptop to check functionality.

GPU undervolting guide for further optimization.