Could someone please define for me what "enough" is?

[SneakyStuff]

If i'm using a silicone paste on my Barton 2800+, how much should I have on there? Could someone who has experience with silicone pastes help me out here? I've taken my entire mobo out 2 times to re-apply the paste. But my cooling is still lackluster. My HSF is adequate up to a 3400+, and I have an intake fan as well, so i'm assuming it's the paste.

 

[jhurst]

In the case of thermal paste, less is more. For P4's they say to use a "grain of rice" sized drop on the center of the cpu spreader. For AMD, the CPU is a little bigger, so a little bigger drop is necessary. What happens is the HS squishes the thermal paste into a circle covering the CPU die (core), and creates more surface area where it is needed, right above the die. Check arctic silver's website, they have a great guide that can be applied to any thermal paste.

Also, on the base of your HS, you are going to want to want a smooth surface for starters, then rub a layer of thermal paste on it, and wipe it off completely. This will fill in the tiny cracks (microscopic) so there is less air in between the HS and CPU.

 

[Dman877]

On a naked die (which the barton is) you want to cover the entire core with a paper-thin layer, basically just spread it as thinly as possible while covering the whole core. With that said, as long as you attach the heatsink correctly, a little extra thermal paste will just get squeezed out and isn't a big deal.

The stuff jhurst is talking about applies to cpu's with integrated heatspreaders and big chips like nvidia's flip chip gpu's.

 

[Soulkeeper]

i usually put a thin coat on the heatsink and the core
just make it thin enough to where you know any surface imperfections/holes (mostly microscopic) can be filled. That's really all you need
i mean of course thermal paste has been known to dry slightly over time but as long as you are around a paper thin layer, before pressure is applied, you should be fine.
it prob smashes to 1/100th or 1/1000th of an inch anyways and you don't want too much goo all over the cpu.

 

[Bar81]

Isn't there an illustrated set of instructions on the arctic silver website???

 

[SneakyStuff]

It isn't arctic silver. It's a silicone paste.

 

[Bar81]

oops

 

[SneakyStuff]

ok, well anyway, I just re-did it for the 4th time with the silicone paste, I made sure the CPU was emaculately clean, not a trace of it anywhere, and re-applied it, in a smaller amount. I covered the slug with a "paper thin" layer, and I made tiny droplets towards the center, so it would spread out when the heatsink was pressed down. Right now i've got a 47' CPU, and a 53' C diode. I'm going to monitor these temps and see if they drop any once the paste sets in. I sure hope they do, because this is the 4th time i've had to remove my ENTIRE mobo just to re-do this

 

[DesolationWilliams]

maybe u have a crappy processor that just naturally runs hot, or your heatsink needs to be finely lapped, or your temp readings are wrong, or the paste ur using sucks.
i would try to lap the heatsink and use as5 next time.

 

[SneakyStuff]

I'm beginning to think its a combo of the mobo, and the processor itself, anyway tho, I just put the system under load for 2 hours, and the temps never went above 59' C for the diode, and 48' C for the cpu, so i'm content. Mabye i'll get some AS5 next time around, but when winter rolls around, my temps are gonna drop about 6' C anyway, so i'll just deal with it until then.

 

[Soulkeeper]

just glob the junk on and call it a day already
hahaha

 

[MichaelZ]

exactly. goop up and be done with it.

 

[SneakyStuff]

haha I didn't "glob" it on, because I was beginning to think that since it's conductive, too much of it was spreading the heat around the CPU, and not bridging it correctly. Anyway, I applied a thin layer only on the slug, and put a droplet in the middle of the slug, so that when I put the HSF down on it, it would spread and fill out. I think i'll just live with whatever temps it gives me this time around, I really don't feel like taking the entire mobo out again. (Although I have gotten SO good at it now I can take the entire thing out, re-apply the silicone, and put it back in in less than 30 minutes! , I've reached an all-time low)

EDIT: Well, the cpu has gone down 2' C, from 49' C to 47' C, but the diode has gone up 1' C. Oh well, I guess it's a fair trade-off. As long as it's stable.

 

[Jeff7181]

The silicon stuff is crap... use some type of Arctic Silver... whether it's AS2, AS3, or AS5

 

[Crucial]

I put a bb sized dot in the middle of the slug and install the heatsink. Works fine every time.