Looking for a Thermal paste application guide

xtremeclowny · Dec 20, 2013

Lately, I have noticed that my machine has been a bit slow. It crashed a few times while I was using the speakers, an issue that is nonexistent while using headphones. Anyways, I decided to have a look at the temps and the MB is at 35C/95F and the CPU is at 64C/150F which seems quite high to me. The cpu fan seems to be working just fine therefore I am assuming that the thermal paste is the problem. I have had to replace the thermal paste quite a few times this past year and the last time I checked it was all dried out. I'm not sure if that's supposed to happen or if I'm simply applying the paste in a bad way. I applied a new layer of paste less than 6 months ago.

I have looked around for guides but they seem to vary and well, it doesnt matter which one I follow, I always end up having to apply a new layer within months. Or is that normal?

Any help will be appreciated, thanks!

Shneiky · Dec 20, 2013

You are not supposed to add a new "layer", but to completely remove the old paste before applying the new one. Anyway 64C is not that bad, well depends on the CPU model of course, but if it is any Intel I series - than you are generally ok with that.

xtremeclowny · Dec 20, 2013

It's an I5-2500k and I didn't mean literally applying a new coat over the old layer.

Redheadsrule13 · Dec 20, 2013

Those sort of temps are fine for your model of CPU. When it comes to applying thermal paste however, it's always good to check how much your putting on as large amounts can be counter-productive and act as an insulator rather than a conductor of heat.

xtremeclowny · Dec 20, 2013

Been applying rather thin layers. It's hard to tell you exactly how much but it's prob. about right. Not too thick and not too thin.

Any ideas of what might be causing my latest reduction in speed/ increase in general tasks "lag"?

Suppose that I should go ahead an give the motherboard a look. Just last week my whole machines crashed 3 different times whenever I was gaming with the speakers on. Plus, one of the usb ports doesn't seem to be working properly anymore. Guess that I could check the CPU as well to make sure that it has enough paste. Is there any software to check the integrity of the motherboard? I have a ASRock P67 Pro3. Those crashes nearly destroyed my HDD but I managed to get it fixed with a software program. I'm just wondering if there are any that will detect any errors with the mb.

Anyways, thanks for that. I'll see if I can look into the hardware once there is some daylight.

RobCrezz · Dec 20, 2013

Watch this video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hNgFNH7zhQ

64'c if thats idleing in windows is way too hot.

xtremeclowny · Dec 20, 2013

RobCrezz :

That's great! I have been using the business card method mostly. Although, I did try the pea in the center once. Wish I could try the metal method. Suppose that it is time to go back to the pea method then. And no, those temps were while playing a videogame. I'm on BF4 atm and they are at about 69C. Idle is about 40-50C I think.

RobCrezz · Dec 20, 2013

Ah ok, thats not too bad for stock cooler then.

You should get a better one and overclock though, there is lots more power to be had from the 2500k. Mine runs at 4.6Ghz and still keeps up with brand new stock CPUs

xtremeclowny · Dec 20, 2013

I'll look into it. This CPU is about 2 years old now and it might be a bit too late to be trying to overclock it. Besides, I don't think I need to overclock for the tasks I usually perform with this machine. That plus I'm a bit afraid of screwing things up and flying the whole thing. But thanks, I might have to get a new fan for it though.

RobCrezz · Dec 20, 2013

xtremeclowny :

Mine is nearly 3 years old and been overclocked from new, so you should be fine

Its pretty safe to do, you should be able to clock to 4ghz just by changing the multiplyer and not touching any voltage settings.

Theres a good guide here:
http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/265056-29-2600k-2500k-overclocking-guide

xtremeclowny · Dec 20, 2013

RobCrezz :

Omg, they need to remove the "select as best answer" from the email options. That's fine I guess since your link to the thermal application helped.

Alright, I'll grab a new fan and make that CPU earn the money spent on it then.

RobCrezz · Dec 20, 2013

I have unselected for you it so you can choose another.

xtremeclowny · Dec 20, 2013

That's okay. I'm doubt I'll be receiving anymore help for this issue and your guides are quite useful.

