Artic Silver 3 v. 5

[tboneuls]

I'm replacing my Athlon XP 2000+ Palomino with a 2000+ Thourghbred (better overclocking, I got the chip for relatively low cost). I want my computer to be quieter so I'm also replacing my Thermaltake 6cu+ with the Thermaltake Silent Boost. I have some Artic silver 3, but I'm wondering if I should buy some Artic Silver 5 for this project. I would like to overclock my 2000+ (one of the reasons I'm upgrading). Any comments would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[myocardia]

There isn't really much difference between AS 2, 3, & 5. But if you're going to buy some more, I would recommend the AS Ceramique. As long as you don't remove the heatsink, it will never need to be reapplied.

 

[MontyAC]

Artic Silver 5 is currently their top performer. If you plan to get good paste, you can't go wrong with that.

 

[tboneuls]

Any comments about AS Alumina?

 

[jhites]

The only problem with the Ceramique is that after it is on for a while it seems to stick to the point that makes it difficult to remove the heatsink. Many ppl have actually pulled the cpu out of the socket due to this. I went from AS3 to Ceramique myself and was very pleased with it but the AS5 IMHO is better and there is a minor improvement in temps.

 

[ponyo]

If you already have Arctic Silver 3 than buying 5 would be just waste of money.

 

[lxie123]

my only input on this is that when i changed from the thermal compound that came with my Zalman cpna7000 to the as5 stuff, my temps at load on my p4 2.6c oc to 3.25 dropped 1c-2c. I cleaned and applied the stuff exactly as the guide instructed.

 

[Almighty1]

I'm actually using Nanotherm PCM+ which seems to give better temps than AS3 did but a question, how often does one have to reapply the thermal grease? Since I noticed that it seems like my CPU gets higher temps now after 8 months.

 

[Jeff7181]

Here's my little review of it when I got AS5.

 

[jhites]

Another consideration on replacing your AS3 with AS5 should be:
How old is the AS3 and has it been stored with the tip down?

It has been noted that when AS3 is stored for several months without the tip down that the silver particles tend to separate and then it would be necessary to sort of remix the contents together.

 

[ponyo]

Originally posted by: Almighty1
I'm actually using Nanotherm PCM+ which seems to give better temps than AS3 did but a question, how often does one have to reapply the thermal grease? Since I noticed that it seems like my CPU gets higher temps now after 8 months.

It's probably dust on your heatsink and fans. Getting rid of dust buildup will decrease your temps lot more than using particular paste.

 

[Almighty1]

Originally posted by: Naustica

Originally posted by: Almighty1
I'm actually using Nanotherm PCM+ which seems to give better temps than AS3 did but a question, how often does one have to reapply the thermal grease? Since I noticed that it seems like my CPU gets higher temps now after 8 months.

It's probably dust on your heatsink and fans. Getting rid of dust buildup will decrease your temps lot more than using particular paste.

That's true too. I mean I remember pastes have to be replaced after a x amount of time though but how often does it need to be done?

 

[jhites]

Originally posted by: Almighty1
I mean I remember pastes have to be replaced after a x amount of time though but how often does it need to be done?

I replace my thermal compound every 3-6 months right along with my new chip.

 

[Wigwam]

not much of a temp diff when jumping from 2 to 5, but i found AS5 MUCH easier to apply as a thin even layer across the cpre vs AS2

 

[SilversinkSam]

Originally posted by: Jeff7181
Here's my little review of it when I got AS5.


Perfect time to thoroughly clean dust out of the computer too
I'll be back in a couple hours with the results.

I'm back... keep in mind that the PC hasn't been running whole hog for more than about 10 minutes... but before with the Arctic Silver 3, my diode temps were reading 58-60 C while running SETI@Home... now it's been on for about 10 minutes like I said, and it's now at about 49-51 but it hasn't stablised yet.

Jeff,

I'm curious what your temps are now after the *recommended 200+ hours it takes for the paste to wear in via thermal cycling and such. I noticed your mini review you skipped the 200+ hour *wear in period before you wrote the mini review

Originally posted by: Almighty1
I'm actually using Nanotherm PCM+ which seems to give better temps than AS3 did but a question, how often does one have to reapply the thermal grease? Since I noticed that it seems like my CPU gets higher temps now after 8 months.

I can't answer how often one needs to reapply PCM+, but usually when one notices higher tempatures months later with products like Arctic Silver and Shin Etsu is usually caused by dirt and grime impeding the performance of heatsinks, especially thin fin heatsinks like Naustica mentioned.



*Important Reminder:
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.

AS-5 Reminder


Stay cool,

Silversinksam