Thermal paste experience

ckolivas · Post by **ckolivas** » Tue Feb 22, 2005 2:37 am

From all my reading and people trying hard to benchmark thermal pastes it was clear that despite all the hype they do very little for cooling, which was my experience too. It seems perhaps 1 degree can be gained from the most expensive paste but that is possibly within statistical insigificance. Changing from dirty, old, reseated and re-used many times standard thermal paste to carefully applied high quality stuff did nothing for my setup. What's your experience?

MiKeLezZ · Post by **MiKeLezZ** » Tue Feb 22, 2005 3:42 am

I gained a lot of °c (about 4-8°c) simply removing thermal pad, lapping the heat sink and using good thermal past

Sizzle · Post by **Sizzle** » Tue Feb 22, 2005 4:50 am

In my experience, it tastes just as bad as cheap paste.

rtsai · Post by **rtsai** » Tue Feb 22, 2005 6:10 am

I've been reading a lot on that too. The consensus I inferred was that pretty much all pastes cool equally well (from toothpaste to AS5). The consistently-reported catch was that inferior materials (e.g., toothpaste) evaporate very quickly, leaving you with no thermal interface material at all.

Having said that, I'm just using the thermal paste that came with my XP-120 heatsink, and it seems to be working OK. When/if it comes time to replenish the supply, I might splurge on a extra few bucks to see what this Arctic Silver is all about.

burcakb · Post by **burcakb** » Tue Feb 22, 2005 6:33 am

the difference of arctic silver can be felt after a year or so. Most cheap paste turns to dust, cracks, becomes inefficient, etc. AS is apply-it-forget-it paste

Chris`I · Post by **Chris`I** » Tue Feb 22, 2005 7:20 am

burcakb wrote:the difference of arctic silver can be felt after a year or so. Most cheap paste turns to dust, cracks, becomes inefficient, etc. AS is apply-it-forget-it paste

Agreed. Others deteriorate as they dry over time. AS stays nice and fresh for years. One P4 machine I had, had its replaced roughtly 3yrs ago (its a Skt423, boo hiss!). Still running the same temps now at a frieds house, even if the HFS is a little dusty

threevok · Post by **threevok** » Tue Feb 22, 2005 12:08 pm

Sizzle wrote:In my experience, it tastes just as bad as cheap paste.

Try eating a piece of cheese between samples. I believe you will find the expensive paste has more fruity undertones.

I'm partial to Artic Silver Ceramique because it works, is non-conductive, cleans up easily, and I have enough to last the rest of my life.

ET Awful · Post by **ET Awful** » Thu Feb 24, 2005 8:52 am

threevok wrote:
Sizzle wrote:In my experience, it tastes just as bad as cheap paste.
Try eating a piece of cheese between samples. I believe you will find the expensive paste has more fruity undertones.

I'm partial to Artic Silver Ceramique because it works, is non-conductive, cleans up easily, and I have enough to last the rest of my life.

I'll second the Ceramique

. I have 2 of the large syringes of it. One I bought, and the other just wound up in my spare parts box somehow (probably when I was doing a build for a buddy and he left it there, I just have no idea who it was since I build so many).

It works, and I have enough to do about 2000 CPUs

.

mshan · Post by **mshan** » Thu Feb 24, 2005 9:08 am

Does unused Artic Silver Ceramique have any tendency to deteriorate over time (i.e. is it OK to buy one of those larger syringes as a lifetime supply or simply get a small syringe and get a "fresh" small syringe when it eventually runs out?)?

Also, over what type of time span does generic thermal grease tend to turn into dust?

ET Awful · Post by **ET Awful** » Thu Feb 24, 2005 9:34 am

mshan wrote:Does unused Artic Silver Ceramique have any tendency to deteriorate over time (i.e. is it OK to buy one of those larger syringes as a lifetime supply or simply get a small syringe and get a "fresh" small syringe when it eventually runs out?)?

Also, over what type of time span does generic thermal grease tend to turn into dust?

I've had my syringe of Ceramique for nearly 2 years and the consistency is the same now as when I first got it. I just mounted a heatsink with it last week, and no difference at all.

wumpus · Post by **wumpus** » Thu Feb 24, 2005 11:46 am

I strongly urge people NOT to buy pastes that are electrically conductive. You can find threads here from people who have blown up their stuff using the electrically conductive pastes!

Post by **Rusty075** » Thu Feb 24, 2005 12:00 pm

wumpus wrote:I strongly urge people NOT to buy pastes that are electrically conductive. You can find threads here from people who have blown up their stuff using the electrically conductive pastes!

It should be noted that all of Arctic Silver's products are nonconductive.

Blappo · Post by **Blappo** » Thu Feb 24, 2005 12:41 pm

From Arctic Silver's Website about Arctic Silver 5 wrote:While much safer than electrically conductive silver and copper greases, Arctic Silver 5 should be kept away from electrical traces, pins, and leads. While it is not electrically conductive, the compound is very slightly capacitive and could potentially cause problems if it bridges two close-proximity electrical paths.

So it doesn't conductive, but it can store a charge? Anyone care to explain?

HammerSandwich · Post by **HammerSandwich** » Thu Feb 24, 2005 12:54 pm

Blappo wrote:So it doesn't conductive, but it can store a charge? Anyone care to explain?

That's not uncommon. Easy example is rubbing a balloon on your shirt to build up static.

wumpus · Post by **wumpus** » Thu Feb 24, 2005 2:47 pm

While it is not electrically conductive, the compound is very slightly capacitive

Capacative, conductive, whatever. I don't know squat about electronics. All I know is, people have blown their stuff up with arctic silver, and I've read about it on these very forums.

Plus, IMO, arctic silver is a PITA to work with, so there's another reason.

acaurora · Post by **acaurora** » Thu Feb 24, 2005 5:26 pm

It is NOT a PITA to work with. Just follow the instructions -
1. Apply a rice grain sized amount
2. Spread it thinly over the surface (some people use gloves, I use my driver's license ;P )

Kapish!

MiKeLezZ · Post by **MiKeLezZ** » Thu Feb 24, 2005 5:28 pm

ceramique is a more simple to use and you (and your components) don't get too dirty

Mats · Post by **Mats** » Thu Feb 24, 2005 6:10 pm

First I thought that the good thing about AS5 should show up after some time, but it didn't, the lowest I could get was 39 degrees. Then I started undervolting and underclocking just to check, but it didn't change very much, not even with the case open.

Then, with case placed on its side and opened, I placed a 10 cm paper cone on top of the Z7000 to act as a duct to feed the fan with cooler air from above. The temp dropped 5 degrees. Reason? Ask ATI...

Before this I really thought that an open case could simulate a HSF with a duct through the side panel....

Thermal paste experience

Expensive silver thermal paste on my cpu

Thermal paste experience