AMD Athlon 64 X2 stock Thermal Interface Material? (TIM)

[Rock&Roll]

Good day all. Just a quick question about AMD's TIMs.

I just got my new 3800+ X2, and I took off the stock HSF's TIM. I applied some generic white "thermal grease" (PN YG6260-5). I took a long time and was very careful to get a thin and even spread of thermal grease.This thermal grease was still sealed and fresh. It came with my Alpha HSF I bought years ago for a Socket A system.

My question is, was I right for doing this? Was the factory TIM better than generic white thermal grease? Should I abort before installation of this hardware and get some arctic silver or something better?

That's the gist of my question. If you want, you can read below for an explanation as to why I would even bother removing AMD's stock thermal interface material, please read below.




I recieved a new Athlon 64 X2 for my new system. I just planned on using the stock retail HSF. Upon inspecting the HSF, I noticied it had a factory installed T.I.M. To my naked eye, the material looked like a POS rubber pad. When I noticed that there appeared to be a scratch on the TIM, I put my finger on the TIM to see how rough the scratch was. That was when I found out the TIM wasn't rubber after all. It was some sort of decent looking thermal compound.

Now I was worried that I had adversely hampered the permorance of the TIM by touching it. I was very worried that my imprint would allow a void of air to be trapped between the processor and the HSF. In my paranoia, I wiped it all off and started new with my white thermal grease.

So, is it for better or for worse?

If nobody knows for sure, the only way I will know is by comparing my temps with yours. That is comparing Ambient VS CPU @ Idle and CPU @ Load.

Thanks for you input, anyone who cares to answer.

[gotkilled]

You just voided your warranty. LOL. Anyways..the thermal pad bundled w/ your X2 was probably better. the pads are better for environments where you don't always keep on removing your heatsink. Put on some arctic silver 5 which is thermal paste and not a pad. but it's good stuff.

[Rock&Roll]

damn I was hoping for good news :o ..........though I was fully aware of the warranty voidation.

[fluxion]

i'd slap some AS5 on that $400 beast

[daglesj]

I got rid of the thermal pad on mine straight away. Put some quality silver paste on.

No worries. :)

[RoCkStAr*]

I've heard that Ceramique is a lot safer, while it cools only about a degree less. If I had such a large investment, with a now voided warranty, I would take the safe option with Ceramique.

[Rock&Roll]

Sounds like a sound plan. Ceramique is my choice. I can now sleep at night. ;)

[t3mp]

Ceramique is good stuff, been using it since it came out. Something about silver being conductive..... :p

[Vertigo Acid]

AS5 is not conductive, it is capacitive. Get it right

[daglesj]

But silver is conductive too (very in fact, makes great speaker cable). I saw a pic of someone who managed to fry their CPU with an 'over-enthusiastic' application of AS5.

The moving of heat/electricity through an object is conduction.

As stated before, less is more with thermal paste. :)

[gazza_new]

But silver is conductive too (very in fact, makes great speaker cable). I saw a pic of someone who managed to fry their CPU with an 'over-enthusiastic' application of AS5.

The moving of heat/electricity through an object is conduction.

As stated before, less is more with thermal paste. :)

You got me worried now. I've been using the AS5 tube for about 2 years now on my boxes, but wasn't so concerned as they weren't new. I've been running AS5 on my Athlon X2 for 10 days now, it is safe to assume its gonna be safe?

[kirbyrj]

You'll be fine. I'm getting my X2 3800+ today and fully intend to put AS5 on it.

[hAppy]

Does that AS crap even work? I been hearing it's just marketing hype, and you have to change it out every so often, like car oil. And I heard that there is barely any difference compared to the paste that comes w/ HSF or CPUs. Is this right? Cus that little thing isn't worth $10.............

[kirbyrj]

I've found you can pick up 3-5C vs. the stock paste. I don't change it out that often, so I can't tell you about that. Maybe once a year, and I usually only do it because I'm getting a new CPU or something :). Also, if you're shopping around, you can get it for a lot cheaper than $10 for the little container. I got the big one for $12 shipped.

[daglesj]

Its fine to use as long as you dont spread it on like peanut butter!

Folks will all have different opinions of paste. From what I've read up and from experience, you'll do just as well with standard white paste if you want your system to run along nicely. Using some of the more exotic pastes will possibly give you a degree or two drop, however, this is all tied up with how much is used, clutter in the case, airflow, etc, etc so results will differ from rig to rig.

If using exotic pastes works then great. But for most of us, the standard stuff that came free will do. If you want major temp drops then you need a better cooling solution period, not just a $15 tube of silver paste.