GPU Thermal Epoxy Attachment Advice Needed

[tazdevl]

Hey all... have a Crystal Orb I want to smack on my 8500. Question... what's the best way to apply the thermal epoxy? I'm cutting it with some HS compound so I can pull it off if I need to in the future.

Should I use normal heatsink compound on the silver part of the GPU and epoxy on the black part? Or just use the cut epoxy all over the GPU?

Thanks

 

[tazdevl]

bump

 

[BrunoPuntzJones]

you should probably use thermal paste, not epoxy...

 

[tazdevl]

Can't.... 8500 doesn't have mounting holes for the orb. Fan is situated upside down and thermal tape doesn't transfer heat as well as epoxy. So I have one option. The question remains, what's the best way to apply it?

 

[codehack2]

I used Artic Silver Epoxy cut with Acrtic Silver compound over all of the gpu.. if you cut it in the right ratio, you can get a good solid bond, and still be able to break it free in the future. I found my ratio through trial & error, so unfortunately, I don't have an exact number for you. Best advice is to grab an old Heatsink and junk sound/network/video card to test on.. $300 mistakes are no fun

Good Luck,
CH2

 

[chizow]

taz,

I wouldn't cut the AS2/thermal compound with the epoxy unless its AS2 epoxy.....I'm not sure if regular resin epoxy is a very good thermal conductor, but I don't think it is. Any mixture in there will cut down on the effectiveness of the thermal compound, assuming it even mixes well with it. Instead, I would get AS2 epoxy or another brand epoxy that is meant for thermal conductivity. If you decide not to go that route, I would apply the AS2 per usual like with a CPU core, and gently apply epoxy to the edges where the heatsink and core meet. If it dries thoroughly, that should be plenty enough to hold it in place as those heatsinks are not heavy at all and if you apply pressure while it dries, it will ensure solid contact.

Chiz

 

[tazdevl]

Hey chiz, reason why you cut the thermal epoxy, which is nearly as good as a conductor as HS compound is to decrease the bonding strenght. If @ some point, you want to take ramsinks or change out the GPU cooler, it's pretty much impossible if you don't cut it. Adding HS compound decreases the bonding strength a bit, enhances the thermal properties, and lengthens the curing time (which is the only real downside).

The 8500 doesn't have mounting holes in the board, so the Crystal Orb has to be bonded.

 

[chizow]

oh heheh, sorry just realized you had *thermal* epoxy in your original thread, for some reason I was thinking resin/standard epoxy. Yah I've seen some pics of damaged chips b/c they tried yanking off the heatsinks after using full strength epoxy. I think the method described on AS2's site says to mix it in equal portions on a clean slate, then to apply the mixture together to the heatsink/gpu.

Chiz

 

[tazdevl]

chiz you get my PM?