Did I use too much Arctic Silver?

[WAZ]

I'm running:

Athlon FX-55
MSI Neo2 Platinum
Thermalright XP-90 cooler (using Arctic Silver Ceramique and Panaflo 57 CFM fan)

My idle temps range from 43C to 49C, with my load under a Prime95 torture test reaching as high as 64C. :Q

I've read everywhere that this is too high, with XP-90 results supposed to be coming in 10 to 20 degrees cooler than that (in the proximity of 36 idle to 45 load).

So now I'm wondering if I used too much Arctic Silver Ceramique. I put quite a bit on -- on both the CPU and the bottom of the heatsink (per the heatsink's included instructions). On the CPU itself, I kept blobbing it on and spreading it evenly -- but not exactly thin -- until the whole 1 1/2" core was covered in white.

Then I came across this page:

http://www.arcticsilver.com//ceramique_instructions.htm

which says I am to use a tiny dot and spread it into a super-thin layer where necessary -- not spread thickly on both the CPU and HS, as I did.

So was I completely wrong? More is not more conductive, and therefore better? Could this be the difference in a whopping 10 to 20 degrees??

Thanks...

 

[Megatomic]

I've heard that misapplication of AS can cause higher temps. You might try redoing it and see what happens. I use AS Ceramique on my 3400+ and my idle temp. is 45C and loaded temp. is 51C, but I am using the stock AMD cooler so I think I did apply the AS right.

 

[nealh]

FYI:
I have a A64 3200@2600 10X260 ON Neo 2 Plat with XP90 and AS5
I live in Florida..temps have not been very cold..house is ACed

my idle:37/39 load: 50/51(occ. 52) running prime95 for 3 hrs so far

I maybe wrong but do the FX-55 run hotter...is the chip stable??

when I applied the AS5 they recommended a 3/4 BB in center...I may have put a bit more than that on...someone posted in one of my threads it can take AS5 2weeks to "set"..so temps may go down

Not sure how ceramique will differ

 

[GuinnessExtraStout]

You want to put it on as thin as possible to get complete coverage. Just thin enough that you can see that there is some everywhere. If you can't see thru it it is probably too thick.

 

[WAZ]

Originally posted by: Megatomic
I've heard that misapplication of AS can cause higher temps. You might try redoing it and see what happens. I use AS Ceramique on my 3400+ and my idle temp. is 45C and loaded temp. is 51C, but I am using the stock AMD cooler so I think I did apply the AS right.

Yeah, if you're getting those temps with the stock HSF, I should be getting 5-10 degrees cooler with the XP-90. The way we applied our Arctic Silver may be the difference.

Originally posted by: nealh
FYI:
I have a A64 3200@2600 10X260 ON Neo 2 Plat with XP90 and AS5
I live in Florida..temps have not been very cold..house is ACed

my idle:37/39 load: 50/51(occ. 52) running prime95 for 3 hrs so far

I maybe wrong but do the FX-55 run hotter...is the chip stable??

Those are the temps I'm looking for. I'm not sure if the FX-55 runs hotter or not... but if so, I would hope they're not 10-20 degrees hotter.

I can say that so far, despite the high temps, it is running stable. Granted, I've only run a few 15-minute Prime95 torture tests (don't want to do much longer since I'm getting these low-60's load temps right now)... but I have gotten no errors, lockups, or crashes yet.

Originally posted by: GuinnessExtraStout
You want to put it on as thin as possible to get complete coverage. Just thin enough that you can see that there is some everywhere. If you can't see thru it it is probably too thick.

Thanks for the tips. I'm positive now that I have applied too much AS, and I'll definitely be re-applying it like this. The question is whether this will make a difference of 10-20 degrees...

 

[nealh]

I doubt it will get you 10-20C unless it was so thick...

Also I am using a Vantec stealth fan..it is very quiet and does not move alot of air..20db with 28cfm

 

[WAZ]

Originally posted by: nealh
I doubt it will get you 10-20C unless it was so thick...

Also I am using a Vantec stealth fan..it is very quiet and does not move alot of air..20db with 28cfm

Well, I did apply it to both the CPU and the HSF, so maybe combined they made for a pretty thick layer.

And I'm using a 57cfm Panaflo, so I should certainly be able to get close to your numbers. If I can get 40 idle and 50-ish load, I'll be happy.

 

[Mrvile]

My story:

First time I applied AS5 to my 3500+ Winchester I used like 2/3 of the freakin tube, had a nice fat cake of gray on top of my CPU when I put my XP-90 on. Temps came out: 36 - 38 idle, 45 - 48 load.

When I RMA'd my mobo due to some problems and reapplied the AS when I got it back, I did a thin layer of like 6 or 7 dots (but still made sure it covered the whole heat spreader on the CPU).
Temps came out: 33 - 35 idle, 43 - 45 load.

So yeah I guess it helped. I've got my CPU running at 2.4 right now but still stock voltages so I guess that wouldn't change anything.

