CZroe
Lifer
I've used this stuff in the past to do things like re-attach a heat sink to a TV tuner card or attach random heat sinks to components (RAM sinks on TSOPs, chipset coolers on motherboards with damaged heat sink mounts, etc). That's kinda what it's for. It's not supposed to be used where s HSF can be clipped on with normal compound between it.
Anyway, I needed some recently for an application that has nothing to do with PC tech: The CDI in my motorcycle is notorious for getting hot and causing the tach to read high. I took some ancient Pentium HSFs and removed the fans and prepped the plastic CDI by removing the rubber blanket around it (at least it had feet to allow airflow below it 🙄) and making a mount under the tail with some perforated edge molding repair stuff meant to place on corners and patch with drywall putty. I then realized that I could no longer find my adhesive from so many years ago. Darn. I think I bought it at Fry's and I think I saw it at places that carried other AS products over the years, though I was pretty sure it was no longer carried at Best Buy and the like. I would have preferred an over-sized slot-1 Pentium II/III HSF to the ones I had and I remembered seeing them at Radio Shack around 2007 (yes, it was funny then too), so I went there first: They had AS5 and AS Ceramique, but no AS Thermal Adhesive and no PII/III cooler. I didn't really expect them to.
I did not expect retail chains to carry it or to know what it was even though that's precisely where I found it before, but here's the kicker: I called computer shop after computer shop asking about it and heard from every single technician that they had never even heard of it! How is this possible? Every techie should have visited the AS homepage at least once and any like me should always be looking at tools they MIGHT need someday instead of just what they needs after they need it. I literally had one tell me that there was no such thing after I specifically asked for "a thermal adhesive like Arctic Silver Thermal Adhesive." When they'd tell me that there was nothing like that on the shelf (as expected), I'd ask if it might me something in their toolbox so I got to talk to actual techs and not just the people who answer the phone.
I want to know what you guys have used it for in the past and, well, raise your hand too if you have never heard of it.
Anyway, I needed some recently for an application that has nothing to do with PC tech: The CDI in my motorcycle is notorious for getting hot and causing the tach to read high. I took some ancient Pentium HSFs and removed the fans and prepped the plastic CDI by removing the rubber blanket around it (at least it had feet to allow airflow below it 🙄) and making a mount under the tail with some perforated edge molding repair stuff meant to place on corners and patch with drywall putty. I then realized that I could no longer find my adhesive from so many years ago. Darn. I think I bought it at Fry's and I think I saw it at places that carried other AS products over the years, though I was pretty sure it was no longer carried at Best Buy and the like. I would have preferred an over-sized slot-1 Pentium II/III HSF to the ones I had and I remembered seeing them at Radio Shack around 2007 (yes, it was funny then too), so I went there first: They had AS5 and AS Ceramique, but no AS Thermal Adhesive and no PII/III cooler. I didn't really expect them to.
I did not expect retail chains to carry it or to know what it was even though that's precisely where I found it before, but here's the kicker: I called computer shop after computer shop asking about it and heard from every single technician that they had never even heard of it! How is this possible? Every techie should have visited the AS homepage at least once and any like me should always be looking at tools they MIGHT need someday instead of just what they needs after they need it. I literally had one tell me that there was no such thing after I specifically asked for "a thermal adhesive like Arctic Silver Thermal Adhesive." When they'd tell me that there was nothing like that on the shelf (as expected), I'd ask if it might me something in their toolbox so I got to talk to actual techs and not just the people who answer the phone.
I want to know what you guys have used it for in the past and, well, raise your hand too if you have never heard of it.
