VRM Thermal Pads Sizing Guide

Framework Laptop 13
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I noticed that no one has posted measurements on the thermal pads used on the Framework 13, so I made my own measurements while I had the heatsink removed. Normally, the thermal pads does not need to be replaced whenever the heatsink is removed from the mainboard. However, you may choose to replace them as the computer ages, or as part of performance modding the mainboard. Note that this is the thermal pads used for the VRM MOSFETs and coils, not for the CPU / SOC itself. This is measured on the 12th gen Intel mainboard.

Main CPU power rails MOSFETs (yellow): 27mm x 5.5mm x 2.3mm*
Main CPU power rails coils (red): 27mm x 6.5mm x 0.5mm
GPU MOSFETS (blue): 5mm x 5.5mm x 2.3mm*
GPU coils (green): 5.3mm x 5.5mm x 0.5mm
*I measured the pads to be 2.3mm thick, although the imprints on it suggest that it might be a 2.5mm pad that flattened out when installed. 2.5mm is an uncommon size, which may require stacking 0.5mm and 2.0mm pads together. Further testing is needed if 2.0mm would work. Too thin may cause poor thermal contact. Too thick can lift the heatsink, causing poor thermal contact on other components such as the CPU.

Marked-VRM-guide
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Bigger than measured pads will work fine, as long as it’s non-conductive, and it doesn’t interfere with heatsink fitment.
I also measured the 12th gen Intel CPU / SOC die for liquid metal or graphene pads. The advertised CPU die is 24mm x 12mm. However, the actual size is 28mm x 12mm when including the SOC die.

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Finally gotten around to replacing the thermal pads with a repaste. All the coils uses a 0.5mm thermal pad. The MOSFETs works fine with a 2.0mm pad, but I ended up stacking a 1.5mm and a 0.5mm for the same thickness. Thermal paste spread is still good, and there’s still adequate thermal pad squish.

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Did you notice any improvement in thermals? Just curious. I am pretty much satisfied with my thermals but was considering replacing the thermal pads at some point, as I had seen elsewhere some owners had issues with them not actually touching the mosfets and coils they were supposed to be touching.

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I fully expected worse thermals, because more heat being transferred into the heatsink would reduce cooling on the SOC. It seems to thermal throttle at 28W with a CPU stress test, and 30W with a GPU stress test. Before replacing the thermal pads, the CPU can reach 30W without thermal throttling. I blame the thermal paste, as I kept on having degradation issues with the Arctic MX-6.

One thing though is that the chassis is overall much hotter to the touch with a lower fan noise with light workloads. When gaming, the metal part of the chassis near the exhaust gets hot enough that it’s an actual burn hazard.

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