CPU heat problem with new HSF and Artic Silver 5

wkdadam

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Jan 23, 2006
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I just upgraded my cooling on my Pentium 4 630 Prescott processor. I used the stock cooling for about 3 months and my temperatures were something like this:
Idle: 50c
Full Load: 60c

I cleaned off the old thermal compound off of the processor and put on a thin layer of Artic Silver 5 and I installed my new Zalman CNPS9500 LED cooler. I've had it in my system for about 5 hours now and my temps are hotter than they were:
Idle: 55c
Full Load: 80-84c

I don't know if I did something wrong but I installed it exactly as it shows on the website and I double checked everything. Also, my computer has automatically shut down twice due to what I'm assuming is the processor overheating. I haven't overclocked the processor at all and I really don't know what could cause the temperature to be worse. Please help me if you can. I'd really like to know why it's not working correctly.
 

shawnlizzle =]

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Feb 2, 2005
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its probably a bad mount

make sure you clean everything, then put some as5 on the cpu the size of a rice grain. then press down the heat sink and lock it.

do not lift the heatsink to remount after you put it on, it'll cause air bubbles and won't perform well...


all in all just double check your mounting
 

Dade_0182

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My friend had the exact same problem with his Athlon XP, although his temps weren't that high but still higher than with stock. I helped him clean the cpu PROPERLY and when I mounted the cooler it was cooler than ever. Can't remember what i used though (was a long time ago) :wink:
 

croc

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Did you clean the heatsink initially? Even the best packaging will leave some dirt, and the manufacturing process (they ARE milled...) might leave a bit of oil on its surface.

I use a very 'hot' (less than 1% water) grade of lacquer thinner, becuse it has the advantage of evaporating quickly and is readily available at hw stores, automotive paint suppliers, etc. I replace it often as exposure to atmosphere will over time increase the water content. Lab grade acetone would do as well but is more expensive. Maybe pharmacuetical grade isopropanol...?

Clean both sides thoroughly with a lint free cloth. I use an old diaper with a square of lens paper over it, changed several times. I'm sure there are many other possibilities, just what I have near at hand.

Then as soon as it has dried, (don't blow on it)... do your 'rice grain' of AC5 in the center of your processor, twist just a bit and clamp your HS down. Just like AC says on their website.

One note, the 'silver' appearance won't come totally off of your heatsink if its been there for very long, but don't worry. Seems that AC5 tends to bond with CU.

Hope this helps...
 

wkdadam

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Jan 23, 2006
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Thanks for the help guys.
I took the HSF and the processor off of the motherboard and thoroughly cleaned them both off with acetone. I then applied a tiny, rice grain dot of Artic Silver 5 on the processor and used a card to spread it on the processor as evenly as I possibly could. I then put the HSF back on the processor and set everything up. The fan is running at 2400RPM and my temps are down lower than with my stock cooler.
Idle: 41c
Full Load: 49c

Seems like everything is working great now. Hopefully it will even get cooler once the Artic Silver breaks down and makes better conductivity.