thermal paste application on an Enermax ETS-T40-BK

[kenshindono]

Wasn't sure what forum to throw this on. I picked up an ENERMAX ETS-T40-BK for a build im throwing together for my father. Ive never used an Enermax cooler but its rated well and looked pretty so i figured what the hell. The only thing is it uses an odd direct contact heatpipe system it seems. I havent built a computer in years, the first one ive build with modern cooling fans was when i helped my cousin put his together a few weeks back and he used the CM hyper evo. Im not too clear on how i should apply the paste here.

In the past i always just used the pea/rice drop method and it worked fine. But that was back in the early 2000's. Now we have quad core chips and stuff. For my cousins i used the line method. 2 thin straight lines on it. Would that be better for this cooler? Maybe the X method? Or would the pea method be the best? Its the fact that its direct contact that has me a bit concerned. Can anyone tell me what i should do? Im not doing the spread method, ive always hated that and think it does nothing but put air bubbles and problems in the paste.

OH, by the way im using Tuniq TX-2 Cooling paste. I usually used arctic silver 5 in the past all the time and it works great but i wanted to try some new brands/products i havent before with this build and i heard this stuff works great. Is it good? I almost got the TX-4 but this was actually rated better

 

[Zero Cool]

Wasn't sure what forum to throw this on. I picked up an ENERMAX ETS-T40-BK for a build im throwing together for my father. Ive never used an Enermax cooler but its rated well and looked pretty so i figured what the hell. The only thing is it uses an odd direct contact heatpipe system it seems. I havent built a computer in years, the first one ive build with modern cooling fans was when i helped my cousin put his together a few weeks back and he used the CM hyper evo. Im not too clear on how i should apply the paste here.

In the past i always just used the pea/rice drop method and it worked fine. But that was back in the early 2000's. Now we have quad core chips and stuff. For my cousins i used the line method. 2 thin straight lines on it. Would that be better for this cooler? Maybe the X method? Or would the pea method be the best? Its the fact that its direct contact that has me a bit concerned. Can anyone tell me what i should do? Im not doing the spread method, ive always hated that and think it does nothing but put air bubbles and problems in the paste.

OH, by the way im using Tuniq TX-2 Cooling paste. I usually used arctic silver 5 in the past all the time and it works great but i wanted to try some new brands/products i havent before with this build and i heard this stuff works great. Is it good? I almost got the TX-4 but this was actually rated better

I've always done it the way they show in the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IG_GfSTKQ98 The technique really does work great for not only filling in the gaps, but also getting a perfectly square spread. How this helps!

Also, I use AS5 as well but I have seen the Tuniq TX-2 and read a few reviews about it... It looks like great stuff!

 

[Calculatron]

I have an ETS-T40-TB (the same cooler with a different fan and without the ceramic coating). I've tried a number of methods, and, honestly, you won't notice but a couple degrees difference at most. A small dot in the center will suffice. A lot of people will recommend that you fill in the gaps between the aluminum and copper heatpipes on the base.

Here's another source to look at: http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/What-is-the-Best-Way-to-Apply-Thermal-Grease-Part-2/1392/8

Personally, for me, what they call a "traversal stripe" worked best.

 

[kenshindono]

that line method in the video is interesting but its odd they apply it to the cooler. I always put it on the CPU. It spreads better and is much easier to line up right. Hell in the link Calculatron posts they put it on the cooler too. Hmm im not sure. I may just do the dot or line method if i can line the lines up with the gaps. Maybe i shouldn't have got a direct touch cooler. Are they supposed to work better? I would think the old pad method would be best. Anyone else have any ideas or experience with these type of coolers?

Anyone got a picture of what the haswell chips look like with the cover off? If i saw where the cores were laid out, I.E. a strip together, a square, side by side, ect. It may narrow down how i want to apply the paste to this HDT cooler. Yeesh. I think im gonna stick to the regular types of coolers in the future. Im not even sure what using an HDT setup like this is supposed to accomplish

*edit* do you guys think putting a bit of paste in the channels then using the dot method would be a good idea or would that be too much paste? I just worry that those gaps are gonna be a problem

 

[Zero Cool]

that line method in the video is interesting but its odd they apply it to the cooler. I always put it on the CPU. It spreads better and is much easier to line up right. Hell in the link Calculatron posts they put it on the cooler too. Hmm im not sure. I may just do the dot or line method if i can line the lines up with the gaps. Maybe i shouldn't have got a direct touch cooler. Are they supposed to work better? I would think the old pad method would be best. Anyone else have any ideas or experience with these type of coolers?

