Does Arctic Silver ever expire?

[Comp625]

I have a tube of AS (version 1 or 2...forgot) and I've had it since last summer. I've been long overdue as far as re-applying the AS (you are suppose to do it every 3 months, it's been about 7 months ). I've been experiencing more crashes lately...so I think it's best to re-apply it. However, does AS ever expire?

 

[pillage2001]

Don't think any silver compound would expire but reapply it after 3 months or more of use. There are reports that AS will dry up after awhile and that will hamper your heat transfer from the core to the HS.

 

[bgeh]

Originally posted by: Comp625
I have a tube of AS (version 1 or 2...forgot) and I've had it since last summer. I've been long overdue as far as re-applying the AS (you are suppose to do it every 3 months, it's been about 7 months ). I've been experiencing more crashes lately...so I think it's best to re-apply it. However, does AS ever expire?

it will expire if you use it for long periods of time(i.e. 3 years)
my AS3 has been for around 6 months and i don't see an increase in temps

 

[MarkFahey]

I am thinking on getting a higher end HSF for my P4 2.4 but I am a bit GUN-SHY on applyiing Artic Silver 3 to it. I have never done it before and I have heard horror stories about people trashing their CPU's when seating the HSF. Is it very difficult to do? Also I have read that it never drys out like the white thermal paste that is used sometimes.

Is it very hard to get the intel stockl HSF with the thermal pad off the CPU?

Any good links to setting up Artic Silver the right way and cleaning the Stock pad from a P4?

 

[cmdrdredd]

leave the heatspreader on the P4..put a small dot on the P4 just enough to cover the chip's heatspreader 100% with no globs. Then put a bit on the HSF after you have removed the thermal heatpad and cleaned it up with some alcohol or similar. Then rub it into the HSF's bottom with a plastec bag and your finger. Wipe the HSF clean afterwards. Then apply the HSF back to the P4 and go.

Some people may recommend you sand the bottom of the HSF with some very fine sand paper. I'd recommend 1000grit or higher.

 

[OverVolt]

Originally posted by: MarkFahey
I am thinking on getting a higher end HSF for my P4 2.4 but I am a bit GUN-SHY on applyiing Artic Silver 3 to it. I have never done it before and I have heard horror stories about people trashing their CPU's when seating the HSF. Is it very difficult to do? Also I have read that it never drys out like the white thermal paste that is used sometimes.

Is it very hard to get the intel stockl HSF with the thermal pad off the CPU?

Any good links to setting up Artic Silver the right way and cleaning the Stock pad from a P4?

I did that on my dads pc. If you take the thermal pad off without ever putting it on the cpu it'll come right off with a razor blade. Then wash off the sticky glu stuff they use on the side and your set to go. When you apply the Thermal grease just make sire you don't apply too much. You can smooth it out with a credit card or something so double check it won't glob out the side of the CPU

BTW- I've been using ASII on ym pc for about 5months now and i haven't seen an increase in temperatures

 

[thorin]

Does it have an expiry date?

Thorin

 

[ScrapSilicon]

Originally posted by: thorin
Does it have an expiry date?

Thorin

"Keep out of the reach of children" and "See instructions at www.articsilver.com" .. don't see no expires by date.. ooo.."Premium Silver Polysynthetic Thermal Compound" so many big and fancy words ..gotta be good

 

[magomago]

Originally posted by: MarkFahey
I am thinking on getting a higher end HSF for my P4 2.4 but I am a bit GUN-SHY on applyiing Artic Silver 3 to it. I have never done it before and I have heard horror stories about people trashing their CPU's when seating the HSF. Is it very difficult to do? Also I have read that it never drys out like the white thermal paste that is used sometimes.

Is it very hard to get the intel stockl HSF with the thermal pad off the CPU?

Any good links to setting up Artic Silver the right way and cleaning the Stock pad from a P4?

Not too hard....I applied AS3 on my 1700+ , and mind you i hadn't built a pc for 4 years...

 

[thorin]

I really really doubt that it expires, there's nothing in it that would go bad. I suppose there's a chance that it may start to seperate but there's information about that on the package and on their site.

Thorin

 

[PliotronX]

I just noticed something on my tube of AS3...

 

[MarkFahey]

ROFLAMO!!! That's great! Those guys at Artic Silver... What a bunch of comedians

 

[Eug]

Originally posted by: PliotronX
I just noticed something on my tube of AS3...

Anyways, I am still using my tube of the original Arctic Silver from a couple years back. Works fine. I don't reapply after 3 months either.

 

[GrumpyMan]

If I had to reapply AS every 3 months I definitely wouldn't use it. That sounds like a way too short of a shelf life. Too many chances to screw up the chip with constant removing and cleaning. I don't think it would be as popular as it is if it had such a short lifespan on the cpu, for lack of better words.

 

[SuperSix]

Every 3 months? Any source for this information?

I highly doubt that's the recommended replacement cycle, I've had good success using the same applications for years. Unless you see an appreciable rise in temps, don't worry about it. It's specifically designed not to dry up.

 

[MarkFahey]

Update:

I found this little tidbit of info on Arctic Silver's Install Section on their 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 the separation over time.

This is also very interesting info that I didn't know!

Important Reminder:
Due to the unique shape and sizes of the silver particles in Arctic Silver 3, it will take a minimum of 72 hours, and as many as 200 hours to achieve maximum particle to particle thermal conduction and for the heatsink to CPU interface to reach maximum conductivity. (This period will be longer in a system without a fan on the heatsink.) The CPU's temperature will drop as much as 2C to 5C over this "break-in" period.

On another note, has anyone tried the New Arctic Alumina Ceramic-based Polysynthetic Thermal Compoound?. Is it supposed to do a better job than AS3?

 

[CraigRT]

I have a tube of that stuff (original AS) from at least 2-3 years ago. I still use it. seems to work fine! spreads like it did when I first got it. so I can't see of there being a problem.

 

[SuperSix]

I emailed AS about this, here's the response.

From the horses mouth:

There are many factors that influence the longevity of a thermal compound.
Temperature, CPU die size, vibration, disturbing (bumping) the heat sink,
etc. While Arctic Silver products are engineered for long term use, the
final outcome depends on the individual system. The best thing to do is keep
an eye on the CPU temperature, especially if you have been working inside
the case and may have disturbed the heatsink. If you notice a substantial
rise in temperature relative to ambient, you may want to reapply the thermal
grease.

Fabian Barraza
Technical Support
Arctic Silver, Inc.

 

[mcveigh]

I havent heard about reapplying every3 months, I have an alpha 8042, no way do I want to keep removing my mobo every 3 months,

but I have noticed a slight rise in temps over the year.

 

[MarkFahey]

Thanks Supersix for that nice follow-up!

What is the correct procedure for re-applying AS3? I assume you would clean the CPU's integral heat spreader and the bottom of the heatsink with a high-purity isopropyl alcohol before re-applying? Some have said to use Dawn, Lux, Palmolive, Etc first and then always do a final cleaning with isopropyl alcohol to remove any residue from the cleaner.

Sound right?

I also agree that using common sense and watching your CPU temp's is the best way, and NOT just re-applying every three months.

 

[Justorq]

I read somewhere (I think it was a video on AMD's site), that it's better to use a thermal paste if you're not the type that changes CPU's or heatsinks often. The problem with the paste is that it can only be used once ...
As for the grease ... it's better for those who upgrade often ...

Justin