paste vs grease vs epoxy

[TheInvincibleMustard]

Here's the situation -- I'm building a new computer this summer (Barton 2800+, A7N8X Deluxe, the works), and I don't plan on upgrading the CPU very much (if at all), and neither will I be changing the motherboard around. As I've heard that the thermal paste and grease both wear out over time, I was looking at using thermal epoxy instead.

My question is this -- for a computer that will be moved around fairly regularly (ie, every couple of months, maybe more often), and more than likely won't be upgraded in the CPU/mobo department -- which would be a better solution for me? How does the thermal epoxy hold up in comparison to thermal grease (something like Arctic Silver III or something)? If I DO need to switch out the CPU and/or mobo, is the thermal epoxy hard to remove?

Thanks in advance!

 

[PliotronX]

I would avoid epoxy because it would be very difficult to remove, especially the part where you must raise the ZIF lever. It would be much more effective, effort-wise, to reapply grease every so often. If your heatsink uses the ZIF socket feet rather than the mounting holes and the heatsink is heavy, you could potentially rip the socket right off of the board in transit, so you will need the ability to remove the heatsink. If you use a good TIM, such as Arctic Silver, Arctic Ceramique (current fav), or Cooler Master Premium, you should not have to worry about the TIM drying out for as long as you could possibly run it IMO.

 

[beatle]

Definitely stay away from the epoxy. You may eventually want to sell the chip and/or heatsink seperately. In addition, getting a thin enough layer of epoxy between the chip and heatsink may prove to be difficult, and if you don't get it on in time...

I've always used grease in my systems and the only thing that eventually drove temperatures up was dust, not the grease "wearing out."

 

[Zepper]

I agree. The only time to glue on a HS is if the ears have broken off your CPU socket or to mount a HS on a chip that doesn't have any other type of fastening for one.
.bh.

 

[TheInvincibleMustard]

Thanks for the responses! I'll probably be going with the Arctic Ceramique or Silver III.

For reference sake, I'm going to be using the MCX462+ heatsink with the A7N8X mobo, specifically because it's got the through-the-motherboard connection, and not just the clips on the socket.