Arctic Silver 5 - Curing Time ?

acaurora · Post by **acaurora** » Wed Aug 18, 2004 10:09 pm

Pardon the seemingly idiotic question, and my impatience/laziness, but what is the approximate curing time for AS5? I thought normally its like, 24 hours, but I saw somewhere it saying an entire week!

The reason that I am asking is that with my burned CPU I replaced with a 2500 just to make sure it was the CPU, not the mobo that was screwed up, then a 3200. As I was using the 2500 I noticed the temps to be a bit high. Normally my old 3200 (RIP) would idle @ ~ 45, and max @ ~50 on load. The 2500 was at around 48-50 idle (didnt try load), and now this 3200 after a few hours of folding is @ 55C! (didn't try idle). Is it true that I have to wait about a week to see any changes, and if so, how much of a difference should i be expecting for the temperature to decrease? 5C? Another thing that might be of interest is that my Zalman waterblock has a few light scratches on it. Assuming AS5 would fill in those scratches, and, obviously knowing scratches at all aren't good, would that also be a reason for the high temps?

Nefarious · Post by **Nefarious** » Thu Aug 19, 2004 12:25 am

Well, of course scratches aren't good, but depending on how much AS5 you put on and the method you put it on, it should me okay. The curing time is around 1 to 2 weeks. Just remeber that you shouldn't leave your computer on 24/7. Run the computer during the day and turn it off at night for the first week, so that the AS5 has time to cure. You will see a temp drop of about 4-5C, after the first week or so.

acaurora · Post by **acaurora** » Thu Aug 19, 2004 5:13 am

Oh, i'm supposed to turn it OFF? Ah... my folding rating's gunna go down... =P

efcoins · Post by **efcoins** » Thu Aug 19, 2004 5:32 am

Oh, i'm supposed to turn it OFF?

No it only cures when the PC is on, and warm. Otherwise the stuff would cure while still in the tube.

You will only gain about 2C though. Try taking it off and reapplying if your temps are higher than you expected.

acaurora · Post by **acaurora** » Thu Aug 19, 2004 5:35 am

Ok. Well, I will leave it on during the day, and off during the night. I am usually in class during the first part of the day anyways. We will see in one week if I need to reapply it.

misterstick · Post by **misterstick** » Thu Aug 19, 2004 6:21 am

so which is it, on or off?
and when on, should it run at idle or at 100%?
would it cure faster or not at all if left at 100% all the time?

ta,
mr s.

burcakb · Post by **burcakb** » Thu Aug 19, 2004 8:30 am

Curing requires cycles (on AND off) and time.

A much better method of determining requirements would be, typing www.arcticsilver.com in the address portion of your browser, clicking to "Instructions" section and reading the following:

Due to the unique shape and sizes of the particles in Arctic Silver's conductive matrix, it will take a up to 200 hours and several thermal cycles to achieve maximum particle to particle thermal conduction and for the heatsink to CPU interface to reach maximum conductivity. (This period will be longer in a system without a fan on the heatsink or with a low speed fan on the heatsink.) On systems measuring actual internal core temperatures via the CPU's internal diode, the measured temperature will often drop 2C to 5C over this "break-in" period. This break-in will occur during the normal use of the computer as long as the computer is turned off from time to time and the interface is allowed to cool to room temperature. Once the break-in is complete, the computer can be left on if desired.

Post by **Ralf Hutter** » Thu Aug 19, 2004 11:17 am

burcakb wrote:Curing requires cycles (on AND off) and time.

A much better method of determining requirements would be, typing www.arcticsilver.com in the address portion of your browser, clicking to "Instructions" section and reading the following:

Due to the unique shape and sizes of the particles ...blah, blah, blah....... on if desired.