Anyone got a picture of what the haswell chips look like with the cover off? If i saw where the cores were laid out, I.E. a strip together, a square, side by side, ect. It may narrow down how i want to apply the paste to this HDT cooler. Yeesh. I think im gonna stick to the regular types of coolers in the future. Im not even sure what using an HDT setup like this is supposed to accomplish

The direct contact between the heat pipes and the lid of the processor tends to provide better temps because there is nothing in between the pipes and the processor other than than your thermal paste. I've never had an issue putting the compound on the heatsink itself with these types of coolers but I understand what you're saying. Here is a die map for the quad core Haswell chips. Hope this helps!

 

[Zero Cool]

"*edit* do you guys think putting a bit of paste in the channels then using the dot method would be a good idea or would that be too much paste? I just worry that those gaps are gonna be a problem"

That should work perfectly. I actually saw a Linus Tech Tips video a while back and that's what he did. That way the gaps will be taken care of and you can ensure even distribution by applying the TX-2 onto the processor instead. In his video he used his finger to spread the compound into the gaps to prevent any chance of using too much. Good call!

 

[Calculatron]

that line method in the video is interesting but its odd they apply it to the cooler. I always put it on the CPU. It spreads better and is much easier to line up right. Hell in the link Calculatron posts they put it on the cooler too. Hmm im not sure. I may just do the dot or line method if i can line the lines up with the gaps. Maybe i shouldn't have got a direct touch cooler. Are they supposed to work better? I would think the old pad method would be best. Anyone else have any ideas or experience with these type of coolers?

Anyone got a picture of what the haswell chips look like with the cover off? If i saw where the cores were laid out, I.E. a strip together, a square, side by side, ect. It may narrow down how i want to apply the paste to this HDT cooler. Yeesh. I think im gonna stick to the regular types of coolers in the future. Im not even sure what using an HDT setup like this is supposed to accomplish

*edit* do you guys think putting a bit of paste in the channels then using the dot method would be a good idea or would that be too much paste? I just worry that those gaps are gonna be a problem

When I apply thermal compound, I put it directly on the cpu to guarantee I am getting the thermal compound on the center - the most important place for it to cover. (The hottest part of the CPU is the center.) Honestly, whether you put the thermal compound on the cooler, or CPU first doesn't matter, as long as you know what you're doing. I think part of the reason they did that was to display how they were applying the thermal compound better in relation to the cooler's orientation - people hardly read all the text in reviews and articles, so it is often best to display it in pictures. As for filling up the gaps, yes, a lot of people recommend doing this, as long as you scrape off the excess. Filling up the gaps and scraping off the excess will give you, practically, a flat surface to work with - so you can just treat it as a standard flat-base heatsink.

On the subject of Direct Touch versus Standard Base for heatsinks, it's a tough subject to handle. Most top-tier heatsinks for pure enthusiasts still employ a type of standard base - but they also have so many heatpipes (5+) that I am not sure if they they could be reliably stable or durable if they attempted a Direct Touch method. (Won't know until we see a working example.) Direct Touch set-ups are supposed to transfer heat better/faster from the CPU to the heatsink fins; the train of thought being that less material in the way means less "heat waste" from energy transferring through material. A number of people have attempted a number of tests, and generally Direct Touch technology is held in favorable regard even though results and findings are all over the board. (One site, which I can't find off-hand, said that the performance gains were negligible, but the speed at which the heatsink cooled up/down was roughly 15% faster.) One thing is for sure, though, it is more efficient in terms of cost - since you're using only the copper heat pipes, and not the full copper base as well, companies are saving that much money on not using that much more copper.

That doesn't make cooler using direct touch cheap, though, and the ETS-T40 is a particularly well designed cooler. Unless you plan on hardcore enthusiast overclocking, I think you'll be pleased with it, overall.