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Help - Thermal Paste 101

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action2288   02-15-2009 at 02:06:35 AM

I lifted up my heat sink (AMD processor) and the thermal paste was cracked, and it looked like there wasn't enough!

This system is from January 2008!

1) What products on Newegg do I need to be able to clean the crap off? I've read rubbing alcohol.
2) What products on Newegg do I need to reapply thermal paste (good brands)?
3) Where is a tutorial on how to do all of this?

Maybe this is why my games skip? The processor doesn't have enough thermal paste?

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customisbetter   02-15-2009 at 02:38:07 AM
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A credit card or your finger nail will do the job suficiantly. then when you get most of it off, dab a towel with Rubbing alcohol and wipe it down.

 

In reality, all thermal compound good enough, though some brands are proven better than others. Most people use Arctic Silver 5. you just put a dab the size of two grains of rice in the center of the cpu and attach the Heatsink. Simple as pie.

 

It might not be why your games are skipping. there are thousands of reasons for that, but this is surely a good start. Dry thermal compound is never a good thing.


Message edited by customisbetter on 02-15-2009 at 02:39:18 AM
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Mondoman   02-15-2009 at 02:38:21 AM
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Not so much that it doesn't have enough thermal paste, but rather that the cracked stuff isn't making good contact with both CPU and cooler and transferring the heat. BTW, you should NOT turn on your system again until you replace the thermal compound with fresh stuff, as removing the CPU cooler has substantially reduced the contact that was there.
This post has useful instructions (start at step 2.5): http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/ [...] y#t1184072

 


Message edited by Mondoman on 02-15-2009 at 02:41:57 AM
------------------------------ e2160@3GHz: OCing my way to Ubuntuland!
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action2288   02-15-2009 at 02:57:47 AM
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OK thanks. At the request of a fellow gamer I got ZALMAN ZM - STG1 Thermal Compound.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6835118010


Message edited by action2288 on 02-15-2009 at 02:58:17 AM
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customisbetter   02-15-2009 at 02:58:25 AM
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that will do just fine. Good luck!

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The_Blood_Raven   02-15-2009 at 06:08:58 AM
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I recommend Arctic cooling MX-2 which is the best performing thermal paste on the market, though that makes little difference. Why I recommend it is because it does not conduct electricity like the Zalman and AS5 do, so if you drop or dribble a bit on the motherboard you can just wipe it off.

The reason the paste was cracked was because you took the heatsink off. After about a minute or 2 of use of the PC the thermal paste will solidify and is not reusable at that point and will need wiped off and reapplied.

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Mondoman   02-16-2009 at 12:14:30 PM
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AS5 doesn't conduct electricity either; however, it does have some capacitance.

------------------------------ e2160@3GHz: OCing my way to Ubuntuland!
 Reply to Mondoman
The_Blood_Raven   02-16-2009 at 05:12:56 PM
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Yes AS5 does conduct electricity, that it does not is a marketing lie. They say it wont if properly used, well that is kind of obvious. The silver and copper traces in it will conduct electricity should it come in contact with the motherboard or the outer edge and back of a CPU. Normally that would not make much of a difference, but if someone is new to all this they should take the pre-cautions to buy a slightly better performing and non-conductive type.

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customisbetter   02-17-2009 at 04:43:56 AM
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AS Ceramique is non conducting...

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Mondoman   02-17-2009 at 12:34:58 PM
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TBR: please provide a reference backing up your claim. According to the AS website at http://www.arcticsilver.com/as5.htm :

Quote :

Not Electrically Conductive:
Arctic Silver 5 was formulated to conduct heat, not electricity.
(While much safer than electrically conductive silver and copper greases, Arctic Silver 5 should be kept away from electrical traces, pins, and leads. While it is not electrically conductive, the compound is very slightly capacitive and could potentially cause problems if it bridges two close-proximity electrical paths.)


Message edited by Mondoman on 02-17-2009 at 12:35:40 PM
------------------------------ e2160@3GHz: OCing my way to Ubuntuland!
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