Arctic Alumina?

[Nocturnal]

What's the deal with Arctic Alumina?

 

[myocardia]

It cools roughly the same as AS5, but it never needs to be replaced, like most other thermal pastes. Of course, it also works better than glue, once cured, I hear. That's why most people don't use it.

 

[Bill Brasky]

I've also been investigating this for mosfet and graphics ram heatsinks. I've read that it works much better than thermal tape, and the adhesiveness can be reduced by mixing in some regular arctic silver 5. IIRC, the author recommended a 3:1 mix of alumina to AS5.

 

[myocardia]

Hey, let us know if it works as a good glue for RAM sinks. I'd buy some for that use.

 

[Bill Brasky]

I think I missed some sarcasm the first time I read this thread. 😉

 

[Zap]

I think you guys are confusing "Arctic Alumina" with "Arctic Alumina Epoxy." Arctic Alumina is a cheap heatsink paste from the guys that make Arctic Silver. I personally like it better for a few reasons - easier to clean up, cheaper, easy to spread (compared to some). IMO it works "close enough" to Arctic Silver that I personally wouldn't pay the difference. If anyone else wants to pay more for the Silver, that's their own coin.

As for the AA Epoxy stuff, it is just heat transfer epoxy. If you need to attach a heatsink to something and have no other way to mount it, then use this stuff. It is more or less permanent, but can be made kinda-sorta non-permanent by mixing in a bit extra Arctic Alumina (or whatever other compound). That works because it basically weakens/dilutes the epoxy bond. You'd have to experiment with ratios as there isn't anything set in stone (pun intended).

 

[jiffylube1024]

Originally posted by: Zap
I think you guys are confusing "Arctic Alumina" with "Arctic Alumina Epoxy." Arctic Alumina is a cheap heatsink paste from the guys that make Arctic Silver. I personally like it better for a few reasons - easier to clean up, cheaper, easy to spread (compared to some). IMO it works "close enough" to Arctic Silver that I personally wouldn't pay the difference. If anyone else wants to pay more for the Silver, that's their own coin.

As for the AA Epoxy stuff, it is just heat transfer epoxy. If you need to attach a heatsink to something and have no other way to mount it, then use this stuff. It is more or less permanent, but can be made kinda-sorta non-permanent by mixing in a bit extra Arctic Alumina (or whatever other compound). That works because it basically weakens/dilutes the epoxy bond. You'd have to experiment with ratios as there isn't anything set in stone (pun intended).

Or possibly Ceramique.

Isn't Arctic Alumina a bit older, and Ceramique the newer stuff?

At any rate, Ceramique is very sticky/lumpy - much more so over Arctic Silver 5. But it's nonconductive, so it's good for heatsinks that contact RAM, etc.

But most GPU coolers these days leave a large gap that requires RAM spacers...