How To Guide Thermal pad copper mod for poco x3 pro

[Georgeknk12]

PART 3

This setup is only intended to be used with my ipega gamepad that I use to play emulation.
This cooler need additional power of 2.5amps but it comes with a very long cable so for me it's not biggy since I chill and play with gamepad anyway.
The cooler is very light so I don't notice any difference in weight really and swapping a case and adding the cooler and cable for me it's not big deal when I am about to play games.

Here are some pics of the result.

As show in pics I removed the stock metal plate that the cooler had in order for the peltier element to be exposed and have direct contact to the copper.
The temps was dropping to -6c so I was thinking it will help somehow.
And so it did. Works great.

Cpu throttling test app reports no thermal throttling even after running it 5 times in a row 100 threads ofc but my real benchmark was the Colin McRae 3 on aethersx lol cause for some reason that's the only game that made my phone hit 80c before the mod and after the copper mods was hitting 78c max but it just took much more time to get there so it was more rare.

Now with the cooler after playing non stop for hours the heat never goes more than 72c and usually on the range of 63-68c. With drops to 40-50c on loading screens (cause on gameplay is where I used to get the high temps)
Ofc I also notice improved performance even tho to be honest the performance wasn't bad and I don't want to emulate in ridiculously high resolutions for such a small screen.
Anyway it seems the phone on stock is not throttling excessively maybe that's why it used to get toasty 80c lol.

I don't know if this is gonna save the phone from bricking but my intension was just to experiment and have fun.

 

[Mica_antenica]

Hi I wanted to put termal mode in my poco x3 pro nfc but i riped copper tape over memory chip is that a problem or not?

 

[Tsuragi]

Hi I wanted to put termal mode in my poco x3 pro nfc but i riped copper tape over memory chip is that a problem or not?

I don't think so but you should keep the thermal pad and the copper layer in the emmc part, just to prevent it from overheating, copper pad over cpu/ thermal pad over emmc

 

[Mica_antenica]

I don't think so but you should keep the thermal pad and the copper layer in the emmc part, just to prevent it from overheating, copper pad over cpu/ thermal pad over emmc
View attachment 5926543

Ok can I cut copper thermal pad to be over emmc. And what is chip on this image.

 

[Tsuragi]

Ok can I cut copper thermal pad to be over emmc. And what is chip on this image.

in the schematics that chip connect the lower board (speaker and usb port), but it is not the pmic, that is on the back of the board.
on youtube you can find more detailed schematics

 

[laksmartz]

May I know where you used the copper plate you said (optional)

 

[Tsuragi]

May I know where you used the copper plate you said (optional)

aliexpress i dont remember the store but,search "copper plate for memory gpu" i cant post links

 

[laksmartz]

aliexpress i dont remember the store but,search "copper plate for memory gpu" i cant post links

Hi. I am sorry i asked where you put it on the phone? (the optional copper plate)


Thermal paste
-> Tools
-> Thermal pad copper 0.3mm thick
-> Thermal pad 0.5mm thick
-> Copper plate 1mm thick (optional)*
-> Isopropyl alcohol
-> Fine sandpaper
-> Copper tape
-> Kapton tape

 

[Tsuragi]

Hi. I am sorry i asked where you put it on the phone? (the optional copper plate)


Thermal paste
-> Tools
-> Thermal pad copper 0.3mm thick
-> Thermal pad 0.5mm thick
-> Copper plate 1mm thick (optional)*
-> Isopropyl alcohol
-> Fine sandpaper
-> Copper tape
-> Kapton tape

The optional copper plate it was for the battery but it makes it heat up faster. If you want to get the heat out of there i recommend that you use an L-shaped thermal pad to connect the heatpipe, go between the battery and the motherboard and out the side of the camera, that works

 

[GN-z11]

Already have done it on my Poco X3 Pro and still heats up like hell in max cpu freq. Though much better in transferring heat to the metal frame. My guess is that the CPU itself is not fully intact with the RAM module thus heat transfer is not fully efficient. But better than letting it melt. Used some Gelid GC Extreme since I had good results with it on my laptop.

