Before/After applying AS5

[LeetestUnleet]

Previous to AS5, with stock HS/F and thermal goop: 60-61C under load
After: 58C currently, although it's only been roughly half an hour of load conditions since it's been applied. I was just wondering if this was an average temp drop (3C) after a new application before it's been "worn-in". Any others with previous experience? I doubt I did an expert job applying it, as it was my first time and I was a little nervous, thus shaky hands and a not-so-even layer (combined with minor arthritis).

My high temps are caused, for the most part I believe, by having no case fans and 1 fan on the PSU. The PSU is in bad placement on my case, with the space between the PSU and the top of the CPU fan literally being about 1/4 - 1/8 inch apart

 

[WobbleWobble]

What's your motherboard temperature? You may be getting higer CPU temperatures because the inside of your case may be hot due to little air flow.

Don't expect dramatic differences using AS5, only a few degrees is expected. There's probably nothing wrong with your temperatures. Your CPU won't bake itself at about 60C.

 

[LeetestUnleet]

Originally posted by: WobbleWobble
What's your motherboard temperature? You may be getting higer CPU temperatures because the inside of your case may be hot due to little air flow.

Don't expect dramatic differences using AS5, only a few degrees is expected. There's probably nothing wrong with your temperatures. Your CPU won't bake itself at about 60C.

:edit: Wow, don't have a clue why my post didn't show when I replied.

I think my mobo runs about 20-25C, but I'm not at home right now to check. It's in that vicinity somewhere. I know the CPU won't bake itself at 60C, as it can run at about 72C before it gets a little hot according to my research, HOWEVER, I would like the option of overclocking it if needbe. I don't want to risk it with temps already this high.

 

[klocwerk]

I replaced my stock ancient goop with AS5, saw a drop of about 8 degrees idle and 4-5 degrees load after a few days of burn-in time.
give it a few days, then decide.

 

[LeetestUnleet]

Ugh - left the machine on all night last night (3 days later), and my temps were back at their normal tempuratures prior to AS5. I think I'm going to give it until the weekend, and if no drop occurs then, I'm going to reapply it, since I know more along the lines of what I'm doing now.

 

[Abzstrak]

if your case temps are too hot then AS5 won't help... get some case fans bud. U have got to move that hot air out, transfering heat to the heatsink more efficiently won't do any good if the heatsink can't disspate the heat because ambient temps are too high.

 

[LeetestUnleet]

Now that I'm home, my mobo temps are actually running about 28C.

The problem with case fans is the fact that, well... my case doesn't support any. I'm currently considering this case, however:

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=11-150-017&catalog=7&depa=1

$40 shipped with two fans. Anyone have any luck with this case? 5 star rating with 119 reviews, so I imagine it's rather nice.

 

[Abzstrak]

its $40, wouldn't expect much... thats pretty cheap as far as cases go. lok at spending $65 or more for a decent one as a rule of thumb.... more if it has a decent power supply (not a powmax or some off brand crap with flakey voltages)

 

[Jeff7]

Originally posted by: Abzstrak
its $40, wouldn't expect much... thats pretty cheap as far as cases go. lok at spending $65 or more for a decent one as a rule of thumb.... more if it has a decent power supply (not a powmax or some off brand crap with flakey voltages)

The one he linked doesn't appear to include a power supply at all. Antec makes good power supplies; check out one of them.
As far as what $40 will buy, well, I've bought plenty of generic cases over the years. Quality varies immensely. Some of them are utter crap, and use bizarre methods of securing things in place, plus they still have some razor-sharp edges like cases did years ago. Or, there were cases like the ones I bought from someone on eBay awhile ago. Salebuyer@hotmail.com was the name I believe, and he just sold this one kind of case, $36 shipped. It was easily the best cheap case I'd ever used. My one and only complaint about it was that it lacked drive rails. Easily moddable, great design, space for fans, roomy, and rounded edges. He stopped selling them over a year ago though. So, good generic cases do exist, but they can be hard to find. It also depends on just what your standards are for a "good" case.
Just glancing at that case linked to though...lesse
+ 4 5.25" bays,
+ space for 6 3.5" devices, 4 of which are in a cooled area
- no drive rails
+ space for two rear exhaust fans
+ (apparently) removable top panel
+ ball bearing fans

That looks fairly decent, but again, there's no real way to tell how good it is until you're holding the case. If you do buy it, go ahead and post a review here and/or at Newegg.

 

[LeetestUnleet]

I've only got a budget of about $40, including shipping, which is what this particular case will cost. I'll probably order it in a couple days, as I get paid on the 10th and I'm not sure how much my check will be yet. For $40, it sounds a HELL of a lot better than my current case, and this current case will still be put to use on another computer utilizing my old hardware I recently upgraded from, which will then be given to my sister so I can have the gaming rig to myself

The way I'm understanding it, this case in question comes with 2 fans, and has support for a total of 4 more. I can get case fans for free from the hardware department on my college campus (not top of the line, but hey they're free). The teacher likes me
I don't need a power supply with it, as my current power supply is doing a good job - I haven't had a problem with it thus far, although I don't remember what brand it is offhand - all I remember is that I bought it from Newegg

And as I get further down the post and further OT (but hey it's my thread), is it just me, or does it seem that everything I buy from somewhere OTHER than Newegg requires at least 1 RMA before I can use it? I'm at a 100% failure rate with other companies on the first try, and 100% success with Newegg. Other places might offer it slightly cheaper, but you spend that saved money in RMA shipping costs :disgust:

 

[Texun]

LeetestUnleet Have you noticed any change with the AS5 yet?

 

[LeetestUnleet]

Originally posted by: Texun
LeetestUnleet Have you noticed any change with the AS5 yet?

My tempuratures have stayed the same, if not gone up a degree or two I may have applied too much, thus causing worse cooling (I didn't realize less was better at the time of install).

I'll be getting my new case that was linked above on or around Wednesday, during which I'll reapply a thinner layer of AS5.

Current temps as of this post:
CPU: 63C/145F
Mobo: 32C/89F

 

[Texun]

Thanks, LeetestUnleet;

I just posted a thread about AS5 so I'm probably not one to give advice right now but I'm going to agree with you on the case fan theory. Once you gain more clearance above the HS and some extra fans to ventilate the case you should be fine. I'm guessing you will cut a big chunk out of those temps. :beer:

 

[LeetestUnleet]

Originally posted by: Texun
Thanks, LeetestUnleet;

I just posted a thread about AS5 so I'm probably not one to give advice right now but I'm going to agree with you on the case fan theory. Once you gain more clearance above the HS and some extra fans to ventilate the case you should be fine. I'm guessing you will cut a big chunk out of those temps. :beer:

For the curious, I'll definitely post the drops after the new case and with a fresh apply of AS5 (done properly)

 

[LeetestUnleet]

Just as an update to my thread, after much problems (see my thread in Technical Support) not necessarily related to the new case, I finally got it working again and it works great. The fans are surprisingly quiet, considering how large they both are and the cooling they offer.

Temps dropped from about 63C to 39C... Nearly a 40% drop!