How do I apply the THERMAL paste?

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mystiky
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How do I apply the THERMAL paste?

Post by mystiky » Thu Dec 02, 2004 4:33 pm

I think that when I was installing the Zalman (7700 AlCu) heatsink onto my Prescott P4 3.2 (478), I did not properly apply the little tube of "Thermal Paste" that came with it. I squeezed it all out towards the middle of the chip, but I did not spread it around like you do with butter on a piece of toast.

Should I have? If so,

1) What do I used to "spread it around" the 478 chip? I see it is clearly written on the little paste container that "avoid touching directly with skin".

2) Is it okay to re-set the heatsink again, or the thermal paste which I applied just yesterday or is it now no good to be spread around?

3) If there is paste now on the heatsink itself, should I scrub it off and transfer it over to the chip?

Any other advice is also appreciated!

Thanks!

DGK
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Post by DGK » Thu Dec 02, 2004 5:02 pm

1) You only want a very thin layer of thermal paste. You just want enough to fill up the microscopic voids between the cpu and cooler. Some people use a old credit card or hard plastic to spread it around but what I used was a thick rubber glove. I put a pea sized drop on my A64 and then spread it from the center of the cpu outward using my thumb in the rubber glove. When I was done I had a very thin layer of cpu paste, I could still see the letters on the cpu underneath the paste. Worked great - very low temps. I use Arctic Silver 5 also.

2) I would remove it and start over, I have never tried to reuse it.

3) I would remove this also

The main point to remember when putting the thermal paste on is that you want the thinnest layer of it that you can get away with. You want enough to fill the voids and thats it.

silencery
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Post by silencery » Thu Dec 02, 2004 5:29 pm

be sure to use isopropyl alcohol when cleaning; otherwise you're never gonna get a good seat.

DanceMan
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Post by DanceMan » Thu Dec 02, 2004 5:30 pm

To clean off the old paste, use isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol).

For excellent installation instructions, with pictures, check at the Arctic Silver website.

Tyrdium
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Post by Tyrdium » Thu Dec 02, 2004 6:18 pm

Also, use the highest purity isopropyl alcohol you can find (preferably at least 90% or so), since you don't want to leave residue behind.

JazzJackRabbit
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Post by JazzJackRabbit » Thu Dec 02, 2004 7:30 pm

I usually squeeze a drop of paste on the center of the die and then use surgical scalpel (the kind that have a curved line, not a straight one) to spread the paste around. Then I usually try to get it as thin as possible without actually scrapping it off the die completely, if there is not enough paste, than I add some.

josephclemente
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Post by josephclemente » Thu Dec 02, 2004 7:32 pm

I like Arctic Silver's instructions.

They recommend cleaning the surfaces with isopropyl alcohol, and then rub the compound onto these surfaces only to remove it again as part of the cleaning process. This seems like a way to use up more compound, but I feel it does work.

For CPU's with heatspreaders, they recommend just placing a small blob on the very center of the heatspreader, then just mount the heatsink. For my own CPU, this method really does work better than taking care to have the perfect thin layer.

My P4 3.0C's heatspreader is definitely NOT flat - the compound cleaning method I mentioned above made me realize how imperfect the heatspreader is. I removed the compound on a very flat surface and saw the edges cleaned off first, while the center was untouched. A perfect thin layer of paste would merely raise the heatsink even higher over the edges and have less contact at the center. I have read about how the heatspreader will warp under the pressure of the heatsink for contact to the center, but I guess not enough in my case.

For this reason, I think the "thin layer" spread method works best when both the heatsink and CPU are lapped, or are at least flatter in stock form than any of my own P4's.

mystiky
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Is Arctic Silver 5 the best to use?

Post by mystiky » Fri Dec 03, 2004 3:59 am

Thanks everyone on your replies with regard to application of Thermal Paste.

I did forgorget to inquire about which one is the "good" one to use for the Pentium Prescott 478 pin setup? It seems like Arctic Silver 5 has been mentioned quite a bit. Is it the one?

Thanks again everyone!

burcakb
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Post by burcakb » Fri Dec 03, 2004 7:11 am

Arctic Silver has been proven time and again to be the best thermal compound. The differences IMO are worth the extra few dollars.

I believe OCZ started using rebranded Arctic Silver but I'm not sure

mathias
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Re: Is Arctic Silver 5 the best to use?

Post by mathias » Fri Dec 03, 2004 9:07 am

mystiky wrote:I did forgorget to inquire about which one is the "good" one to use for the Pentium Prescott 478 pin setup? It seems like Arctic Silver 5 has been mentioned quite a bit. Is it the one?
Pretty much. AS5 for performance; if you want to save some money, Arctic alumina, or perhaps Ceramique(which is basically Arctic Alumina 2) or AS3; if you're woried about spilled paste causing problems from electric conductivity, Ceramique or Arctic alumina

jtcb
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Post by jtcb » Sun Dec 05, 2004 10:11 am

Do I need to apply it on the HSF as well or just the cpu core? Some says yes and some don't. Which is correct? If apply to both, then the thickness will be double?

I don't have all the parts for my build yet. I only have the cpu, mobo, and HSF. Is it ok if I install those items first. Can I pre-apply it now? Will it dries out? I heard that this stuff needs to be settlle down for hours with computer on for best result. The problem is that parts I ordered won't arrive for a week.