 

[GN-z11]

The optional copper plate it was for the battery but it makes it heat up faster. If you want to get the heat out of there i recommend that you use an L-shaped thermal pad to connect the heatpipe, go between the battery and the motherboard and out the side of the camera, that works

View attachment 5945833

I actually put some thermal paste here as well. To contact with the plastic frame. Maybe it'll help or not. But still a help I guess.

 

[should've build a pc]

What type of copper tape should I use? Is it the both side conductive or one sided conductive? Does it matter which copper tape is used?

 

[Fooking Rekt]

What type of copper tape should I use? Is it the both side conductive or one sided conductive? Does it matter which copper tape is used?

I would like to know this too. I just ordered a Poco X3 Pro as well as most of the supplies in the OP, except for the copper tape.

I found a guy on Youtube who cut a hole in the frame to fit some copper and he said something about modifying the vapor chamber, but unfortunately he doesn't have a video or a tutorial about it and he'd only be able to take pictures of the final product.

 

[Tsuragi]

What type of copper tape should I use? Is it the both side conductive or one sided conductive? Does it matter which copper tape is used?

well i dont know becase i just order the most cheap copper tape on aliexpress I only know that it is cold to the touch, regarding which side to use, well there is one side that sticks and the other no, the copper tape i only used to replace the copper tape that already existed on the phone board.
the copper tape is just for this

since it comes like this from the factory and there is space between the cpu and the heatpipe in the frame of the phone.

the copper tape is just for that, to replace the one that the phone already had and to put a better thermal pad to the internal memory. why? taking things off and reusing them again is not good.

also the cpu makes contact with the heatpipe, the memory practically does not, if everything had copper tape the cpu would heat the memory, that is a problem.

thats why i put this for example.

the greatest benefit comes from the copper pad on the cpu, a symptom of this is that the screen heats up faster, that is, it is transferring heat to the outside, of course if we removed the screen and added more graphene tape down there it would heat up significantly uniform, the temperature would still improve but I am not so careful as to remove a screen. At the moment, the other thing that can be done, as I said before, is to make a "connection" with a thermal pad, to extend the heatpipe outwards and prevent it from heating up the battery and to be able to distribute the heat towards an aluminum cover (in addition to improving the coolers touch that area). In fact, by limiting the cpu frequency it is possible to play for a long time without touching 75c, however the heat will start to accumulate and the battery will suffer, so i separated the battery a few millimeters from the body with kapton tape and extended the heatpipe outwards separating the battery a bit already improves its temperature. the only thing that limits separating the battery more is the connector that joins the charging board with the main board.

Lastly, i have only opened the phone 3 times and the last time, i tried to record since it would be the last time i disconnected the board, but it was impossible due to the vga quality of my laptop camera. I wish I could make a video tutorial or even 3d print a custom frame and leave a heatpipe straight out for direct contact with a cooler, but hey, someday, someday...

I still assume that the simple fact of keeping the cpu pressed against the heatpipe already prevents it from desoldering, i hope my x3 pro dies of old instead sudden death

 

[Georgeknk12]

well i dont know becase i just order the most cheap copper tape on aliexpress I only know that it is cold to the touch, regarding which side to use, well there is one side that sticks and the other no, the copper tape i only used to replace the copper tape that already existed on the phone board.
the copper tape is just for this
View attachment 5955099
since it comes like this from the factory and there is space between the cpu and the heatpipe in the frame of the phone.
View attachment 5955105

the copper tape is just for that, to replace the one that the phone already had and to put a better thermal pad to the internal memory. why? taking things off and reusing them again is not good.

also the cpu makes contact with the heatpipe, the memory practically does not, if everything had copper tape the cpu would heat the memory, that is a problem.

thats why i put this for example.
View attachment 5955111
the greatest benefit comes from the copper pad on the cpu, a symptom of this is that the screen heats up faster, that is, it is transferring heat to the outside, of course if we removed the screen and added more graphene tape down there it would heat up significantly uniform, the temperature would still improve but I am not so careful as to remove a screen. At the moment, the other thing that can be done, as I said before, is to make a "connection" with a thermal pad, to extend the heatpipe outwards and prevent it from heating up the battery and to be able to distribute the heat towards an aluminum cover (in addition to improving the coolers touch that area). In fact, by limiting the cpu frequency it is possible to play for a long time without touching 75c, however the heat will start to accumulate and the battery will suffer, so i separated the battery a few millimeters from the body with kapton tape and extended the heatpipe outwards separating the battery a bit already improves its temperature. the only thing that limits separating the battery more is the connector that joins the charging board with the main board.

