Help! I bought spiffy new heatsink and got massive heat gain

[cowface3]

I purchased this heatsink
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16835233003

And after seating it on the cpu with arctic silver my temps are worse than when I had the stock cooler on it. It is strange to me because the heatsink has major gaps in between the heat pipes and the base so, I had to use much more arctic silver than I normally would. I am sure this is why the temps are worse.

What is the proper way to seat this heatsink?
Should I use arctic silver or the ceramic paste it came with?
And how much Arctic silver or ceramic paste should I use?

Also, this is the heatsink recommended in the sticky
http://forums.anandtech.com/me...=2194271&enterthread=y

 

[MustISO]

You really only need to use a very small amount of thermal paste. Are you sure it's seated properly on the CPU and the fan is spinning?

 

[Quiksilver]

Neither link works. fyi. Also sounds like you put WAY WAY WAY too much AS5.

 

[cowface3]

ya ill reseat it with a lot less and get back to everyone

 

[Markfw]

I am pretty sure its this one.

And yes, it sounds like you put way too much AS5 on it. And you probably didn;t remove the stock stuff that came on the HSF (it normally has some, right ?)

 

[cowface3]

To answer Mark's answer I did not use the stock paste it came with. Now, I reaplied the heatsink with arctic silver 5 using much less than before. I put a dab about the size of 2 pieces of rice in the center and seated the heatsink as best I could. It is seated properly but it took a lot of work and moved around a bit. The temps are still crappy. Is this heatsink a good one at all? This is exactly how I seated the one my opteron 165 came with and it was working better.

 

[taltamir]

The AS5 instructions say to put a dab the size of ONE grain of rice...

When he asked if he cleaned he meant if you put a thermal pate dissolver solution on the CPU to remove the thermal paste from the previous heatsink you had on it.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16835100010

PS. if you can "slide it" around while seated it is probably not seated correctly, it should be under significant pressure. (although with really large ones you can get enough leverage to move it anyways... and break it and the board, so be careful)

 

[Concillian]

Originally posted by: taltamir
When he asked if he cleaned he meant if you put a thermal pate dissolver solution on the CPU to remove the thermal paste from the previous heatsink you had on it.

"thermal paste dissolver solution"

Otherwise known as alcohol + towel + some rubbing.

 

[cowface3]

yeah I used alchohol and a paper towel

 

[cowface3]

Originally posted by: taltamir
The AS5 instructions say to put a dab the size of ONE grain of rice...

When he asked if he cleaned he meant if you put a thermal pate dissolver solution on the CPU to remove the thermal paste from the previous heatsink you had on it.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16835100010

PS. if you can "slide it" around while seated it is probably not seated correctly, it should be under significant pressure. (although with really large ones you can get enough leverage to move it anyways... and break it and the board, so be careful)

even if I put 2 instead of one it shouldn't be performing worse than my stock cooler.

Does anyone have this specific cooler and know the right way to seat it with arctic silver 5?

 

[Dadofamunky]

Sounds like the mounting could be the problem. I've had problems recently myself, but not with that particular heatsink. I can't imagine yours would have any issues at all. Do you have a fan? I'd consider a fan controller to go with it. One of those made a big difference for me.

Is this on the system in your sig? Or a new one?

 

[cowface3]

Originally posted by: Dadofamunky
Sounds like the mounting could be the problem. I've had problems recently myself, but not with that particular heatsink. I can't imagine yours would have any issues at all. Do you have a fan? I'd consider a fan controller to go with it. One of those made a big difference for me.

there is a massive 120 x 38mm fan right next to it working full speed, so the fan is not the question.

 

[Dadofamunky]

Originally posted by: cowface3

Originally posted by: Dadofamunky
Sounds like the mounting could be the problem. I've had problems recently myself, but not with that particular heatsink. I can't imagine yours would have any issues at all. Do you have a fan? I'd consider a fan controller to go with it. One of those made a big difference for me.

there is a massive 120 x 38mm fan right next to it working full speed, so the fan is not the question.

Yeah, I thought that might be the case. Is this the Opteron?

If it's a new one, the chip might be being driven too hard. But I doubt it.