Shneiky · Dec 20, 2013

I still use the "card method" but I spread a semi-transparent layer on the CPU where the cores are and a semi transparent layer on the cooler itself. I am running 51 C on my hottest core in a 21C room after 5 hour 100% load torture test. I use the Evo 212 with the provided paste. There is no "best method" any method can do, if you know what you are doing. The pea method is better suited for beginners, but I always get best results with the card method.

xtremeclowny · Dec 27, 2013

I know that the type of paste makes a difference but is it really a great difference between one type to another? I have been having a lot of delays lately, laggy cutscenes and sometimes the desktop went black while loading a game. I crashed earlier and so I decided to go clean the machine and check the cpu. The thermal paste still looked good but I still went on ahead and applied some more. Used the pea in the middle because it seemed simpler. Plus, I wanted to try something different from the business card method since that is the method I last used. Temps while in crowded areas within the secret world push the temp between 70-80 C. Otherwise, the temps stay in the high 60s.

To be honest I am not very happy with those temps but since you guys say that they are normal...

Anyways, back to my question. I used to use the artic mx-2 thermal paste but I ran out and instead of ordering more I ran to the store and bought the better one they had in stock which happens to be artic silver5. I just landed a 95C/200 in a crowded area.

I'm trying to figure out my problem here. If these temps are normal for my pcu then, the issue lies somewhere else right? If it's not the paste then could it be the cpu itself? Or the fan? I haven't made any changes since I built the machine and so everything should be working okay unless a piece went bad. I can't make any real changes/replacements atm because I'm rather broke but I would like to isolate the problem to avoid any further damage. As explained before, I had similar slowdowns with the machine before and the problem seemed to be the lack of thermal paste. The paste had dried out. I added more and everything started to work just fine again. To be honest I am leaning towards blaming the new thermal paste...

Anyways, I'll keep checking and see how it goes. Any suggestions and ideas will be appreciated!

RobCrezz · Dec 28, 2013

You are cleaning it off before re applying aren't you?

xtremeclowny · Dec 28, 2013

RobCrezz :

Yes, I'm cleaning off the old thermal paste before applying a new layer. I have not been saying it because it seems like the standard procedure therefore it seems redundant to go into such details when everyone knows that the old paste is to be removed prior to applying a new layer.

For the time being I am looking into going back to the mx paste and getting a new fan. Hopefully that will fix my issues. If it doesn't then, I'll have to assume that there is something wrong with the motherboard/cpu. The problem is that the cpu is not getting overworked. Yes, the temps to go up to the temps mentioned before but the processors usage doesn't show any abnormalities. I have never seen it go past 40% usage even in crowded areas in the game. The ram however, does seem to be overworked a bit. Seen it go up to 66% and about. But, idk, we will see.

welner · Jul 21, 2016

About arcticsilver.com/as5.htm Due to the unique shape and sizes of the particles in Arctic Silver 5's conductive matrix, it will take up to 200 hours and several thermal cycles to achieve maximum particle to particle thermal conduction and for the heatsink to CPU interface to reach maximum conductivity. (This period will be longer in a system without a fan on the heatsink or with a low speed fan on the heatsink.)

On systems measuring actual internal core temperatures via the CPU's internal diode, the measured temperature will often drop 2C to 5C over this "break-in" period. This break-in will occur during the normal use of the computer as long as the computer is turned off from time to time and the interface is allowed to cool to room temperature. Once the break-in is complete, the computer can be left on if desired. arcticsilver.com/as5.htm

RobCrezz · Jul 21, 2016

welner :

About arcticsilver.com/as5.htm Due to the unique shape and sizes of the particles in Arctic Silver 5's conductive matrix, it will take up to 200 hours and several thermal cycles to achieve maximum particle to particle thermal conduction and for the heatsink to CPU interface to reach maximum conductivity. (This period will be longer in a system without a fan on the heatsink or with a low speed fan on the heatsink.)

On systems measuring actual internal core temperatures via the CPU's internal diode, the measured temperature will often drop 2C to 5C over this "break-in" period. This break-in will occur during the normal use of the computer as long as the computer is turned off from time to time and the interface is allowed to cool to room temperature. Once the break-in is complete, the computer can be left on if desired. arcticsilver.com/as5.htm

This thread is from 2013..

welner · Jul 21, 2016

But it's listed on the 1st page so I didn't notice the date on it ...

RobCrezz · Jul 21, 2016

welner :

Yeah, someone else must have bumped it up to the top and deleted the post. Not to worry, ill ask a mod to close it if they dont mind.

Looking for a Thermal paste application guide

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