Thermal grease?? Does Artic Silver really make that big a diff??

[R6Veteran]

I have an Alpha HS and YSTech 27cfm fan and can't seem to keep my Duron700@900 under 40 degrees. I am using the thermal grease that came with the alpha. I keep hearing about this "Artic Silver" stuff. Does it really make that much difference? Will it help me to go higher than 900? Where exactly do I put it? Just on the core or all over the bottom of the HS as well?

 

[moolman]

No, it won't make that much difference, I got it for the heck of it but save your money and buy a good heatsink, the alpha paste is pretty good too. Maybe you'll drop the temp 1C with artic compared to alpha paste. Don't get fooled by the hype like me. Save your cash!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Or send me $5 I'll give you enough artic for 10 applications in a ziploc. They give you about 100 times what you need for the $15.

Alex

 

[Klosters]

Some people report absolutely no difference in CPU temperature when they replaced the proverbial Radio Shack paste with Arctic Silver. Some folks report a dramatic difference. Who's right? All of them, of course!

The important point about thermal paste is: less IS more. Ideally, a uniform layer 1/1000th of an inch thick should cover the top of the CPU. I'd pay a goodly chunk of change for a miracle thing-a-ma-bob that attained this perfect one one thousandth of an inch thick layer of glop on the top of my CPU's! 1/1000th of an inch is half the thickness of a human hair, if I remember right. In other words- thin.

Durons are the most difficult CPU in the world to cool. They run HOT, and their surface area that a HSF can mate with is tiny.
I seriously suggest a better fan for your Alpha. I like YSTech's, but I suggest a 38 cfm Delta "Black label." Your CPU will thank you, even if your ears don't.

 

[BLoop]

I haven't used it, but from what I've read here in the forum, you're looking at about a 1-2 degree drop. You want to put as thin a layer as possible on the HS where the core makes contact. It's only purpose is to efficiently transfer the heat from the CPU to the HS through its thermal conductivity and the fact that it fills all the little spaces between the two.

Less is best.

 

[DaddyG]

I'm a big supporter of PCTC but well applied Arctic Silver will give you excellent results. The extremely thin application is only used if your hsf is very smooth and flat. Unless you have lapped it yourself it won't be. Apply AS a little thicker, using the Razor blade or Credit Card method and you'll get results. Cheaper greases will either squeeze out, run out, or dry out under the high hsf temps and pressures.

 

[fjeld1]

Here are some benchmarks,its from a Norwegian web site so i`ll just post the numbers.
http://www.microplex.no/produkter/kjolere/tilbehor/astk/index.shtml

ASTK - Arctic Silver termisk kitt

Arctic Silver Frozen-Silicon Alpha Global Cool Melcor Senfu CSV Plowstar Conrad (Wacker)
16,0°C 18,0°C 18,5°C 19,0°C 19,5°C 19,5°C 20,0°C 20,0°C 22,5°C

Arctic Silver Premium Silver Thermal Compund CircuitWorks Silver Conductive Grease Outlaw's Copper Thermal Paste M.G. Chemicals Silicone Heat Transfer Compound Outlaw?s Aluminum Thermal Paste Radio Shack Heat Sink Compound Thermalcote Thermal Joint Compound 3M Thermally-Conductive Adhesive Transfer Tape
2,1°C 5,3°C 7,4°C 8,3°C 8,5°C 8,9°C 9,0°C 10,6°C

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[snoogans]

I have a friend who just got a T-Bird 800 but opted to not use any thermal paste.

His machine won't even POST...dunno if it's due to the chip but he's tried 2 boards and neither of them work.

We took the Alpha off the chip and on the bottom of the Alpha, you could almost read the die (it was a bit fuzzy). I say the chip is fried unless someone else knows what's up.

If it was due to not using thermal paste...let that be a lesson to you

 

[Assimilator1]

Didn't he even have the thermal pad!?:Q

 

[vvvvvv]

is the radioshack archer thermal compund good?

 

[MagnumCWN]

WOW!! Thanks for all the replies !!! I feel much better now.

 

[Mikewarrior2]

Apply to the core of the cpu, in an even layer... Thickness depends on type of grease, but generally a pretty darn thin layer.


Mike

 

[tigger80]

he definitely fried that sucker. Not very smart, should have done his research especially when buying expensive hardware like a cpu. Putting on the heatsink of a cpu is one of the most important part in building the socket A cpus.

 

[KouklatheCat]

I got the Artic Silver because a friend who has never been wrong recommended it, and I kno it is top grade stuff. If it costs more and only drops temp 1 degree I kno it is working. It means for me I can push my CPU one more degree.

 

[Nick Stone]

I posted once before that I thought that a good HS/fan made 75% of the difference. And that Artic Silver or Circuit Works Silver Thermal coumpound makes 25% of benefit. I'll stick with that until someone shows different results.
I'll also say that a good HS/fan and Thermal compound will get you about 25 to 50 MHZ more in overclocking a CII compared to retail or generic.

 

[Poof]

I can't speak for what AS would do for a Duron or Thunderbird (since they run hotter anyway) but the AS did wonders for my P3-600e. Probably because the GlobalWin HS/F I had didn't have a very good thermal pad (I heard AMD recommends the pads rather than pastes for their chips), which was creased and pitted. Then when I removed the pad and cleaned the surface of the HS, I found that the HS surface was visibly &quot;ridged&quot; along the entire length, which would leave obvious air gaps had I placed it back on the CPU with nothing.

My idle temps subsequently dropped like 10C after applying AS (from 41C to 31C). This is just my case. As you may have obviously noted from other posts on this subject, your mileage will vary.

As DaddyG has also noted, unless the 2 surfaces are lapped and mirror smooth, then some sort of interface (at variable thickness depending on the smoothness) needs to be there for maximum heat transfer...

 

[Fardringle]

One of my systems is a K6-2 300@350 (slow piece of junk, but it does what it needs to..) and it was built before I knew about thermal grease. My average temps were about 45 degrees at idle and close to 60 degrees under load. I put some generic silicon grease ($1 for enough for about 10 CPUs) on the chip and now my idle temp is often exactly the same as the system temp at 32 degrees, and my temp under heavy load is usually 41, and never gets over 43..

Different people may have different results, but for me, I don't see how Arctic Silver could do any better...

 

[Raincity]

It didnt do jack for me, a couple of degrees difference than the Ratshack paste. The worst 15$ I ever spent, well almost.

Rain

 

[Assimilator1]

Rain

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