RAM Sink Installation Tip

I just finished installing RAM Heatsinks,(IE;Ramsinks) on my ATI 9800 Pro, I applied an old carpenters trick, to the RAM sink installation and it worked great, so I thought I'd pass it on.

I used the Artic Silver Thermal Adhesive, which as we all should know, conducts electricity, and you cannot take any chance whatsoever of getting the ASTA on any electrical surfaces.

So first I carefully scotch taped around each RAM die, now for the tip, I used a sheet of plastic like the plastic that transperencies are made of to mix the ASTA together on, the plastic needs to be thick enough not to be moving when you hold it to spread the Thermal Adhesive on, after I had the adhesive thoroughly mixed, I spread a thin even layer out on the plastic sheet, then pressed the contact base of the Ramsink into the thin layer of adhesive, twisting it back and forth and checking for even coverage, if I had too much on it, I went to a thinner spread on the plastic and evened it up, then used the contact part of the ram sink, and touched the die with the contact face of the Ramsink, pulling it up and checking for even coverage on the die, and basically using the base of the Ramsink to spread the Thermal adhesive, since it was the exact same size as the die it was the perfect spreader.

Doing it that way there was a very slight squeeze out when pressure was applied to the Ramsinks, for the setup time period, that allows the Thermal Adhesive to cure.

Spreading the Thermal Adhesive on the plastic basically gives you the perfect coverage thickness to begin with and with a steady hand, removes the possibility of getting the Thermal Adhesive where you don't want it. It worked great, and I had no problems at all.

I hope this tip helps someone, with your own Ramsink installation!

Anyone thats installed Ramsinks on a video card using Artic Silver Thermal Adhesive knows just how nerve racking it can be, because you surely don't want to screw up your video card. :cool: Ryan


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Good tip. Thnx.

I would suggest copying and pasting it into the "Overclocking 3Dchips" section, just to spread the wealth around.


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damn i wish i had thought of that, lol.

i just used a pick(the ones they use at the dentist office) to lightly spread the compound on the ramsix,

though it took a while i made sure it was right,

ya know: measure twice, cut once; kinda thing.

but thanx for the tip now i know what to do next time.

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Woodman

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Ooo, I didn't know sticky muck were conductive, thanks for the info.

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GeneticWeapon

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You can smear any of that crap all over your card's PCB, and it wont hurt nuthin'....I dont care who says what, that myth is untrue.

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[quote from Artic Silver Website]

Silver Adhesive Features:

Made with 99.8% pure micronized silver.

62% to 65% silver content by weight.

Superior thermal conductivity. Greater than 7.5 W/mK

Temperature range: - 40C to >150C
(Bond strength is weakened at temperatures
below 0C due to crystallization.)

Negligible electrical conductivity.

Arctic Silver Thermal Adhesive was formulated to
conduct heat, not electricity.

<b><font color=red>NOTE: Even though Arctic Silver Thermal Adhesive is specifically engineered for high electrical resistance, it should be keep away from electrical traces, pins, and leads. The cured adhesive is slightly capacitive and could potentially cause
problems if it bridged two close-proximityelectrical paths.</font color=red></b>
[End Quote from Artic Silver Website]





The above was taken from the Artic Silver website, personally I believe they know more about their product than you do, but whether you're concerned about the electrical aspect or not, its still a good tip.


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Willamette_sucks

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I agree with Gen. I used this stuff on my 9800 Pro's ramsinks and for attatching a Volcano 10 to the core, and while I didn't "smear it all over", I wasn't nearly as cautious as you. I'm not 100% sure about the conductivity of the adhesive, but as far as the normal AS silver compound goes, its VIRTUALY NON CONDUCTIVE! They state this on their website. Anything will conduct electricity if you shove enough power through it, but the conductivity of this stuff is nil.

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Titanion

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I am glad to hear this guys, for two days ago, while I was putting two ramsinks back on, I had too much stuff on one ram chip, so I picked up my spreader and moved it to the next ramchip and drug a string of goo across the board between the chips... only a 1/2 inch or so... I cleaned it up with a cue-tip and some rubbing alcohol, and it cleaned up pretty good, but after the fist post, I was worried...

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