 

[drpootums]

I'm gunna pick some AS Ceramic for my Zalman and 3400+. My idle temps range from 45-50 C idle and go from 55-58 C load. My friend and i messed up when we applied it. He put the stock HS/F on, and some of the thermal paste stuck to the processor, but we left that stuff on and just gobbed some of the stock Zalman stuff on pretty thick. I'm gunna order some ceramic along with an exhaust fan for getting rid of the hot air my BFG 6800GT gives off...brought my case temps up 4 C from my Leadtek version...

 

[Mrvile]

Pootums why do you have a BFG and Leadtek 6800GT?

 

[miketheidiot]

first, FX-55 IS NOT A WINCHESTER AND WILL RUN HOTTER THAN A WINCHESTER

Second, you most likely over applied

clean it off with high% (i used 91%) isopropyl alcohol.

Reapply, about a grain of rice sized drop

third, What is the OP's system/ambient temp?

 

[drpootums]

Originally posted by: Mrvile
Pootums why do you have a BFG and Leadtek 6800GT?

my Leadtek went bad, so i rma'ed to newegg but they were out of stock, so they gave me a refund and i picked up the BFG at bestbuy

 

[lenjack]

As thin a layer as possible works best.

 

[WAZ]

Well, after removing everything, cleaning the old stuff off with 91% alcohol, and following the AS directions, I'm back up and running. New temps are:

43 idle (same as before)
58 load (2 to 6 degrees cooler than before)

When I booted up for the first time with this new application, I had 33 to 39 idle for about 10 minutes. Since then, it has not dropped below 43. A bit better, but still not great.

 

[Megatomic]

Well, 58C is well within AMDs specs for temp. so I'd say you're good to go now. At least you got some positive results, eh?

 

[nealh]

well that is about what I expected a few degrees..not alot

I think if your stable ...do not work you have a good cooling solution

 

[WAZ]

Well, I DID have some positive results....

I went to bed last night perfectly happy with my 43 idle, 58 load temps, only to wake up this morning to boot it up to 48 idle, 62 load. :disgust: I gained 5 degrees overnight, and that 62 is getting awfully near the 63 (not 70) indicated by the "I" in my FX-55 model number.

Why would my temps shoot up like that in one reboot overnight?

EDIT: After a reboot, my numbers have dropped back down to the 43/58 range. I guess I'll have to conclude that MBM is not that accurate, and can randomly show higher temps for no apparent reason...

 

[WAZ]

How reliable and accurate is MBM 5 anyway?

I'm pretty pleased with my temps and stability now -- at the very least, I can run Prime95 for several hours with no crashes, freezes, or anything. I haven't done a 24 hour test or anything, but numerous 1-hour tests and a 3-hour test today have all been positive. So I won't be messing around with my cooling regardless.

But more out of curiosity, is there any logical reason why my temps are +/- 5 degrees in MBM on any given boot? I boot up at 47 idle, 62 load.... only to simply reboot and suddenly get 42/57. It seems random, and a restart of my PC sends them back down...

 

[zakee00]

the real question is how accurate is your motherboard. mbm5 can only use the readings provided by your mobo. those temps are still too high....i would say either your chip is defective, or your mobo temps are way off. complete shame, seing as how you have an FX-55....$800+

 

[crossphyr]

to be honest I had a huge cake of it by some guy that helped me build it.. and temps were the same as is now and i went with what they recommonded so Idk but all im saying is i get like 36-37 idle and 50-55 load..... but i still think mbm is completely off sometimes because ive seen it under complete load just for no reason dropping back down to 44.... but the max for the chip is 70.. so anywhere under 60 ur golden so no worries.. but 63 seems alittle sketchy, i cant get mine over 55 and i ran real time demo that will test any hardware to the max and i can only get it to 55

 

[imported_waldo]

don't forget it takes a while for AS to set in, I ran Sandra and Prime95 for about a week straight after applying the goods, and my temps dropped about 8 degrees. Be patient and see what comes through....did you crank your HSF on tight enough?

 

[Showtime]

You can also physically feel the heatsink while testing. At 62 degrees it should feel pretty hot to the touch.

-show

 

[sdack]

Too much is not good. When mounting the heat sink some of the stuff will always get squeezed aside. I usually wiggle the heat sink a couple times to make sure that the stuff gets as thin as possible. The idea is to have a heat conducting fluid film between the CPU and the sink instead of two solid surfaces with a bit of air inbetween since they are never perfectly flat.
It is always possible that you have caught a little air bubble in the fluid film and by wiggling the sink it has a chance to escape (move/twist the sink left and right). However if you have put on too much of the stuff, it might run off onto your mainboard and can cause damage their, too.

Sven

 

[nealh]

hmm..I have been running my A64 with AS5 and a XP90 for a week now...wow that long...and my temps are exactly the same and I have been running Prime95..I did apply it like recommended on AS website

mving the HS would have been nice..as many have suggested but my XP90 was not wiggling no matter what

 

[toNka64]

neo2 sucks really bad at giving accurate temps.
your temps are probable beeing read 5 ~ 10 C over what it actually is