Thermal Adhesives: Arctic Silver And Akasa
Thermal adhesives binds surfaces together, acting as a thermal compound in the process. They're available both as pastes and in pad form, and may be necessary for mounting small heat sinks on memory packages or voltage regulation circuitry. Obviously, conventional pastes don't work in those cases, since the weight of a heat sink causes them to slide right off.
Adhesive pastes have better thermal properties than pads, but they are accompanied by a significant drawback: once thermal adhesive paste cures, you cannot remove the heat sink from the component without damaging something. We've seen too many pictures from folks who've torn off RAM packages or cracked MOSFETs in half. You can try a trick to avoid this: mix thermal adhesive with regular thermal paste. We'll discuss this shortly.
Paste: Arctic Silver Alumina Thermal Adhesive
Arctic Silver's Alumina is a classic among thermal adhesive pastes, but heed the above warning: once applied your heat sink won't come off again. But a similar non-adhesive version is also available, and you can mix about two parts of the adhesive with one part regular paste to achieve a compromise. Your sink shouldn't be affected by gravity or vibrations, but it should still come off if you need it to. After popping it off, remnants of the adhesive will remain on both surfaces, which you'll want to clean with a sponge.
| Arctic Silver Alumina Thermal Adhesive | |
|---|---|
| Thermal Conductivity | 9.0 W/(m*K) |
| CPU Water Cooling, High Pressure | 33.4 ΔT (22 °C ambient) |
| CPU Air Cooling, High Pressure | 37.5 ΔT (22 °C ambient) |
| CPU Air Cooling, Low Pressure | 38.0 ΔT (22 °C ambient) |
| GPU Cooling | 70.0 ΔT (22 °C ambient) |
| Electrically Conductive | No |
| Viscosity | 5 (1-10, lower numbers mean easier to use) |
| Ease of Use | 5 (1-10, higher numbers mean easier to use) |
| Application Hints | When in doubt, mix with the Arctic Silver Alumina paste. Otherwise, it can’t be removed after burn-in! |
| Price (approximate) | $7 (1.75 grams) |
Adhesive Pad: Akasa AK-TT12-80 Thermal Adhesive Tape
It is easier to use an adhesive pad, if you don't mind the compromise in thermal conductivity. But for making sure that RAM packages and MOSFETs don’t get too hot, pads are typically good enough. If you ever plan to change or remove the heat sinks you're attaching, use an adhesive pad rather than paste.
| Akasa AK-TT12-80 Thermal Adhesive Tape | |
|---|---|
| Thermal Conductivity | 0.9 W/(m*K) |
| CPU Water Cooling, High Pressure | 35.0 ΔT (22 °C ambient) |
| CPU Air Cooling, High Pressure | 40.0 ΔT (22 °C ambient) |
| CPU Air Cooling, Low Pressure | 42.0 ΔT (22 °C ambient) |
| GPU Cooling | 90.0 ΔT (22 °C ambient) |
| Electrically Conductive | No |
| Viscosity | Pad (1-10, lower numbers mean easier to use) |
| Ease of Use | 1 (1-10, higher numbers mean easier to use) |
| Application Hints | Use normal scissors to cut the tape to the desired size and shape |
| Price (approximate) | $5 (80 mm x 80 mm) |