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Thermal pad or Thermal paste?

W

w00t

Diamond Member
the bottom video

after watching this i didnt know what to think so i just made a thread

which one should you use if ur just gonan maybe put it on once and maybe another time in the future?
 
Paste usually performs better than a pad. I'd just use paste, as long as you know how to apply it properly (mechBgon has a video in his guide).

Retail A64s come with pre-applied paste on the HSF, which is partly why they're pretty good for overclocking.
 
Intel's "thermal pad" may be better than anything else, especially for the LGA socketted processors.
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I personally use Ceramique because I bought a big tube of it. It doesn't glue the procesor and heatsink together. It doesn't dry out in use. Silicon thermal paste will dry out and other types will glue your processor. At least according some reports.

If you want to remove a new or used thermal pad from a heatsink, it dissolves instantly with a squirt of WD40. Do this after the processor is seperated from the heatsink.

Whatever you use, the proper seating of the heatsink on the chip die is vastly more important. Refer to the article above. People attempting to replace the original Intel heat dissipation solution are having problems more than usual. 😉
 
Hah, I bought a CPU from the FS/FT that looked like that last pic.

If you're sure you're only going to put it on once AND you won't be overclocking, I'd use the pad. Ceramique, for example, is very easy to clean, is non-conductive, and when properly applied, will cool better.
 
Using WD40 or any other oil to dissolve pad is a no-no. The oil will get into the pores of the heat sink, etc. and will be very hard to remove entirely. Some doof that did a comparo test of TIMs really got reamed for all his tests came out within 1 degree C - what did he use to clean the HS and CPU die between tests? WD-40. So he was actually testing the performance of WD-40 as a TIM rather than the TIMs themselves. Use acetone, absolute alcohol (90% or greater) or lighter fluid (naphtha) for removing pads, etc. followed by an alcohol rinse and dry with lint free material (I use coffee filters per a tip here - are cheap and work fine).
.bh.
 
AS5, no doubt.

Alot of the newer cpu's with the heatspreader over the core (P4 and A64), will "stick" to the HSF. However, this is not due to the paste being adhesive, but because the larger flat surface of the heatspreader creates a vacuum with the paste between the cpu and HSF. To remove the HSF, simply loosen the retention mechanism and give the HSF a very slight twist. This will break the vaccum and allow the HSF to be removed easily. Don't just pull on the HSF, since you can potentially pull the cpu right out of the socket.

Edit: Zepper's comments about WD40 seconded. WD40 just seems like it would smell bad, leave your proc greasy, plus, it's flamable. I personally use isopropyl alcohol. Cleans up Arctic Silver really well, and leaves the proc squeaky clean, dry, and oil free.
 
Originally posted by: Insomniak
Arctic Silver is an excellent thermal paste, and no, it is not adhesive.
Click to expand...

That depends on what you call adhesive...

AS5 has a bad habit of ripping CPU's out of the socket, even when it still locked down.

I did this myself, but didn't harm anything. If you're going to remove a HSF with AS5 on it, it's recommended you do it while the HSF is still warm. Then it's still somewhat pliable.

 
AS5 is a phase change material, and as such will cause adhesion on processores with the large heat spreader on top. AMD actually suggests using a thermal grease for A64's due to this problem. They still recommend phase change material for their socket A line however.
 
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