Intel Core 2 Extreme X6800 thermal paste

pauljuno

Distinguished
Aug 25, 2006
33
0
18,530
Just out of curiousity, has anyone whose installed an Intel Core 2 Extreme X6800 retail version noticed if the package contains any thermal grease for the connection between CPU and cooler?

Thanks for any help you can provide! Just curious as to whether or not I should run out and by some from my local computer dealer.
 

qwazzy

Distinguished
Jun 27, 2006
649
0
18,990
Just out of curiousity, has anyone whose installed an Intel Core 2 Extreme X6800 retail version noticed if the package contains any thermal grease for the connection between CPU and cooler?

Thanks for any help you can provide! Just curious as to whether or not I should run out and by some from my local computer dealer.

A retail boxed CPU comes with thermal grease to make the connection, I generally recommend against it as it is run of the mill grade. It is worth the extra 5-10 bucks to get AS5 (Artic Silver 5) which is silver oxide based paste. The nice thing about this paste is it doesn't turn into a rock solid cement block so, if removing your HSF is necessary, it is easier to get off without worry of damage to your chip or MB.

Jack

WTF? Why didn't I get any goo? There wasn't any in the package. I got a E6600
 

IcY18

Distinguished
May 1, 2006
1,277
0
19,280
so thats why Intel charges so much more when you get an Extreme processor, because they actually give you thermal grease and not a pad :lol:
 

pauljuno

Distinguished
Aug 25, 2006
33
0
18,530
JumpingJack said:
The nice thing about this paste is it doesn't turn into a rock solid cement block so, if removing your HSF is necessary, it is easier to get off without worry of damage to your chip or MB.

Jack

Thanks for letting me know about this. I was considering going to a water cooled system at some point in time, so glad to know that it's not so much a paste as a mortar!
 

rsquared

Distinguished
Jul 10, 2005
33
2
18,535
I replaced the Arctic Silver 5 layer in my in-house server PC with Zalman's STG-1 "Super Thermal Grease" and the CPU temperature dropped 3°C (37°F). And the Zalman stuff is so easy to apply, I feel no need to use Arctic Silver 5 or Céramique ever again.

Too bad the name is retarded. "Super Thermal Grease"?
 

NMDante

Distinguished
Oct 5, 2002
1,588
0
19,780
Really? Hmm....

If it's cheaper than AS5, and does as good or better performance, I might have to switch.

*edit*

Well, the Egg has both, but AS5 OEM is $4 bucks cheaper for the 3.5 gram tube. The 12g applicator is $6 bucks more, but it has almost 4x as much thermal paste.

I might still try the Zalman paste, if I can find it for under $7 (it's listed for 9.99).
 

rsquared

Distinguished
Jul 10, 2005
33
2
18,535
I dunno about cheaper. I mean, I have a partial tube each of Arctic Silver 5 and Céramique around here. Zalman's STG-1 is $10 everywhere I've seen it, which is a fair deal more than either of those Arctic Silver tubes were. But you use so little of anything with each application; who can say how many applications are left in any of them? I think it's more likely that I will lose any of these (forget a tube at someone's house, accidentally throw one out when cleaning up, etc.) than use them up.

To me, the ease of the applicator brush with the STG-1 more than makes up for whatever extra expense there might be. The temperature improvement is really just a bonus.
 

NMDante

Distinguished
Oct 5, 2002
1,588
0
19,780
I dunno about cheaper. I mean, I have a partial tube each of Arctic Silver 5 and Céramique around here. Zalman's STG-1 is $10 everywhere I've seen it, which is a fair deal more than either of those Arctic Silver tubes were. But you use so little of anything with each application; who can say how many applications are left in any of them? I think it's more likely that I will lose any of these (forget a tube at someone's house, accidentally throw one out when cleaning up, etc.) than use them up.

To me, the ease of the applicator brush with the STG-1 more than makes up for whatever extra expense there might be. The temperature improvement is really just a bonus.

Applicator brush? Hmm... I usually use my piece of broken credit card (thanks American Express) to spread the stuff around.

I will probably try it out when I build my C2D system in September. And I know what you mean about how many applications can you get with a tube, cause I found a tube of AS3 in my toolbox, and damn near freaked when thermal paste oozed out.
 

ANIA_fanboy

Distinguished
Jul 8, 2006
78
0
18,630
I replaced the Arctic Silver 5 layer in my in-house server PC with Zalman's STG-1 "Super Thermal Grease" and the CPU temperature dropped 3°C (37°F). And the Zalman stuff is so easy to apply, I feel no need to use Arctic Silver 5 or Céramique ever again.

Too bad the name is retarded. "Super Thermal Grease"?

Congrats!!! you got quouted twice (although by me...maybe not such a big deal :? )

I'm curious. I know AS5 takes some time to (200 hrs I've heard) to obtain max potential.

Is the comparison the same?

This is not a challange but rather info seeking.

I've been an AS believer until I saw the reports on the Zalman product and I'm considering a chage
 

rsquared

Distinguished
Jul 10, 2005
33
2
18,535
I know AS5 takes some time to (200 hrs I've heard) to obtain max potential.

Is the comparison the same?
Not that I'm aware of.

The CPU temperature in my server PC (a Biostar 210v SFF if it matters to anyone) was 51°C with the AS5. It runs Folding@Home 24/7, so it was 51°C all the time. I took it all apart to try and replace the CPU heatsink, but I couldn't get the @&$*!% motherboard out of the SFF, so I put the previous one back in, using the new Zalman STG-1 I had gotten a few days before. After a day it was at 48°C.

I kept checking on it over the next couple weeks, wondering if it would "break in" like AS5 and Céramique (supposedly) do, but it stayed 48°C.

<digression>
That was with a 120mm SilenX fan running full-speed. Now with an 80mm Vantec Stealth running motherboard-speed-controlled it's at 52°C. A bit louder than with the 120mm SilenX, but now I can access all the ports on the back.... My original revamp of the cooling used a 120mm Thermaltake A2368 "Highest Performance" fan. Let me state for the record that this fan is not nearly as quiet as Thermaltake claims it to be, or the one I have isn't at least. Silcone gaskets, added after I took that picture, didn't help at all. Neither did re-crimping its connector to run it motherboard-speed-controlled.

Next step is to order an 80mm SilenX.

The fan hole in the back of the case is 70mm, hence the adapters. The CPU is just inside it, and I have a Zalman CNPS6500B-AlCu passive heatsink on it. Since this PC runs 24/7 I have been striving to get it as quiet as possible.
</digression>