 

[cowface3]

no its 2 years old and I've been using the stock heatsink with it (because it's actually not bad). I haven't done anything to the settings since I changed heatsinks. It is running at stock settings.

 

[mrSHEiK124]

That's odd, my friend just added that same cooler (Xigmatek HDT-S1283) to his Athlon FX 55 and saw temp decreases on his ASUS A8N-E. It sounds like a mounting issue to me, you sure the V-shaped bracket is completely in the grooves on the base of the heatsink?

 

[cowface3]

Ya, im sure but, it did move around and I might have added too much paste again. It was really a pain in the ass to put this heatsink on because they give you a piece of crap little metal mounting bracket that flails all over the place when u try to clap it down. I guess Ill try to remount it tomorrow with less paste and see what happens.

Also, any mounting tips?

 

[ultra laser]

Remember to use just a thin layer of thermal grease. Its purpose is to fill the microscopic gaps between the two pieces of metal. Any more than is necessary will impede optimal thermal transfer. Also, make sure the you clean the processor beforehand - 70% or higher isopropyl alcohol.

As for mounting, yes the clip system does appear to be flaky. When installing such heatsinks in the past, I've always found it helpful to have someone else hold it in place, to provide two free hands to finesse the clip down.

 

[mrSHEiK124]

I'd like to add I was there holding the V-clip into the grooves on the heatsink while he latched it in. He did just mount it front to back (as opposed to up/down) using some weird convoluted technique where he screwed two of the black Socket 939 brackets TOGETHER and used the pressure in between to hold the clip down, I'll see if I can get him to post a write up with pictures; his temperatures DID drop, even though I swore left and right there wouldn't be enough force holding the heatsink down.

 

[faxon]

the reason you are having issues is because HDT coolers have issues with cracks between the aluminium mounting brackets and the copper pipes. the only way to fill these pipes besides modifying the heatsink (somethink which i will be undertaking as soon as i get a blowtorch) is to use the tried and true credit card/razorblade spreading technique. basically what you do is you take the paste you use (i use AS5) and spread it on the heatsink with the spreading tool of choice so you get the cracks filled up. once this is done simply spread on just enough extra to mount it onto the CPU (i get mine down to about half a millimeter for an unlapped CPU), and then mount it and check what your temps are under load. i have used this method half a dozen times now between my Vendetta2 and my S-1283, which share the same mounting bracket/pipe layout, and all though it didnt quite work as great the first time, with some perfection of my process i have managed to get my A64 4000+ (under Ven2) down to 34c load, and my e5200 OC 3.3GHz (12.5x264 @ 1.408vcore bios) to 56c load under S-1283, both with stock fans and mounting brackets. try this method, if it doesnt work, you can always try lapping your cooler down to a good mirror finish, as it could be an uneven mounting bracket not seating the pipes onto the chip properly. lapping a cooler is quite easy, and you can learn more about it here: http://forums.anandtech.com/me...=2235191&enterthread=y

 

[Old Hippie]

Here's a nice guide for HDT coolers....with pics.

 

[Martimus]

I wrote a guide about a year ago, after I had heat problems for the first time (before I would just put the heatsink on any which way, and never really had a problem, but multi-core processors get much hotter than single core) You can read it here if you would like.

 

[jonniefive79]

I have the 92mm version of that Heatsink, it works very well. Due to the exposed heatpipe design I applied the AS5 to the chip only. I always use a paintbrush to apply thermal compounds. The brushes used for painting models work well. My 5400+ BE is OCed to 3333MHz with 1.41 vCore and it stays very close to 42 degrees under full load (Everest Ultimate ed.) varies a little with the ambient room temps. If you had better temps before it is likely an issue with too much thermal compound or it is possible that the heatpipes aren't flat...

Good Luck

 

[Rhoxed]

2 very small lines in the silver part between the heat-pipes, to be known as the only way the paste will spread right on heatpipe direct coolers

 

[cowface3]

Yeah, I didn't understand how to deal with those big gaps. I'll try your methods and get back to everyone.

 

[nyker96]

I have heard that for HDTs you have to seat the CPU certain orientation. Personally always had it facing the back but who knows maybe a reorientation in your case can help. Also from experience you need abour twice as much TIMs for it than non-DHTs.