{
  "id": 4407324,
  "title": "Poor liquid metal application almost destroys Asus Zephyrus M16 laptop, eats through the processor lid — paste replacement triples framerates, drops temps, and eliminates hard crashes",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/30/poor-liquid-metal-application-almost-destroys-asus-zephyrus-m16",
  "topic": "tech",
  "section": "Tech",
  "published": "2026-08-30T11:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Tom's Hardware",
    "slug": "tom-s-hardware",
    "url": "https://www.tomshardware.com/laptops/gaming-laptops/poor-liquid-metal-application-almost-destroys-asus-zephyrus-m16-laptop-eats-through-the-processor-lid-paste-replacement-triples-framerates-drops-temps-and-eliminates-hard-crashes"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Asus has been applying liquid metal as a thermal interface material (TIM) on mobile dies used in its laptops for several years. While liquid metal can be beneficial, it has proven to be an inconsistent solution, and other materials may be more suitable. A Reddit user named u/nicknickmeetnick experienced overheating issues and automatic restarts with their Asus Zephyrus M16 gaming laptop, which turned out to be caused by poor liquid metal application during factory assembly. The liquid metal had eroded the heatsink, threatening to even reach the silicon itself. Liquid metal is electrically conductive, and any contact with surrounding components could lead to short circuits. Upon disassembly, the user noticed the liquid metal had seeped onto the heatsink and almost onto the CPU lid, which was protected by a thin layer of metal. The user cleaned the CPU using cotton and isopropyl alcohol, then reapplied a new thermal paste. After this repair, the laptop ran significantly cooler, temperatures improved, and games performed three times better. The user strongly recommends fixing such issues and even suggests banning liquid metal from electronics altogether due to its inconsistent application during assembly.",
  "summary": "A user on Reddit shared their story about how the factory-applied liquid metal on their Asus Zephyrus M16 gaming laptop corroded the heatsink and lid of their CPU. It got so bad that the corrosion was about to eat away and seep onto the silicon itself, but thankfully a simple re-paste job averted catastrophe.",
  "key_points": [
    "Poor liquid metal application caused overheating and restarts on Asus Zephyrus M16",
    "Liquid metal eroded heatsink, threatened to reach CPU lid",
    "Reapplying thermal paste triples framerates and drops temperatures"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}