Question: Applying artic silver 5?

lampshadehead

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This may sound like a really dumb question, but I just bought a Zalman CNPS9500 and some artic silver 5, what is the best way to apply it? I bought the OEM artic silver and it did not come with any application instructions. Also how much do I put on the heatsink? Thanks.
 

bluesquid

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its not stupid at all. its scary as all (-)#!! but its not , once you do it a couple a times.

the best way I have found is look at the heatsink base, kinda hover over the chip, and figure out the basic placement of the silver, on said heat sink.

then get some scoth tape and tape off that area. so the inside of the tape is the outside of the chip.

then you put a small amount in the middle, and with plastic card (any old gift card or bank card) and paper towel in hand, carefully move the silver vertically and horizontilly, using the tape as a depth guide. yes only that deep. But make it smooth as suri cruises ass.

pull the tape off, and you have perfect lines.


http://www.overclockers.com/tips692/
 

ZOldDude

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This may sound like a really dumb question, but I just bought a Zalman CNPS9500 and some artic silver 5, what is the best way to apply it? I bought the OEM artic silver and it did not come with any application instructions. Also how much do I put on the heatsink? Thanks.

Use Google to goto the AS site.
 

MacrosTheBlack

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in my experience there are 2 viable methods:

1) as described on the arctic silver website

2) thin piece of plastic - put a little on top and spread it out with a thin piece of plastic, make *very* sure that the layer is equally spread and thin

I've not noticed temperature differences when using one of the above methods, simply tossing it on and placing your CPU will result in very poor cooling.
 

SockPuppet

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its not stupid at all. its scary as all (-)#!! but its not , once you do it a couple a times.

the best way I have found is look at the heatsink base, kinda hover over the chip, and figure out the basic placement of the silver, on said heat sink.

then get some scoth tape and tape off that area. so the inside of the tape is the outside of the chip.

then you put a small amount in the middle, and with plastic card (any old gift card or bank card) and paper towel in hand, carefully move the silver vertically and horizontilly, using the tape as a depth guide. yes only that deep. But make it smooth as suri cruises ass.

pull the tape off, and you have perfect lines.


http://www.overclockers.com/tips692/


That is possibly the dumbest thing I've ever read on these forums. And thats saying alot.
 

ChrisJSY

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its not stupid at all. its scary as all (-)#!! but its not , once you do it a couple a times.

the best way I have found is look at the heatsink base, kinda hover over the chip, and figure out the basic placement of the silver, on said heat sink.

then get some scoth tape and tape off that area. so the inside of the tape is the outside of the chip.

then you put a small amount in the middle, and with plastic card (any old gift card or bank card) and paper towel in hand, carefully move the silver vertically and horizontilly, using the tape as a depth guide. yes only that deep. But make it smooth as suri cruises ass.

pull the tape off, and you have perfect lines.


http://www.overclockers.com/tips692/


That is possibly the dumbest thing I've ever read on these forums. And thats saying alot.

I agree with you.
It at really depends how good/flat the heatsink/cpu surface is, as we should all know thermal paste is used to transfer the heat to the heatsink where contact is not making. In some cases using too much will make matters worse.

There's a few ways of doing it, you must have heard of the 'rice sized' blob in the middle, but people fail to mention this is for 'concaved' heatsinks which are not flat.

I myself used clingfilm over my finger and spread a very veeery thin layer over most of it. Seems to get the best results right away for me.

Ofcourse it takes a long time to cure.
 

croc

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Personally, I 'lap' the CPU and the heatsink with a 27 CM mill bastard file, then use a butter knife to evenly spread a goodly amount of AS5 over both surfaces. Mount the cpu, then the HSF, and you're away.

Or, to save time and money, just follow kidsmoke's advice.
 

burn-e86

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whats wrong with spreading it directly onto the CPU?
thats what i've been doing for the last 3 years... and i've not broken a CPU yet. i just spread it as thin as possible using a credit card or sommit like that without being able to see the original metal.
once thats done, it really doesnt matter since when u place the heatsink on it doesnt really leave any gap. the reason u want it really thin is so there is no leakage around the side of the CPU
 

qwertycopter

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the reason u want it really thin is so there is no leakage around the side of the CPU
No, that's wrong. The reason it should be really thin is that all you are trying to do is fill in the microscopic valleys/bumps on the surface of the heatsink and heat spreader, not make an f'n 'smore! Excess thermal compound will actually begin to impede heat transfer.
 

qwertycopter

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then get some scoth tape and tape off that area. so the inside of the tape is the outside of the chip. pull the tape off, and you have perfect lines.
That's gotta be some of the worst advice I have ever heard. The scotch tape will leave glue on the surface of heatspreader which will impede heat flow. What he should do is clean the connection surfaces with 90% isopropyl alcohol using a lint free cloth (coffee filter, eyeglass cloth). Avoid touching the mating surfaces with your bare hands as skin oils, hair, skin cells, and finger prints left of the surfaces can impede heat flow. Insert the CPU into its socket and install brackets for the heatsink if there are any. Then apply a "uncooked rice grain"-sized dollop of AS5 dead center on the heatspreader. Keeping the heatsink level, slowly and gently lower it onto the CPU 1-2 degrees off of the proper orientation. When it is fully resting on the CPU, slowly and gently twist it to proper orientation. This ensures the heatsink properly spreads the AS5 and eliminates air bubbles (I think?). Don't lift up the heatsink to check coverage because reapplication runs the risk of air bubbles.