Hey! Now there's a wild idea: go straight to the manufacturer to find the info instead of relying on internet rumors! You get the "SPCR Gold Star" for today. Congrats!

acaurora · Post by **acaurora** » Thu Aug 19, 2004 11:23 am

"This break-in will occur during the normal use of the computer as long as the computer is turned off from time to time and the interface is allowed to cool to room temperature. "

I knew that... ah hah.. a hah... a ha......... *trails off*

burcakb · Post by **burcakb** » Thu Aug 19, 2004 1:42 pm

acaurora wrote:I knew that... ah hah.. a hah... a ha......... *trails off*

Writes note:
...Patient suffers from FUBARd-CPU-Lost-FoldingPoints syndrome and displays. Patient should be kept away from the On/Off power switch....

btw, what happened to the CPU?

acaurora · Post by **acaurora** » Thu Aug 19, 2004 3:56 pm

Well origionally I had noticed that the waterblock on my CPU was off-center (the Zalman waterblock has a bracket that presses down on a center hole. The hole was somewhat exposed, and should have been covered by the bracket). So I reseated the waterblock to the proper position. However, evidently I somehow put it in the WRONG WAY, such that it was not making complete contact. Thus it burned.

Zyzzyx · Post by **Zyzzyx** » Thu Aug 19, 2004 6:22 pm

"This break-in will occur during the normal use of the computer as long as the computer is turned off from time to time and the interface is allowed to cool to room temperature. "

Hmm... so much for a 'curing time' when using it on 24/7 server systems. Oh well, temps aren't bad.

misterstick · Post by **misterstick** » Fri Aug 20, 2004 12:55 am

A much better method of determining requirements would be, typing www.arcticsilver.com in the address portion of your browser, clicking to "Instructions" section and reading the following:

hmm. yes. strangely i had already read that.

This break-in will occur during the normal use of the computer as long as the computer is turned off from time to time and the interface is allowed to cool to room temperature.

what constitutes "normal use?" normally i run mine at 100% all the time and never turn it off. being an xp box it gets rebooted at least twice a week but is never off for very long.

how long does it take for a processor to cool to room temperature? is "from time to time" once a day, or once a week?
is "normal use" running it at idle 95% of the time and never going above 70%?

what would be the optimal temperature? has anybody any idea what an ideal cycle would be?

regards,
mr s.

PaulD · Post by **PaulD** » Mon Aug 23, 2004 12:29 am

Ralf Hutter wrote:Hey! Now there's a wild idea: go straight to the manufacturer to find the info instead of relying on internet rumors!

I was lurking here for some alternative rumours to those found on manufacturers sites.

Has anyone here personally experienced such a dramatic improvement as 2 to 5C after curing? Or is the performance of AS5 initially disappointing?
I've found some reviews where that difference in temps was the spread covering all types of thermal grease.

silvervarg · Post by **silvervarg** » Mon Aug 23, 2004 2:46 am

Pauld:
Has anyone here personally experienced such a dramatic improvement as 2 to 5C after curing?

I believe that the 2 to 5C difference is from not cured at all to fully cured. Normally one full heat + cool down cycle gives most of the curing. After that usually just 1 or 2C change in temps.
Thats something I like with ceramique. No curing time...

The idea with AS5 is that bigger particles can move slightly to get in a better position (e.g. in scratches etc) with help from the phase changes and with vibrations while in liquid form.
Thinking along these lines the change itself and running at high temperature (preferably with vibrations) is what really aids curing. Curring computer at idle with high speed fan so CPU temps never exceeds 35C will not cause any curing at all.
The pressure the heatsink pushes to the CPU should also make a difference. In general higher pressure is better (up until the point where the CPU cracks).
The recommendation on there site is aimed towards normal people with normal usage patters etc. I doubt that they wrote it with watercooling and constant folding in mind.

burcakb · Post by **burcakb** » Mon Aug 23, 2004 4:49 am

PaulD wrote:Has anyone here personally experienced such a dramatic improvement as 2 to 5C after curing?

I got a 4C drop over a period of two weeks of evening gaming (PC shut down during day and sleep time - before SPCR & folding

) That was with AS3, I doubt AS5 would be any different.

acaurora · Post by **acaurora** » Mon Aug 23, 2004 4:55 am

My folding temp used to be 50 C. After my 3200 died, the new 3200 I have went to 55. After 2 days of full day on, all night off, it is now 52. I will continue this process until a week has passed, and hopefully it will return to 50