laptop - GPU chip with a film around the core

05
2014-04
  • Viaceslav D.

    I want to apply thermal grease on my laptop GPU, but I've noticed there is a film sticked to the GPU chipset around the core. Personally I think it's an antistatic film, because it is covering those small resistors around. But I am not sure about it. Can anyone explain what is it for? And can I remove it at all? Because it seems some old thermal grease got under it and I want to unstick it at all.

    • Answers
  • AndrejaKo

    The purpose of the film is to aid automatic thermal paste application. Basically machines will apply thermal paste to an area and the film is there to make sure that the that area mostly covers the GPU itself and doesn't contaminate those SMD components you're seeing.

    You can freely remove it because it doesn't do anything at this point and applying thermal paste by hand (if you know how to do it) is much more precise and the chance that thermal paste will leak everywhere is lower.


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  • user35991

    I have a Thinkpad T60 with dual screen setup:

    1. The laptop's LCD: Is normal looking.
    2. VGA external monitor: Looks "wavy," but I hooked it up to another computer and it looked fine.

    Does this imply my GPU is connected to the VGA-out and the built-in LCD is driven by IGP? Is this typically how a laptop with one GPU works? Thanks.


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  • quack quixote

    All IGPs are GPUs. Not all GPUs are IGPs.

    • GPU is a Graphics Processing Unit.
    • IGP is an Integrated Graphics Processor.

    Integrated means that the chip is physically part of the motherboard, and typically uses part of the system RAM ("shared memory") rather than its own dedicated memory. A non-integrated GPU is usually part of an expansion card -- PCI(e) for desktops, or Mini-PCI(e) for laptops -- and has its own dedicated graphics memory on the card.

    Most laptops use a single GPU is to drive both the built-in LCD and any external video outputs (VGA/DVI/HDMI/etc).

    The "waviness" you see on your VGA monitor is more likely due to your graphics settings. Try changing output resolutions or refresh rates (or both) to see if you can get a better picture. It could be an indication that your GPU is underpowered for running two displays, or it could be an indication that your VGA port is damaged.

    According to ThinkWiki, the T60 uses either an Intel GMA 950 (integrated) or an ATI Mobility Radeon x1300 or x1400 (PCIe cards).