Lastly, i have only opened the phone 3 times and the last time, i tried to record since it would be the last time i disconnected the board, but it was impossible due to the vga quality of my laptop camera. I wish I could make a video tutorial or even 3d print a custom frame and leave a heatpipe straight out for direct contact with a cooler, but hey, someday, someday...
View attachment 5955117

I still assume that the simple fact of keeping the cpu pressed against the heatpipe already prevents it from desoldering, i hope my x3 pro dies of old instead sudden death

It is sooo fun that this thread keeps living

This mod is looking sooo good with the changes u made, I have a question as I see in pic you are using it without a back cover and u just use a case? Cause i see the pads and copper u added on the case.
Is this case having metallic back and silicon perimeter?
I mean i see from this pic that's what looks like and actually looks great to me but u said it was the last time u opened it but that would mean u added the battery cover back on

 

[laksmartz]

Hi there again. So I would Like to know whether this copper plate is going to stick in position after applying thermal paste. If not is it ok to glue the corners of the plate? @Tsuragi
I also have copper tape.

 

[Tsuragi]

It is sooo fun that this thread keeps living

This mod is looking sooo good with the changes u made, I have a question as I see in pic you are using it without a back cover and u just use a case? Cause i see the pads and copper u added on the case.
Is this case having metallic back and silicon perimeter?
I mean i see from this pic that's what looks like and actually looks great to me but u said it was the last time u opened it but that would mean u added the battery cover back on

after spreading out the heatpipe with a thermal pad (basically giving it a conductive line of heat out). I had an aluminum case from aliexpress, I think it's the only aluminum one that exists, the thing is that of course it's aluminum on the outside and plastic on the inside, it turns out that by removing the plastic you can make a direct connection with the aluminum on the outside For that reason I used that case, in addition the plastic that I removed turned out to be thick so the space had to be filled in for it to make contact.

It's hard not to have something to measure the thickness of things with, so once I put the thermal pad in an L shape, added another layer of thermal pad and there was still room, so I added a piece of copper foil (no idea the thickness 0.3mm (?)) in addition to a small heatpipe from a tablet and of course there if it made good contact with the original case, but I needed to fill the plastic space that I removed from the case, so I used the cooper thermal pads that I had left over (since aliexpress usually sells 10x) and fill until it makes good contact with the case.
but.. since i don't have to measure thicknesses, it's a bit uneven, basically the phone is thinner without the original plastic cover, so the phone covers have space. yes, i was able to fill until it made contact with the case, but there is a part of the phone that simply remains in the air and collapses when i press, something like that.

It can be done better, for example, make custom connectors for the motherboard and thus make a new complete body with a much thicker and wider heatpipe, or be able to separate the battery more from the body and make a heatpipe that comes out of the phone, etc. but the cost increases, yes, my phone is like the drawing, it doesn't bother me, it hasn't come out of the case and it works well, I could of course improve it, even make it more aesthetic but the cost of money increases, that's the reason why the thermal L-shaped pad was the last modification i did, actually look, im in winter (chile near the sea, where there is no snow), look at my battery temperatures.

the battery was what worried me the most at the beginning, since with the charger it went up to 46c or more, now I'm worried that it doesn't get too cold

 

[Tsuragi]

View attachment 5955527Hi there again. So I would Like to know whether this copper plate is going to stick in position after applying thermal paste. If not is it ok to glue the corners of the plate? @Tsuragi
I also have copper tape.

