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Is Arctic Silver really worth it?
- Thread starter Beau
- Start date
YES!
You definately need some kind of thermal paste (people usually only use thermal epoxy for ramsinks) -- 1/128'th of an inch makes a huge difference if you don't use any grease at all. Think of it as holding your hands near an open flame (heat conductivity through air) versus holding a metal spoon touching an open flame (heat conductivity through metal).
Arctic Silver isn't terribly expensive. It's only a few degrees lower, but for what amounts to pennies per CPU it's terribly worth it. Anyone who overclocks knows that 2 degrees C can make a huge (relatively) difference. However, if you've got a heatsink with a thermal pad already attached, or the heatsink you purchased includes a bit of silicon thermal compound, then your CPU probably won't burn out using those materials.
Review?
--Ed
You definately need some kind of thermal paste (people usually only use thermal epoxy for ramsinks) -- 1/128'th of an inch makes a huge difference if you don't use any grease at all. Think of it as holding your hands near an open flame (heat conductivity through air) versus holding a metal spoon touching an open flame (heat conductivity through metal).
Arctic Silver isn't terribly expensive. It's only a few degrees lower, but for what amounts to pennies per CPU it's terribly worth it. Anyone who overclocks knows that 2 degrees C can make a huge (relatively) difference. However, if you've got a heatsink with a thermal pad already attached, or the heatsink you purchased includes a bit of silicon thermal compound, then your CPU probably won't burn out using those materials.
Review?
--Ed
To me it's worth it
A) Because it works. It's a known product.
Though personally I don't have a problem with silicone based greases either if they're what's in your toolbox.
B) Because it's not too expensive. Easier to find now, around $5 some places, get a lot of applications out of that tube. Probably last most people a lifetime if they don't use it for party tricks.
--Mc
A) Because it works. It's a known product.
Though personally I don't have a problem with silicone based greases either if they're what's in your toolbox.
B) Because it's not too expensive. Easier to find now, around $5 some places, get a lot of applications out of that tube. Probably last most people a lifetime if they don't use it for party tricks.
--Mc
The whole purpose of an interface material is to fill microscopic gaps, therefore eliminating any air pockets between the CPU and heatsink - improving thermal conductivity.
Tape doesn't acheive this as well as it could - I think not so much that it doesn't fill the gaps, but that the glue itself is not overly conductive, and that the tape is usually thicker than a layer of silicon compound would be.
I know that from my experience, scraping the thermal tape off my GlobalWin WBK68 and applying the 'standard' white thermal gunk changed the difference between ambient and CPU from about 6 degrees to about 2.
No doubt on CPUs with more thermal output, this figure would increase exponentially...
Go the gunk 😉
Tape doesn't acheive this as well as it could - I think not so much that it doesn't fill the gaps, but that the glue itself is not overly conductive, and that the tape is usually thicker than a layer of silicon compound would be.
I know that from my experience, scraping the thermal tape off my GlobalWin WBK68 and applying the 'standard' white thermal gunk changed the difference between ambient and CPU from about 6 degrees to about 2.
No doubt on CPUs with more thermal output, this figure would increase exponentially...
Go the gunk 😉
Well the pad is ok for non-overclocked use. It will run warm, but should be within spec enough to stay stable.
With that said, who on this forum wants to run things at just ok levels. I personally want to overclock my chip as far as I can and keep it cool as I can so it lasts longer.
I ran a thermal compound test with Radio Shack compound, Nanotherm, and several different Arctic Silver compounds. The Arctic Silver won in both temperatures and increased overclockability. The Radio Shack goop was so bad, I had to lower my overclock just to keep it running and I got scared and took it off after only 6 hours running and fully 1/2 of the core was dry (no active compound left in those areas). The right thermal compound is necessary for long-term use. I recommend Arctic Silver based on many months of running without needing to change thermal compounds and when I do change it, it is still in good shape. Besides working the best.
With that said, who on this forum wants to run things at just ok levels. I personally want to overclock my chip as far as I can and keep it cool as I can so it lasts longer.