Or just follow the instructions on AS's website, since this is essentially what they recommend.

You don't need to cover the entire heat spreader. FAR MORE HEAT is transfered from the core directly to area of the heat spreader in direct contact. The outer edges do not require the same thermal coupling as DIRECTLY above the CPU core.
 

chuckshissle

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I used tha dab method. Basically I use a lent free cloth and then apply the AS5 on it then just dab it to the cpu. It's very light coat and you can still see the surface and works really well too. You can use like credit card to spread the thermal paste very thinly over the surface.
 

cb62fcni

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Look at your CPU, can you see the core? No? That's because it has a heat spreader already on it. The reason they rec. only putting a little dab on is because of that heat spreader. Follow that advice. I have no idea what half these people are saying, but DON'T LISTEN TO THEM. This could really jack your computer up. Just follow the advice on AS's website, they know what they're talking about. Grain of rice man, grain of rice. I usually put a tiny dot each on cpu and heat sink, then buff it completely off with a lint-free towel. Then I follow their advice. If you try to spread it out evenly, you'll put too much on, and your temps will go way up. WAY up. Don't do it.
 

grizzman

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qwerty is correct. Go to THG resources .. videos.. and watch THG video 17 down about half way on the page.

THG videos

They remove and add processors to these motherboards several times. You'll see the techs place a dab of silver in the middle of the cpu and place the heatsink on with a slight twist. When they remove the HSF you'll see an even layer of paste.
 

qwertycopter

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Look at your CPU, can you see the core? No? That's because it has a heat spreader already on it. The reason they rec. only putting a little dab on is because of that heat spreader. Follow that advice. I have no idea what half these people are saying, but DON'T LISTEN TO THEM. This could really jack your computer up. Just follow the advice on AS's website, they know what they're talking about. Grain of rice man, grain of rice. I usually put a tiny dot each on cpu and heat sink, then buff it completely off with a lint-free towel. Then I follow their advice. If you try to spread it out evenly, you'll put too much on, and your temps will go way up. WAY up. Don't do it.
I'm not sure why you're replying to me with that when basically you said what I said but with less detail. I'm just going to ignore it and assume you're just too lazy to scroll up and reply to the OP. I gave good advice.
 

jap0nes

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the reason u want it really thin is so there is no leakage around the side of the CPU
No, that's wrong. The reason it should be really thin is that all you are trying to do is fill in the microscopic valleys/bumps on the surface of the heatsink and heat spreader, not make an f'n 'smore! Excess thermal compound will actually begin to impede heat transfer.
Both are correct. If you've read arctic silver's site, you should have noticed this:

Caution:
While much safer than silver greases engineered for high electrical conductivity, Arctic Silver thermal compound should be kept away from electrical traces, pins, and leads. The compound is slightly capacitive and could cause problems if it bridged two close-proximity electrical paths.

Considering some cpu's have resistors and electric gates on their surface, burn-e86's information IS correct.
 

wolfman140

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Whats all this 'spreading with a credit card" hub-bub...? I always just went by the AS website and put a single dab in the middle and put it on. Although I think I put too much on last time...So I think I'm gonna take off my heat sink and re-apply.
 

jap0nes

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it is somewhat what they do when people use cocaine hahahaha but instead of doing those lines they spread the thermal grease in order to create a very thin layer without any excess
 

angry_ducky

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its not stupid at all. its scary as all (-)#!! but its not , once you do it a couple a times.

the best way I have found is look at the heatsink base, kinda hover over the chip, and figure out the basic placement of the silver, on said heat sink.

then get some scoth tape and tape off that area. so the inside of the tape is the outside of the chip.

then you put a small amount in the middle, and with plastic card (any old gift card or bank card) and paper towel in hand, carefully move the silver vertically and horizontilly, using the tape as a depth guide. yes only that deep. But make it smooth as suri cruises ass.

pull the tape off, and you have perfect lines.


http://www.overclockers.com/tips692/


That is possibly the dumbest thing I've ever read on these forums. And thats saying alot.

If you want dumb, then read the thread that's linked in my signature. Almost 7 months of stupidity.
 

lampshadehead

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Alright well since I have a heat shredder on my CPU (its an E6600), I am definately going to try the 1/2 rice dab method. Thanks alot for all of your input.
 

qwertycopter

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jap0nes, burn-e86 implied that the reason for having a thin layer (as opposed to a thick layer) was to prevent the thermal compound from leaking out over the sides. That may be true in older style "open-die" CPUs, but since this is an enthusiast forum, we are assuming lampshadehead has a CPU that uses a heatspreader.

With application on a heatspreader the purpose of a thin layer is to provide optimal thermal coupling. The use of the rice-dollop-squish-and-twist method automatically prevents the thermal compound from leaking out the sides. This is the method advocated by ArcticSilver for newer style CPUs.

So now you see why I said he was wrong.

EDIT: I see now that lampshadehead is infact using a CPU that has a heatspreader. 8)