applying thermal paste on both sides of the cooper pad (not too much) it will stay there, when assembling the phone do not force the screws of the board too much, since with the copper pad you are filling the space that was before between the cpu and the phone, It will not move from there, the important thing is not to press too much, just enough so that everything stays in place (and the sd/sim slot works well of course)
from what see remember to put a thermal pad on the memory that is next to the cpu, that also generates heat, not much but you don't want it to accumulate there

 

[Georgeknk12]

after spreading out the heatpipe with a thermal pad (basically giving it a conductive line of heat out). I had an aluminum case from aliexpress, I think it's the only aluminum one that exists, the thing is that of course it's aluminum on the outside and plastic on the inside, it turns out that by removing the plastic you can make a direct connection with the aluminum on the outside For that reason I used that case, in addition the plastic that I removed turned out to be thick so the space had to be filled in for it to make contact.
View attachment 5955679View attachment 5955681

It's hard not to have something to measure the thickness of things with, so once I put the thermal pad in an L shape, added another layer of thermal pad and there was still room, so I added a piece of copper foil (no idea the thickness 0.3mm (?)) in addition to a small heatpipe from a tablet and of course there if it made good contact with the original case, but I needed to fill the plastic space that I removed from the case, so I used the cooper thermal pads that I had left over (since aliexpress usually sells 10x) and fill until it makes good contact with the case.
but.. since i don't have to measure thicknesses, it's a bit uneven, basically the phone is thinner without the original plastic cover, so the phone covers have space. yes, i was able to fill until it made contact with the case, but there is a part of the phone that simply remains in the air and collapses when i press, something like that.
View attachment 5955695
It can be done better, for example, make custom connectors for the motherboard and thus make a new complete body with a much thicker and wider heatpipe, or be able to separate the battery more from the body and make a heatpipe that comes out of the phone, etc. but the cost increases, yes, my phone is like the drawing, it doesn't bother me, it hasn't come out of the case and it works well, I could of course improve it, even make it more aesthetic but the cost of money increases, that's the reason why the thermal L-shaped pad was the last modification i did, actually look, im in winter (chile near the sea, where there is no snow), look at my battery temperatures.
View attachment 5955697

the battery was what worried me the most at the beginning, since with the charger it went up to 46c or more, now I'm worried that it doesn't get too cold

I understand now, many awesome ideas (metallic case,pads and heat pipes) that sound and look pretty good to me and I wouldn't mind using it this way also. I have also thought of something similar with using copper going from the CPU underneath and up like that but that would need lots of modifications on the chassis. Anyway I really like these mods and it's pretty fun for me now even tho as u also said we don't want to make it veeeery costly hahahaha.

 

[Georgeknk12]

Posting a second "mod" I did because I bought a better controller and needed a different way to mount the peltier cooler on it.
I took the cooler apart and attached it directly on the copper piece that i added on the case and that makes contact with the pad on the hole I had done on the phones battery cover as showed in previous posts.

This made the Poco run even cooler than before since there is a little less copper mass between the cooler and the phone.


Even tho it's summer here and extremely hot the battery never heats up more than 30c while gaming and the phones surface on the back but also on the screen just barely gets warm which is wierd because the CPU temps seem the same with previous cooler mount solution (hard to say if difference is one or two degrees less)
I am running full stock miui and kernel so I don't have a persice way to monitor the thermals average and such but just using aethersx Colin McRae rally as my benchmark like always and just checking.

I guess I am done for now lol but If I continue messing with it then my next step will be to get a metallic case like the one tsuragi uses so that I can do some more mods maybe minor or more that I have in mind to improve the passive cooling when not using the peltier cooler even tho I don't see any dangerously high thermals.

The phone ATM has copper pad on the CPU ofc but also another under the battery on top of heatsink and on the back side of phone next to and under the cameras in an L shape. Lmao

Ridiculous? Yes!
Fun? Oh yes I always end up trying to mod my smartphones even if it wasn't needed lmao

Hope this thread never dies until we watercool our pocos with custom cooling loops and we carry around a case for the pumps and radiators.