Does arctic silver 5 go bad?

[entropy1982]

Going to be using it for my X2 3800+

thanks

 

[imported_HansB]

I think mine is 4 years old and it worked on my 3700+ clawhammer.

 

[entropy1982]

ok.... the thing is my friend is coming over sunday to help me put my comp together.... i ordred AS5 but it's probably only gonna be here like tues.... is it worthit to wait hehe or does it really make no diff whatsoever?

 

[Markbnj]

Arctic says it may separate a little, but should still be good. I am not sure how you should go about remixing it tho.

 

[bendixG15]

I used some on my CPU and heat sink 2 years ago.
Does that mean it went bad and I gotta replace it ????

 

[ribbon13]

no, you only replace it when and everytime you remove the heat sink

 

[GalvanizedYankee]

ribbon, he's talking shelf life.

OP, i have some AS3 i will still use and have AS5. i store it dispenser end down so all the heavy goodies drift there in time.
No matter how it was stored, i'd use it.

Galvanized

 

[entropy1982]

thanks

 

[Jeff7181]

According to Arctic Silver's website, AS5 will not separate. AS3 will, however.

 

[GalvanizedYankee]

Originally posted by: Jeff7181
According to Arctic Silver's website, AS5 will not separate. AS3 will, however.

That's why i store it dispencer end down, so all the heavy silver goodies drift down.

 

[gac009]

from artic silver website

"
Storage


Like any mix of particles that are many times heavier than the suspension fluid, there will be some separation in the compound over time when stored in the original syringe. (All thermal compounds eventually experience some separation in storage.) This does not affect the performance of the unseparated or remixed compound.
To keep the compound fresh for future applications, always replace the cap on the syringe after each use. The syringe should be stored tip down so that any separation that occurs will be at the back end of the syringe with fully suspended particles below that. Storing in a cool place like a refrigerator will also lessen separation over time.
"

I would squeeze a little out first and then use whats in the middle.

 

[bendixG15]

Originally posted by: ribbon13
no, you only replace it when and everytime you remove the heat sink

you do believe everything you read here...don't you ?

 

[entropy1982]

sounds good

 

[Jeff7181]

Originally posted by: bendixG15
I used some on my CPU and heat sink 2 years ago.
Does that mean it went bad and I gotta replace it ????

AMD and Intel think so. According to them, those types of thermal compounds are not intended for long term use. They say after many hot-cold cycles, the compound is "pumped out" and your temps could start to increase. If your temps are fine, don't mess with it. If your temps are high, and blowing the dust off the heatsink doesn't help, try removing the heatsink, cleaning both the heatsink and CPU thoroughly, and reapply thermal compound. Arctic Silver 5 seems to have a very noticeable breakin period that I never noticed with AS3 before. After a couple weeks my temps were 5-10C lower.

 

[Shenkoa]

It wont seperate as fast if you keep it in a fridge, according to Artic's website.

 

[entropy1982]

5-10C ??? watta....

 

[Jeff7181]

Originally posted by: entropy1982
5-10C ??? watta....

Yup... when I first installed it it was running idle around 40-42 C, lower 50's under load. Now it's running about 32-34 C idle, low 40's under load.

*EDIT* The breakin period seems to be much more pronounced when using a CPU with a heat spreader. I never noticed it before with my Athlon XP's, but this happened with both my Winchester and Venice Athlon 64's.

 

[calyco]

I had a similar question myself, used some AS3 from 3+ years ago and works like a charm. Getting 28C