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To paste or not to paste?

H

herbage11

Senior member
Hello all. Back for some more information. I am getting a new system soon and looking to get the P4 1.6A. I want to overclock it (not a whole lot, but some) and am curious if I should use Arctic Silver 3 paste on it or not? I know it comes with some stuff but is it enough for overclocking? Think I should use just the AS3 and not the other, both, or what? And also does it void the warranty to have paste other then the manufacturers on there or not? Thanks so much for the advice. 🙂
 
No, it won't void your warrenty. And if you're not overclocking much I'd just use the generic stuff. DO NOT mix the two. Personally, I'd go for the AS3, but if you don't want much out of it then it's a waste of a few bucks.
 
OK cool thanks Swanny. I found some AS3 real cheap and it is only a minitube for 1 processor. I think I'll get that and go that route.
 
I didn't know AS3 came in single use packages...Where did you find that and how much? 🙂

I've only seen the 3 and 6(?) gram syringes...The 3G one was only $6.50 or so and is nice to have extra around for other applications (or if you want to re-apply).

Gaidin
 
Arctic Silver products don't come in minitubes. Beware, I saw some "minitubes" of Stars 700 at the last computer show being sold as Arctic Silver II.
 


<< No, it won't void your warrenty. And if you're not overclocking much I'd just use the generic stuff. >>



excuse my ignorance, but here goes... are you supposed to scrape off the thermal pad before putting on the arctic silver? wouldn't that void your warranty by altering the HSF? does Intel want to see the heatsink/fan when you try to RMA the processor?
 
Thanks for the link. It's probably Arctic Silver 3. The same fellow did this with Arctic Silver II. What I would be concerned with is contamination and you definitely don't want to use a tooth pick to apply it. In the long run, it would be cheaper just to get a full tube of Arctic Silver 3. This way you have some on hand incase you need to reinstall your HS or setup another computer.
 
True. Let me know for sure if it is real tough. I will just buy 2 at that price and save 1. Dont plan on building another for quite awhile and that gives me one back up. I am going to follow the instructions on installing the paste on previous post. Using a bag on finger etc. Anyone else have any thoughts on that auction? Looks good from feedback....thanks all...especially MrThompson
 
Arctic Silver has been great for me , The little tube has done about 10 cpu's & I dont think its half gone🙂
I wonder if It goes bad? lol

O ya, when I had my digidoc hooked up I saw about a 1 degree difference between generic & the AC.
 
replacing the the thermal pad does not void your warranty. afterall, the pad is only good for one use, so even if you used the thermal pad the first time you would have to replace it if you ever took the heatsink off. besides, in my experience, all intel (or any other chip manufacturer) cares about is the cpu itself. having you send the heatsink along with a cpu you are rma'ing is just extra hassle for you and the manufacturer (not that they would care anyway, since thermal pads have to be replaced after the first use).

in regards to the thermal pad on heatsinks, the easiest way to get rid of the thermal pad is to soak the thermal material with lighter fluid and then wait a couple minutes. the thermal material should then be easy to scrape off with a credit card (actually, you could probably just wipe it off with a paper towel. lighter fluid does a great job dissolving all kinds of adhesives, including the thermal interface materials). the stock intel P4 heatsinks have a 3 part thermal pad. with these you basically do the same thing. soak the top layer of the pad with lighter fluid. scrape off the thermal material. under that first layer, there is a piece of silvery foil which should peel right off. under that is another layer of thermal material which you just soak in lighter fluid and scrape off. after this, i usually scrub the bottom of the heatsink with dish soap and water to remove any residue (lighter fluid is pretty volatile and evaporates readily, but i'm sure the the stuff you buy in a big can at a grocery store isn't pure, so i think it is a good idea to scrub the heatsink). after you have the pad off, apply your heatsink compound of choice to the processor (and if you are using arctic silver apply some to the contact area on the bottom of the heatsink and then wipe clean with a paper towel) and you are in action.

hope that helps.

--jacob
 
I removed the pad from the retail heatsink ( took so long to make it clean). I added Artic silver (the original one) and it is running nice and cool. 🙂

Do it!
 
Hey Herbage11, when you get that "Artic Silver 3" you could try a little test if you have the time. If you have any silicon compound or other silver compound, ex. OCZ Quicksilver, you could apply each one and see which has a lower temperature. This might give you an idea as to whether it truly is AS3 or not. If you do try this, post the results. Good luck.
 
It's not too tough to just wipe the black pad off with a clean rag. Worked fine for me and only took a minute! Running my P4 1.8A @ 2.25 right now (runs @ 2.4 but 2.25 is more stable right now).

 
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