*Arctic Silver*

[N8theGr8]

hey everyone, i started a thread a few hours ago about my AMD64 thermal grease square having gaps and scratches in it. (pre-installation) ive decided to go with arctic silver 5 and getting the cleaner also (to help clean the stock square). is this a good idea? is the arctic silver application as easy as the instructions seem? (and shouldnt the arctic silver cover the entire cpu? the pictures show that when the compound gets smushed it only covers a circle..not the entire square of the cpu). if you guys have any suggestions let me know!

 

[PanicX]

Artic silver is a premium thermal grease and an excellent idea for maximizing heat transfer. Application instructions normally come with the grease, but for the record, it should be applied evenly across the CPU core or Heat Spreader (not on the PCB where it can contact bridges. Also note that if you apply too much compound that it will be squeeze out when you apply the heatsink. Try to put just enough to fill the area between heatsink and CPU.

 

[Blakhart]

Covering completely the cpu core area will maximize heat transfer. This is a good thing.

 

[N8theGr8]

hi blakhart, i actually just put a bb-sized dab on the center and let the pressure of the heatsink take care of the rest (spreads it evenly). this is what the instructions for the new arctic silver 5 recommend, and so far its running great, 29C idle, 36C load. arctic silver rocks!

 

[Blakhart]

Hey, that's great!
But... if I member crectly, the "manual" states to spread a very thin layer of artic on the cpu and the hsf. Thin as in you can't really see it thin.
Bottom line is if it works, it works. Think it takes a few hours to a few days before it cools best.

PS don't touch the hsf after the artic sets, if you do you might as well re-do it.

 

[zephead]

how much you apply is way more important than how. whether you put a drop in the middle of the cpu or you spread it out, it'll turn out the same no matter how you lay it on: the hsf will squeeze it down to a film.

 

[statixpulze]

sorry if my post izznt wat is discuss here... but i jz wanna know which is better... Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound or Arctic Alumina Thermal Compound ?

 

[Exscind]

AS5 takes longer "break in" period, usually around 200 hours of computer usage. Arctic Alumina takes about 36 hours per Arctic Silver's website. In general, if patience allows, AS5 should be better for the average user, although the difference between the two aren't that significant. I'd choose AS5 just for the CPU just because it's been proven over and over again by users and review sites alike to work well.

 

[3rd_shift]

I have used both Arctic silver and Arctic alumina with Luxeon led flashlight mods up to 600 lumens output, from a 2c Maglite. :hotbounce
The Arctic Silver can conduct some electricity, where-as the Arctic Alumina wont.
If there is the slightest risk of a short circuit, Arctic Alumina seems to be the safer choice with no major sacrifice in thermal transfer performance.

 

[Tedster]

go to http://www.overclockers.com/articles938/ and read their article on silver thermal paste. Some claim to have silver and actually do not. Arctic silver does.

 

[CMH]

how much you apply is way more important than how. whether you put a drop in the middle of the cpu or you spread it out, it'll turn out the same no matter how you lay it on: the hsf will squeeze it down to a film.

I must say this is totally wrong. Its the other way around, as long as you put at least half a bb-size.

Applying even Arctic Silver 5 wrongly and getting air between your CPU and HS will be worse than using stock HSF.

Also, touching any of the surfaces or thermal paste with bare hands will leave carbon residue: not as efficient as it can be. Carbon is a great insulator, the main reason why people can walk on red-hot coals (walk on the ash).

And I think it was mentioned: AS5 is made of silver, and silver conducts electricity. Not good to have too much lying around.
Even if it wasn't AS5, the compound may store static; again, not good to have too much around your CPU.

Follow the instructions, if it says put the whole tube, do it. If it says 1/8 of a grain of rice, do it (good luck getting that little seperated). If you're not going to follow instructions, might as well not read them in the first place (like I do in some cases )

 

[zephead]

i never said that how you applied it wasn't important, just that the amount of thermal grease was a more important factor.

It's much easier to put the wrong amount of compound down than to screw up so bad that air is trapped (which happens wayyyyy less than using the wrong amount of compound) anyways.