Processor Question

[BlamoHammer]

Yes I realize that this my not be the 100% correct forum to ask this in but no one else is getting traffic like OT at this time of day so I ask it here. What is your preference for CPU cooling? Do you prefer a thermal compound like Arctic Silver? Or a thermal pad?

 

[minendo]

AS3. Thermal pads get removed immediately.

 

[ROTC1983]

Yeah, Thermal Pads suck...

 

[Anubis]

Thermal grease

AS2 or AS3

 

[yoda291]

arctic alumina on someone else's machine, as3 on my own.

it sure as hell beats prayer to the gods of x86 and offering a 486 as a burnt offering everytime I built a rig.

 

[dejitaru]

Pads? I go with Tampax. 😛

Grease.

 

[amnesiac]

Pads whenever I build a machine with a retail chip that will never be overclocked.

Never had one fail that way.

I only use AS3 when using an aftermarket HS and overclocking the CPU.

 

[jaeger66]

Pad. I don't overclock, so who the hell cares if the CPU is 4 degrees hotter? AS just makes a mess.

 

[DaveSimmons]

Originally posted by: ROTC1983
Yeah, Thermal Pads suck...

Only if you're overclocking. For intel CPUs the retail HSF pads work very well and are one less thing to go wrong on a bad day.

 

[saltedeggman]

who'd use thermal pad? 😕

 

[ElFenix]

actually i don't think AS is technically grease

 

[Chaotic42]

I have some AS3 that I bought to use on heatsinks that don't have a pad, but since I don't overclock, the thermal pad is fine.

 

[ElFenix]

is there a significant difference between the performance of AS2, AS3, and AA?

 

[Chaotic42]

Originally posted by: ElFenix
is there a significant difference between the performance of AS2, AS3, and AA?

I don't know where I found the link at, but I was reading a review of all of the pastes the other day. AS3 was better than AS2 and AA, but there was some weird paste (I've never heard of the name) that blew them all away. I'll try to find it.

 

[Mday]

i find that thermal pads are often applied too thick, that is, it's too much. that's the only problem. the nature of the pad allows it to be better. that is, the heat melts the pad, and the fluid conforms to the processor core or contact region. the performance difference is in the medium used in both compounds to conduct heat though. i find that thermal pads have poor quality thermal properties, relative to as3.