I ran a thermal compound test with Radio Shack compound, Nanotherm, and several different Arctic Silver compounds. The Arctic Silver won in both temperatures and increased overclockability. The Radio Shack goop was so bad, I had to lower my overclock just to keep it running and I got scared and took it off after only 6 hours running and fully 1/2 of the core was dry (no active compound left in those areas). The right thermal compound is necessary for long-term use. I recommend Arctic Silver based on many months of running without needing to change thermal compounds and when I do change it, it is still in good shape. Besides working the best.
WarCon, exactly how did you test, and how did you make sure that application of compound was the same in each case? Thickness may matter more than anything else.
Beau6183, superglue may not flex enough for the different rates of expansion between the heatsink and chip package. It's better to clean the surfaces completely and use silicone rubber sealant to hold the heatsinks on, as is done in some commercial equipment. Silicone rubber is a good glue and thermal conductor and can withstand over 400F.
Beau6183, superglue may not flex enough for the different rates of expansion between the heatsink and chip package. It's better to clean the surfaces completely and use silicone rubber sealant to hold the heatsinks on, as is done in some commercial equipment. Silicone rubber is a good glue and thermal conductor and can withstand over 400F.
The application layers were eyeballed, but I used a nice little razor that fits the core perfectly. I also ran a thick application versus thin application test. Mostly didn't seem to matter whether it was thick or thin.
Anyway, a thick application was one that I couldn't see through at all. A thin application looked like a haze on the core. I since have adopted a slightly thicker than the thin application as what works best for me and my watercooler.
Nanotherm's thick application was identical to its thin. Because it all squished out anyway. Radio Shack only got the thick test application, because of its beginning consistency. It was already mostly liquid, so I figured more was safer since I had already seen with Nanotherm (slightly thicker consistency than Radio Shack) that most was going to squish out anyway. I run a watercooler with a lexan holddown, which probably applies much more pressure than the average clip. Arctic Silver is the only one that I could misapply and get too much on one end and it would matter. The only one I tested with that kind of viscousness. Try rubbing a very thin layer on your heatsink sometime with a plastic bag and you will feel the sticky texture.
P.S. If I get my tube of the new and improved Nanotherm, then I may put the test results up corrected for ambient. I used two CompuNurse probs, one on the intake to my radiator (to measure ambient) and one side core mounted to give consistency to the socket mounted one. I also measure each thermal compound by overall stability. A prototype of AS was the overall winner, it allowed me to reach a stable speed I never had seen before on my rig, so I figured it was the winner even if it only showed a small difference in the thermistor. External thermistor can only provide compressed temperatures that can be very very wrong and should only be used as a comparison value for your system.
Anyway, a thick application was one that I couldn't see through at all. A thin application looked like a haze on the core. I since have adopted a slightly thicker than the thin application as what works best for me and my watercooler.
Nanotherm's thick application was identical to its thin. Because it all squished out anyway. Radio Shack only got the thick test application, because of its beginning consistency. It was already mostly liquid, so I figured more was safer since I had already seen with Nanotherm (slightly thicker consistency than Radio Shack) that most was going to squish out anyway. I run a watercooler with a lexan holddown, which probably applies much more pressure than the average clip. Arctic Silver is the only one that I could misapply and get too much on one end and it would matter. The only one I tested with that kind of viscousness. Try rubbing a very thin layer on your heatsink sometime with a plastic bag and you will feel the sticky texture.
P.S. If I get my tube of the new and improved Nanotherm, then I may put the test results up corrected for ambient. I used two CompuNurse probs, one on the intake to my radiator (to measure ambient) and one side core mounted to give consistency to the socket mounted one. I also measure each thermal compound by overall stability. A prototype of AS was the overall winner, it allowed me to reach a stable speed I never had seen before on my rig, so I figured it was the winner even if it only showed a small difference in the thermistor. External thermistor can only provide compressed temperatures that can be very very wrong and should only be used as a comparison value for your system.
<< I've used AS and gotten immediate awesome results, >>
A 20 Celcius drop is the minimum for "awesome."
A good test would apply the same volume of paste each time and press it down to the same thickness. Some thick pastes need a lot more pressure to squeeze thin, and I suspect that this affects test results, maybe including HardOCP's poor showing for Nanotherm.
The main reason I won't buy Arctic Silver is because the tube of Radio Shack paste I bought a few decades ago isn't empty yet.
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