Thermal grease

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Malditohon

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i would like to know what is the best thermal grease in the market? i would like to know there differences.

thank you so much!
 
I also just went out for some Arctic Sliver 5 Thermal grease today, decided it was time to get rid of the stuff that came with the heat sink. I was a bit disappointed that it cost 10$ for such a small amount of the stuff, and another 4$ for 500ml of 99% isoprophyl alcohol, but you also only need a little less than the size of a BB to apply so It will last me a long time as well as a still have like 480ml left of the isoprophyl alcohol.

I have to say that after cleaning my computer and applying the grease to my CPU the temperature has gone down from 34 Celsius to 26 Celsius and It also takes some time for the compound to sink in which will also make the processor a bit cooler. My room temperature is about 22 Celsius and my CPU is slowly doing down in temp.

I'm happy ;D

BTW if you get isoprophyl alcohol to clean off the thermal grease don't get one with anything less than <70% really I wouldn't even go under 99% or else you pose more of a risk of damaging stuff.
 
i am from the philippines and my pc is not in an air-conditioned room. my processor is an intel pentium d (dual-core) 2.8 ghz. idle temp is around 48 degrees while load temp is around 53 degrees and my motherboard temp is around 39 degrees. i have installed the necessary exhaust fans and i always clean my pc every month. so is my cpu temp ok or not? im using the silver type thermal grease, the cheap one actually.

thanks!
 
i just applied the silicon thermal grease that my Zalman Fan Came with.... but im having issues... my temps are in the 50's C. Im gonna switch it out for artic silver 5
 
The thermal compound does have an effect on the temperature, but to an extent. Temperature can depend on your processor model, current cooling solution, ventilation, cleanliness, your climate conditions, the amount of operation time and load on the CPU.

Make sure that your case has adequate ventilation, air must be moving threw your heat sink in order to cool it so even if your case may be open if their are jumbles of wires or dust near then it will effect the ventilation just as badly as if your case were to be closed, be sure to clean your case often and keep wires from hanging all over the place. If you have over clocked your CPU or it runs at a high clock speed that will make it run warmer. If the CPU uses a larger architecture and consumes more power it is more likely to be warmer.

Thermal paste can have drastic effect on the heat but If you already have it properly installed between your CPU and heat sink then switching the thermal paste may have a slight effect but It might not be the answer. Buying a new cooling solution for those with higher temperatures would do you more good.

Good operating temperatures would be anywhere from <49 Celsius but if your going over 40 you might want to find something to cool it down. 50-65 Is getting a bit warm and might start to pose a risk. Over 66 you should probably start thinking about a new cooling solution, thermal paste probably won't do you to much.

Make sure you can trust your temperature monitor as well, some can give bogus temperatures.
 
yea i was having problems with the heatsink... the clips that came on my zalman fan were not connecting rite

i fixed em now im getting 29C - 36C
 
Yeah, mines a AMD athlon 64 X2 4800+ and its at 26c-34c.

Not to say it doesn't get warm, when playing COD4, Crysis or COH she does get a bit warm, 48c is the most I've seen it get to though.
 
yea i got a E6750 and with arctic silver 5 and an asus block cooler i was at 35 idle 46 Load... but my room is hot...

i switched it out for a ZALMAN 9500 but i had no arctic silver left so i used the silicon paste that came with it.... pain in the *** to apply... but im happy with 30 - 39 temps.

i want to redo my thermal paste with Arctic Silver just beacuse its less messy than the silicon crap... but any ways make sure that your heatsink is sitting correctly on your CPU. your CPU radiates heat from the center usally so that would be the most wise place to apply thermal paste...
 
Whiffen said:
Good operating temperatures would be anywhere from <49 Celsius but if your going over 40 you might want to find something to cool it down. 50-65 Is getting a bit warm and might start to pose a risk. Over 66 you should probably start thinking about a new cooling solution, thermal paste probably won't do you to much.

You have to realise different makes have different operating temps. The Pentium Ds are notorious for running pretty hot (and thus, higher normal operating temps). Same goes with some Pentium 4s (Prescotts anyone?)

Whiffen said:
Make sure you can trust your temperature monitor as well, some can give bogus temperatures.

You nailed it there. On board temperature monitoring isn't accurate at all. There was a test somewhere (if anyone would be bothered checking really old threads) where the temperature can differ more than 10C from the actual temperature (measured with a seperate, calibrated, probe). And the temperature changes aren't accurate neither (can't remember what thats called).

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Anyway, just wanted to point that out.

About that link:

Thats actually the wrong place to put the thermal grease, so don't even think of a BB sized thing anywhere near there.

Besides, the guy could be laying di-electric grease (however you spell that). You'd need that kinda amount if you were doing that. Wrong color for that I think.

Less is more when it comes to thermal grease. But too little isn't good neither, and the only way to know if you've got the right amount is to apply what you think is the right amount, fully complete the installation, take it off, and check how much it has spread from where you originally put it. repeat until you've found out how much you really need.

It'll be somewhere between half a grain of rice, and a BB.

Although I personally did that, I think that its too much of a hassle for anyone other than enthusiasts (the gains aren't that great neither).
 
Not old enough.

I'm talking sometime mid 2007 I think.

Thats just comparing different monitoring programs, but it'll do in supporting my point. :D
 
Yes, it would perform at a higher temperature.

If you checked my sig (the first link), there would be some links in the second post. One of the links would bring you to the actual spec for AMD/Intel chips, and their max cover temps. Its not exactly the same as what you'd be measuring, but its a good indicator of what the max temp you should be thinking about.

For Pentium Ds, the temps range between 63C and 68C, depending on the model. I wouldn't trust my comp to run any higher than those figures.
 
try check intel for the optimal operating temp... my E6750 is sapposed to be at 35 C with stock fan but i got a ZALMAN and a hot room so i run around 32 - 33 at the min
 
thank you for the information. i am using the asus pc probe II to read my cpu and mb temperature and as far as this software would tell, idle temp is around 48 degrees and loading temp is around 55 degrees.
 
are you using a stock fan? if you are mabey you need to consider better cooling. check new egg
 
Your temps are completely fine.

Some users of techspot can get carried away by what actually are ridiculously low operating temps, because they've spent some real serious money on their cooling systems.

However, unless you are running into problems related to the temperature of your CPU, I would say save your money. Of course, if you've got cash to burn, why not? But I do warn you: your computing experience will not be enhanced in any way possible, your money may be better spent getting a nice new mousepad: at least you'd see the difference there.

And if someone tries to convince you with the your-computer-will-self-destruct-much-sooner-if-you-keep-running-it-that-hot spiel, I'd say sure, if you wanna keep your computer running 15 years more than the current 15 its gonna run. Yes, I'm serious. Your computer isn't gonna implode before you really should consider an upgrade. I've mentioned in another thread: its like investing in a cooling system on a 286 system 15 years ago, would you still use that computer?
 
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