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Silver or ceramique?

I prefer Ceramique' over the silver crap for sktA but I have experienced the adhesive effect with my A64's IHS despite proper application and my best efforts, so for A64 and P4 I use CoolerMaster premium.
 
The Zalman or SilentBoost cool very well and are among the more quiet coolers for A64. The SilentBoost is super fast and simple to mount too if convience is an issue.
 
Originally posted by: deathkoba
How bad is the viscosity? Do you actually have to heat it in order to twist it off?
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Which one? The Ceramique I had trouble with even when attempting to remove it immediately after shutting down from extended SETI load and I simply was unable to get the cooler off without the CPU coming along :Q I want blame myself since not everyone has had the problem but I can't determine what I could be doing wrong since I've followed the directions exactly and have used Ceramique' many times. As to the CoolerMaster, it's like plumber's putty but they give you a credit card to use when applying it to the heatsink and it doesn't take long to get the hang of how to quickly and smotthly apply it. It's Shin-Etsu based and cools very well but there's a price premium is the downside. Honestly, despite being a silver compound critic, since there's a IHS I'd say it's the best price/performance compound for your A64.
 
I have AS5 on 2 of the 3 higher end systems in my house. However, I just got it (used to use as2) so I haven't taken the sinks off yet. Performance is good. Knocked 3C off at load on my personal system!
 
wazup... 3degrees off of what you were getting with AS2??
wow.

Is there any risk to the CPU core with the difficulty in removing? I heard AS5 is very think and dense like the ciramique, so is probably going to have similar removal issues...

Thanks for the info, I went with the AS5 as a result of a very scientific eenie meenie.
cheers!
 
As far as I know, silver is the second best electric and heat conductor out there next to Gold or Platinum. If Arctic Silver truly has silver in it, and its not just a marketing name, I would go with the silver over that ceramique stuff.
 
I should ad... if your hands are made of stone, you might want to use Ceramique since it's 100% non-conductive... if you get Arctic Silver on any electrical contacts, there's a chance it should short something... people also claim that Arctic Silver is slightly capacitive, meaning, it might charge up from either static, or some type of current leakage, then discharge that stored electricity into your CPU, damaging it, but I don't believe that's EVER been proven to be a concern.
 
I just changed Shin-etsu (coolermaster premium) with ceramique and they both cool pretty similar, BUT, ceramique is easier to aply.
 
Originally posted by: beatle
I use Ceramique on my tbred and p4. I've not had a problem removing heatsinks.
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That's why I've been buggin' about the adhesive effect I had with my A64, P4 IHS never caused the issue for me. However, I think I know my problem now. It's the bottom of my Venus 12 I believe, it has a slightly textured look the way they finished it and I think it's not being lapped completely flat and smooth is leaving space for a suction to be created which results in the glue like effect. I had a AeroFlow with my P4 so that might explain why it never stuck using Ceramique'.
 
Hmm, I would think that a perfectly lapped surface would actually provide more suction... but I'm no physics major. 😱
 
Originally posted by: beatle
Hmm, I would think that a perfectly lapped surface would actually provide more suction... but I'm no physics major. 😱
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You may be right, I don't know either 😕 I'm just looking for a reason why I get the adhesive effect with just this A64 and using a different cooler is all I can think of since the IHS is very similar to the P4 for finish. Maybe the surface area difference between them? 😱
 
Best thing you could do IMO is lap your HS and apply a microscopic layer on both substrates. I played with this a bit and temps went down 8C vs. just gobbing it on there like I used to do.

Get some 600, 1000 and 1600 sand paper from auto parts store and some rubbing alcohol. Use a mirror as flat base Start with 600 on up in random but flat patterns for a mirrorish finish on your HS. Use alcohol to reduce friction.

When your all done you should only place a cloudy layer just to fill microscopic vallys and you will run very cold with either. I still use AS3 cause I have a bunch.
 
Get AS5 for a slight edge over ceramique. BTW, I use Ceramique and have no problems with sticking. Make sure you are only using a less than "paper-thin" layer and that the HSF and chip are properly cleaned before applying it. Use cotton swabs (no lint and don't scratch) along with the highest concentration of rubbing alcohol you can find (I got 91% at walgreens.) The alcohol dissolves the old goop and cleans off whatever oils or sticky crud might be on the HSF/chip. It is safe because it doesn't conduct electricity, evaporates completely without residue, and doesn't deteriorate the chip like other cleaners.
 
Thanks for the info. I went with AS5, but I'm getting conflicting ideas about application. AS website recomends the blob and crunch method like ceramique.

But peeps here seem to be suggesting the "old" method. With AS2 I used a square razor blade to make a thin even layer, but it sounds like that would be difficult with the much more dense AS5...

I'm too lazy to lap my HS (SLK-900(A)) its always performed just fine, and I'm not going for a crazy overclock, just as much as I can get with modest voltage (1.75v or less)or at least 2.2GHz which ever comes first.

should I do a poll?
Blob method
spread method
 
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