Ralf Hutter
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Post by Ralf Hutter » Sun Dec 05, 2004 1:03 pm

jtcb wrote:Do I need to apply it on the HSF as well or just the cpu core? Some says yes and some don't. Which is correct? If apply to both, then the thickness will be double?
As suggested in a previous post:
For excellent installation instructions, with pictures, check at the Arctic Silver website.
If you follow AS's instructions, you'll be golden.

mystiky
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Okay, got my Arctic Silver 5, and ready to apply...

Post by mystiky » Tue Dec 07, 2004 8:09 pm

Finally my Arctic Silver 5 arrived and I'm about to implement it with my Pentium P4 3.2E (478 pin) together with my Zalman 7700 AlCu.

I read the Arctic Website and how one is supposed to clean and applyy. But I am a bit confused. If I follow the website instruction for the 478-pin application, it seems that I need to (besides proper cleaning of the CPU / heatsink):
---------------------------------------------------
1) Put a small amount of Arctic Silver 5 onto the center of the heat spreader. About the size of an uncooked grain of short-grain white rice or 1/2 of a BB.

2) RECHECK to make sure no foreign contaminants are present on either the bottom of the heatsink or the top of the CPU core. Mount the heatsink on the CPU per the heatsink's instructions. Be sure to lower the heatsink straight down onto the CPU.

Once the heatsink is properly mounted, grasp the heatsink and very gently twist it slightly clockwise and counterclockwise one time each if possible. (Just one or two degrees or so.)
-----------------------------------------------------

a) With the the Zalman 7700 series, you cannot really "twist it around" as suggested. It's basically lower the heatsink on top of the CPU and screw in the screws. Or am I missing something?

b) Has anyone tried taking that little drop and MANUALY spreading it around (in a very thin layer) the whole P4 heatspreader, which is just about whole chip?

I want to make sure I do a good job here, so I need all of opinions and suggestions that I can get.

Thanks!

Spinner
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Re: Okay, got my Arctic Silver 5, and ready to apply...

Post by Spinner » Tue Dec 07, 2004 8:43 pm

mystiky wrote: a) With the the Zalman 7700 series, you cannot really "twist it around" as suggested. It's basically lower the heatsink on top of the CPU and screw in the screws. Or am I missing something?
As Arctic Silver put it : Please note that some heatsinks cannot be twisted once mounted.

You have 2 alternatives :
-Twist it before screwing it down (not sure it's a good idea)
-Do what you suggest in b)
mystiky wrote: b) Has anyone tried taking that little drop and MANUALY spreading it around (in a very thin layer) the whole P4 heatspreader, which is just about whole chip?
IIRC, that is what they used to recommend (when CPU heatspreaders were smaller or nonexistent) . That's what I did with my Zalman 7000, with wonderful results. I feel safer somehow knowing everything has been thoroughly spread before mounting the heatsink :)

Project
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Post by Project » Tue Dec 07, 2004 10:09 pm

i think my style of adding paste is okay, but as said before u can do it so many ways. I just add like 1 3/4 grain of rice size bead of paste on the top right corner of the cpu and spread it down to the other corners. normally this is enough but i do sometimes add more. I make it as thin as possible. as long as i cant see through it im sure im fine. Then i take the xcess and smudge it on the gpu and get a VERY straight edge and scrap it so itll fill the gaps in the heatsink, mount and im good. dunno how good u can get at it, but most of the time when i do it, i think i do it right, i try to remove a 7000alcu and i literally suck my amd64 cpu out of its socket(doesnt damage it luckily). Guess its a sign of good sealing or whatever

mystiky
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Joined: Thu Nov 25, 2004 8:59 am

Yep, Arctic Silver 5 really works!

Post by mystiky » Wed Dec 08, 2004 4:20 pm

Installed it , and my idle temeprature went down from 52 Celsius to 48 Celsius in IDLE mode. I know that it will take up to 200 working computer hours before I get the "real" temp readings, but this is looking good. Definately worth the $5.99 I paid for it!

BTW: The way I ended up applying it (onto my Pentium 4 3.2, 478 pin) was to squeeze out the "peas" size drop in the middle and I used my index / middle fingers to smooth it all around the surface. When all of the chip surface was covered, I would keep wiping it all around and all of the excess would be wiped off onto a "Bounty" towel. I just kept going and going until I felt it was "thin" enough. Also, I tried to make the surface as even as possible (making the strokes with my fingers all the same way).

Project
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Post by Project » Wed Dec 08, 2004 8:06 pm

i dunno if u should use your fingers... try using a card or something

DanceMan
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Post by DanceMan » Wed Dec 08, 2004 9:05 pm

If you use a finger, you put it in plastic bag first, to keep the oils from your skin on your skin.
A credit card or something similar is recommended for spreading the paste.

vhx1
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Post by vhx1 » Tue Dec 14, 2004 4:34 pm

as josephclemente suggested, using the pea sized blobbed is fine since you have a heatspreader. If the surface of ur heatspreader isn't flat, then you are screwed. Also, you want to make sure your fingers tough the heatspreader as little as possible since the oils on ur finger will hinder the cooling performance. As such, spreading the paste with your finger is a VERY bad idea. i suggest starting over and trying the pea sized blob and comparing the results to spreading it manually. Honestly i suggest you do follow what their website says

I did the pea sized blob method and my [email protected] ghz northwood idles at around 32 degrees celcius

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