Nintendo Switch Thermal Mod / Cooling Suggestions

Nintendo Questions Nintendo Switch
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1

I’ve been planning to re-paste thermal paste for my V2 switch (2019).

It needs little bit of cleaning, and I’m planning to re-paste while I take it apart for cleaning.

Im planning to do the following to improve the thermal performance of this device (may seem a bit overkill but I might actually mod and OC the switch in future)

SoC Cooling :-

  1. Remove the metal SoC shim (or whatever thats called) and re-apply thermal paste there (Noctua NT-H1).
  2. Then apply same thermal paste on top the metal shim (between the shim and heat-pipe).
  3. Then apply Thermal Putty (JEYI 8100) instead of standard paste on top of the heat-pipe (between heat-pipe and back shield cover).

Memory Module Cooling :-

  1. Put thermal pad on memory modules - a 0.5mm thermal pad in between the shim and the memory module.
  2. Then another 1.5mm thermal pad between the shim and the back shield plate.

Regarding the memory module cooling, I would like to know if anyone tried similar and if the thermal pad sizes I’m planning on using are correct.

This is what I’m planning to do in general, Am I missing anything? or Is there anything that I should be mindful when I take apart the switch, this is probably my first time taking apart and I’d appreciate any tips!

Thanks.

2

put some pad on the charging coil 2R2 as well unless you have it docked and 100% charger all time

5

Thanks for the Tip, never came across this before. Does the inductor coil get hot a lot?

6

Try to touch it when the battery is low and charging. :slight_smile:
In later revisions there is a little thermal pad on the charging coil.

8

you mean in the OLED version? I have a V2 and it doesnt have a thermal pad. Not sure about the contact it makes with the backplate and the size of the thermal pad required, any ideas on these?

9

Doesn’t really matter all that much tbh provided it touches that metal shield plate, the stock one is slightly undersized (maybe a mm all round) compared to the inductor and it squashes even across it.

I am curious to know if all this realy makes a difference though as afaik the fan kicks on a set temperature intervals, so I’d guess the only result this would have would be that the fan would just kick on less (or just a couple of seconds later) … but maybe things would be different in overclocked situations where the fan is basically always on as a result.

Also, the “shim” (I’m assuming your talking about the shield covering the ram and SoC here?) is there for a reason (despite the heat inefficiencies it poses, I would imagine it’s primarily there for FCC compliance but possibly also for noise/stability reasons and removing it might negatively impact that (especially when overclocking) , aswell as increasing liquid damage risks too of course.

But looking forward to your finidngs :+1:

10

You could try using some “professional” thermal paste, like the Thermal Gryzzly or Alphacool Apex/Subzero.

I used Subzero on my Oled Switch, in-between the shield and chip, the shield and heatsink and the heatsink and metal cover, and the max temps with 26C ambient are 42C in Tears of the Kingdom and 36C in Skyward Sword with fan speed on 20%.

11

How does this compare to stock paste etc out of interest? or is it more the amount the fan enables and fan speed?

12

No clue to be honest, I have’t tested the temps before chaging the paste. The original switch ran somewhere around 50C. I don’t know if the cooling on the OLED model is better by default, but the 8C drop in TOTK and 14 in Skyward Sword is a substantial difference.

Separately, at idle it is at 28C, still with ambient at 26C

13

Thanks for the tips, planning to OC down the line so just want to see how I can improve the current thermal solutions in place.
Yes its the same shim, I didnt mention that I’m going to remove the shim, simply going to put the Pads in-between them as mentioned.