which arctic compound to use?

[Wigwam]

i know that AS3 is supposed to give great results but seems to me it is very fiddly to apply, and if it isnt done correctly can cause overheating problems.
I am also slightly mindful of the post n the CPU/OC forum about invalidating warranty if using it with athlons.
I then see that there is also Arctic Silver Ceramique and Arctic Alumina compound which is supposed to come off very easily [wipe off, the blurb says]

so which is the best one to use for an xp2100+ [which will most likely be O/C in future: and yes i know that will invalidate the warranty anyway!]
What use are the other compounds for then?

Advice greatly appreciated so i know which one to get b4 my build this coming weekend

 

[beatle]

AS3. Any compound will not function as well as it should if improperly applied, not just AS3. Cleanup is really a non-issue for me, as I don't change heatsinks very often.

 

[techfuzz]

AS3 is time tested to be the best available and it isn't all that hard to apply. Just follow the instructions! The Ceramique is new and I haven't seen any reviews on it yet, but I suspect it is as good or better than AS3.

techfuzz

 

[whovous]

i just replaced a stock P4 HSF with a Zalman 7000 and wrote to Arctic Silver for advice before doing so. They suggested using isopropyl alcohol and a lint free cloth to remove old AS3 before installing the new. I did that to my CPU and it came off quite easily.

Sure is easy to get AS3 on your fingertips though.

 

[techfuzz]

Originally posted by: whovous
Sure is easy to get AS3 on your fingertips though.

It's a pain in the a$$ to get off clothing!

techfuzz

 

[Blooz1]

I used "Ceramique" on the NB of my 8RDA+ after lapping the sink. It's thicker and much stickier than AS3! Both compounds clean up well with isopropyl alcohol, though. The "Ceramique" is easier to get off your hands......

Performance wise, it seems just as good as AS3. It took about 48 hours to settle in, and since then my NB temps have stayed under 30C, even after extended Prime95 and Memtest86 runs!

Although I used AS3 on the CPU on this board, I wouldn't hesitate to use the "Ceramique" for a CPU in the future.

 

[boyRacer]

Maybe the ceramique is similar to the shin etsu stuff now.

 

[Wigwam]

i emailed arctic silver and asked them for their advice about the differences and which to use...they said that they are very similar...infact here is the reply in full:

"Our new Ceramique compound and Arctic Silver 3 are very close in
performance.
Which one is better in a particular application will depend on the
surface
finishes, the gap area, the minimum possible bond line thickness, and
the
pressure on the compound.

The difference in any case will be slight."

i guess i am still torn in deciding which i should use on my xp2100+ on the a7n8x - maybe it will just come down to availability or maybe i would just stick to the old tried and trusted AS3?!

 

[techfuzz]

Originally posted by: Wigwam
i guess i am still torn in deciding which i should use on my xp2100+ on the a7n8x - maybe it will just come down to availability or maybe i would just stick to the old tried and trusted AS3?!

Either will work just fine, you're not going to cook the processor by choosing one over the other. Ceramique is new and might cost more at retailers because of that. If AS is reporting very slight differences, I'd take the cheaper of the two, it's not like they're that expensive anyways!

techfuzz

 

[smahoney]

WARNING - DO NOT USE Arctic Silver Ceramique for your CPU. Yes, the product is easy to remove and cleanup BEFORE it finishes curing - The bond can be permanent to your CPU - hence the product is usually only recommended for installing heatsinks to permanently mounted component such as video memory.

If anyone has doubts try using the ceramique and letting it cure for a couple of days and then try to remove it. Stick with AS3 - if you are concerned about making a mess try a pair of latex gloves...Also check their website.

Remember to clean surfaces well with isopropyl alcohol and dry with a blast of compressed air. use an old credit card or something with a similar plastic edge to apply a smooth thin layer.

Good Luck.

 

[Doh!]

Review of thermal grease by overclocker.com Take your pick.

I use CoolingFlow which is non-conductive (was originally looking for AS3 but the store I went to had it at a lesser price than AS3). Very satisfied w/ results.

 

[slag]

AMD will not warranty your chip if you let them know you used thermal grease outside of the realm of testing.

This happened to me. Their site says to use thermal pads and to only use specified thermal greases when doing stesting or certification.

 

[techfuzz]

Originally posted by: smahoney
WARNING - DO NOT USE Arctic Silver Ceramique for your CPU. Yes, the product is easy to remove and cleanup BEFORE it finishes curing - The bond can be permanent to your CPU - hence the product is usually only recommended for installing heatsinks to permanently mounted component such as video memory.

If anyone has doubts try using the ceramique and letting it cure for a couple of days and then try to remove it. Stick with AS3 - if you are concerned about making a mess try a pair of latex gloves...Also check their website.

Remember to clean surfaces well with isopropyl alcohol and dry with a blast of compressed air. use an old credit card or something with a similar plastic edge to apply a smooth thin layer.

Good Luck.

Dude, get your facts straight before posting something like that. A simple check on Arctic Silver's website indicates the following about the Ceramique compound.

Caution: Ceramique is a grease, not an adhesive. It cannot be used to glue a heatsink to a chip.

techfuzz