Thermal Compound on Heatsink

[ombadboy]

Hello again..

so ive just got my TRUE, and i suppose it already has some thermal compound applied to its bottom.

Would you remove that and use some other thermal compound like OCZ Freeze or the MX-2, or just leave it as it is?

Assuming am OCing that is.. because i doubt there wud be any problem just running it on stock, with the thermal compound already applied on HSF

tnx alot

 

[jay2tall]

Hmm I didn't know Thermalright applied compound, they always gave me a tube of their own.

I've been using the Arctic Silver Ceramique compound. Its REALLY thick, but is really good and I vote for it over the arctic silver 5, which they suggest should be reapplied every year.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835100009&Tpk=arctic%20silver%20ceramique

 

[ombadboy]

it was a just a guess.. i havent opened it up yet, waiting for all parts to arrive..

but most companies pre-apply..

I was reading reviews about thermal compounds, and apparently OCZ FreeZe and the Arctic Cooling MX-2, where the 2 best, alongside Shin Etsu G751, which i cant seem to find anywhere online..

http://hardwarelogic.com/news/137/ARTICLE/2752/3/2008-03-03.html

 

[jay2tall]

To be perfectly honest, I have tried SEVERAL thermal compounds over the years, and they all pretty much work the same. I think the REALLY issue is in the way people apply it. There are several effective ways to apply. some people put the small "pea" size dot in the middle(which I don't know why they say pea, because pea size is TOO much). Others place small lines parallel with the cores. Others smear a very thin layer to cover the CPU.

The issue is alot of people put on TO much. So much that the heatsink is riding on top of the thermal paste and not touching the CPU. Thermal compound is meant to fill in the gaps and make a solid thermal seal between the two. You don't need much AT ALL.

I usually clean both surfaces with alcohol and a Q-tip. Then take a little plastic bag over my finger and rub thermal compound into the bottom of the HSF, to fill in any gaps. Then i take a flat piece of plastic, usually cut off of something I purchased, usually the RAM. And evenly smear a THIN coating over the top of the CPU. That is all. Then I try to make sure to place the HSF in place without moving it around.

I think as long as you have something of good quality it will work. I'm not sure how you can test this in a review because each time you apply it may be different. Even if you place a drop in the middle and let it push itself out. One drop might be bigger. You might place the HSF on a different angle the next time.

 

[ombadboy]

cool.. ill give ur method a go when the time comes.. havent been the best in applying thermal compound..

my problem was always that the thermal compound wudnt stay on the CPU, but stick on the cc i used to spread it..

 

[dragonfang18]

I dont think they use "pea" size anymore, motsly hear a raw grain of rice is gooe enough.

Plastic Bag method: finger in bag tighten, and smear paste all over CPU thinly...(what I would do too!)

You can look up how to apply thermal paste on youtube...

Another method is to cut off a flat piece of plastic in a clamshell packageing (the ones that cut your fingers when trying to open) then use that to spread it around thinly.

 

[ombadboy]

mmm.. wud heating it slightly up make it spread easier? becuz the one i used (arctic silver) couple of months back for my 360, was really really thick and wudnt spread..

 

[jay2tall]

^
the Ceramique is REALLY thick. It takes a while and you have to work with it. But it does work well. I've used a CC before, works well.

 

[ombadboy]

does the akasa TIM clean work for that (sry if its a silly q) ? have a feeling am gonna use it till i get it right

 

[will_chellam]

I had an old cooler master cooler a good few years back that came with a template to apply the thermal paste, it was literally a piece of adhesive cellophane witha hole in the middle that you stuck to the heatsink, applied paste and scraped it witha plastic card and then peeled off the cellophane - so literally 1/4 of a mm thick inch or so square was left....

Funnily enough I've been having problems for ages with a hipermedia chassis and a 65W brisbane 4800+ that was idling about 50-55 degs and shutting down under load, ive just pulled the heatsink off, cleaned the cpu off completely and then dabbed the heatsink with a tissue to leave a mottled film of compound behind, reassembled and hey=presto now runs 40degs idle and 52 after 100%load for 40mins.

So like jay2tall said too much is way bad, the scary thing is, this came pre-assembled from a supposedly bespoke manufacturer

 

[505090]

http://www.arcticsilver.com/arctic_silver_instructions.htm

 

[dragonfang18]

I hear Tuniq is better than arctic silver 5...Cheaper too! http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835154003

 

[ombadboy]

well as jay2tall said, there's loadsa compounds out there.. and probably what matters is how u apply it and now what u apply

the link ive pasted earlier on, shows the best is MX-2 and OCZ FreeZe etc etc.. so i guess it comes down to personal preference?

am heading towards the MX-2 since ive heard many good stuff about it and comparing it with AS5 they say its even better, and going to use the plastic bag finger thingy technique

 

[AKM880]

I currently use OCZ FreeZe, its a great compound and its real cheap. There are instrcutions on the OCZ site for applying to to CPUs. I usually leave the original compound on from the CPU cooler, but if it doesn't do the job I clean it off with Ispropyl Alcohol, (I use 99%) and apply the OCZ Freeze.

 

[dragonfang18]

I once seen one guy leave a dab then place the cooler on top to crush and spread the paste... I dont know if this technique is effective though. I also seen some draw lines over their CPU and do the same.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRRWbQUqW1Y
3:30 is where he shos a technique, but I think this is a bad method.

IMO DONT DO THIS TECHNIQUE!

 

[AKM880]

Intructions for the OCZ FreeZe is to just squeeze a small dab of it on the CPU and put the HSF back on. I use this method for my computer with the LE-1640 2.7GHz CPU and it works great. It idles at 20c, and load is 46c.

 

[dragonfang18]

I dont know... it looks so... Amature... No offense.

I like the high end PC maker's way, where you smear with a plastic bag... Looks more... professional.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMx2lIt5RC4

 

[dragonfang18]

See... Sometimes videos speak more than words, you can actually see if you are doing it right, by comparing the outcome of what you did.

 

[ombadboy]

am probably going for the plastic bag technique.. more safe.. + the small dab technique wouldnt be that good for quad core i would imagine..

 

[AKM880]

You'd probably need a line across the CPU or like dabs on either side, lol.

 

[dragonfang18]

http://www.overclockersclub.com/reviews/tuniq_tx2/3.htm

Found out TX-2 is better tha Jay2tall's ceramique.

 

[ombadboy]

http://hardwarelogic.com/news/137/ARTICLE/2752/3/2008-03-03.html

a bigger comparison table if ure interested.. TX-2 is up there with the best

 

[snarfies]

but most companies pre-apply..

No they don't.