Coollaboratory Liquid Ultra safe for the die?

Binar

[H]ard|Gawd
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Dec 8, 2007
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Just de-lidded my 3770k and I was wondering if Coollaboratory Liquid Ultra thermal compound is safe to apply directly on the CPU's die? Also , Ultra shoudn't react with aluminium like Pro did..Right?

Someone told me where to get it for cheap http://www.sidewindercomputers.com/coliul.html + 2 shipping and I'd really like to try it out with my CPU
 
The Liquid Ultra TIM is supposed to be a little easier to apply and more friendly on metals. I am not sure how it will react with the die in long term use.

I've read about many people using Liquid Metal Pro on direct die with IHS which is supposed to work better for cooling but is more harsh on metal and isn't to be used with aluminum blocks.

http://www.frozencpu.com/products/3...ry_Liquid_PRO_Thermal_Interface_Material.html
 
I used the Liquid Metal Pro directly between the die and the lid on my 3770K exactly one week ago. So far so good, No problems. On top of lid between lid and cooler I use some MX-4. Got the CPU running at 4.6GHZ@ 1.21V (haven't tried any higher as this did not require any tweaks, just a changed multiplier/fsb and stock auto volts everywhere else) and high 50's low 60's under Prime95 on a Asus Z68 motherboard. Heat sink is a Thermaltake Frio OCK (almost exact copy of Megahalems with different type of fan mount).

Don't know why I bothered as this PC only sees my kids playing minecraft and watching my little Pony video's. Serious overkill.. Minecraft is pretty smooth though (as if it's hard on the PC)... Figured though if I kill the CPU, the kids aren't going to complain too much..
 
Yes..coollab liquid pro/ultra safe for die..IC Diamond..notsomuch.


I'm not 100% sure Liquid Pro is safe to use on DIE but will soon find out. No questions were asked about IC Diamond but from personal use with it I know you have to be careful when applying it and removing it. Right now I have IC Diamond 24 on the bare die of my 3570k will remove it this weekend to try Liquid Pro. I will post pics of my die condition when I remove the IC Diamond from it and apply Liquid Pro this weekend. I will also post some before and after temps.
 
I'm not 100% sure Liquid Pro is safe to use on DIE but will soon find out. No questions were asked about IC Diamond but from personal use with it I know you have to be careful when applying it and removing it. Right now I have IC Diamond 24 on the bare die of my 3570k will remove it this weekend to try Liquid Pro. I will post pics of my die condition when I remove the IC Diamond from it and apply Liquid Pro this weekend. I will also post some before and after temps.
use lots of alcohol..more than usual..try to get as much off as you can without rubbing. :)
 
use lots of alcohol..more than usual..try to get as much off as you can without rubbing. :)



I'm going to put a drop or two of GOO OFF directly on the IC Diamond on the DIE and block then dab off with a new micro fiber clothe that has been dampened in GOO OFF. No rubbing.

Once all the IC Diamond is off I will repeat using rubbing alcohol. Will use a a lighted magnifying glass to be certain all IC Diamond is safely removed.
 
Did you ever come up with any results from this? Made the mistake of putting IC Diamond on last night and I m worried it might've hurt it. Not sure if I should leave it be or go ahead and wipe it down and apply some Ceramique or Liquid Pro.
 
Has anyone tested the integrity of their die or heatsinks or IHS yet after applying CLU/CLP on their stuff? Gallium (CLU/CLP has this stuff in their metal alloy) is supposed to eat through aluminum oxide, allowing free aluminum to continue oxidizing and repeating the process, destroying the aluminum.

EDIT: I read more into it, definitely NOT safe to use on aluminum, other metals? Should be okay.
 
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I have concerns about the longevity of CLU / CL PRO. Read that it "dries up" over time, hardens and looses efficiency. Then requires abrasive to remove. Not good when we are talking about the die.
 
I have concerns about the longevity of CLU / CL PRO. Read that it "dries up" over time, hardens and looses efficiency. Then requires abrasive to remove. Not good when we are talking about the die.

interesting I read liquid pro is fine after it dries but do worry about it becoming permanent. once on the CPU die, how would you get it off? I don't think goo gone or rubbing alcahol is going to cut it. I guess you could try lapping the CPU or just buying a new one. Sucks if you have to RMA your motherboard or clean your waterblock ever though. Or maybe you just put more liquid pro over the top and call it a day?

I see a lot of people doing this but haven't heard from many who have had to re-seat their CPU or waterblock for whatever reason.

Then again I think I might grab some, put it between CPU and IHS, then maybe epoxy the IHS on from the outside? Then more liquid pro on top. Lapping the IHS and waterblock shouldn't be a problem as long as the epoxy holds?

I dunno I have yet to see pictures of someone doing this, just a lot of 20-30 deg temp drops, but at what cost?
 
Did you ever come up with any results from this? Made the mistake of putting IC Diamond on last night and I m worried it might've hurt it. Not sure if I should leave it be or go ahead and wipe it down and apply some Ceramique or Liquid Pro.


Sorry but I forgot to update. I had problems with IC diamond and don't recommend it. Google search has many incidents with problems with it.



Great results with CLP and CLU.
 
Liquid pro/ultra/phobya is safe for die. Obviously conductive so have to be careful. As for hardening, I'm still seeing the same temps after 6 months. Can't speak for a year or 5 years but even if it did, it is safe to use a new layer right on top of the old if you have to remove hsf and can't get it all up.
 
sorry for necro post, but this high in google search results so I wanted to clear some things up now that we've seen a couple years of testing on this stuff.

1. people over at OC.net have been using this on direct-die to IHS for awhile now (since ivy bridge) with little to no issues. (Haswell needs insulation over FIVR for safety)

2. Only appears to be dangerous on aluminum, gallium shouldn't react with much else. Ultra is a wider compatibility list of metals. Should be okay on lapped IHS top plus lapped waterblock if you're willing to deal with the mess afterwards. Heating it up before removal helps a lot (prime95 before shutdown, or hair drier). regular non-lapped heatspreader top I'd recommend just using a good paste.

3. It can absorb a bit into copper staining it until you lap it again - but this is mostly filling in the imperfections. This doesn't seem to occur with nickel plating.

4. high temperatures can cause it to solidify, especially Pro. This is bad for computers that move a lot, like laptops or desktops with heavy cooler, however if it solidifies and stays put without moving (like under a IHS) it has VERY good heat transfer which is why this has been shown as best for between die and IHS since it's as close as we can get to solder. If you break this bond, however, you'll likely see bad performance like the videos of laptops with CLP/CLU "degrading" (there's much better paste choices for parts that shift or move slightly).

Regarding ICD:
In my experience it's safe for dies as long as you're not moving it around too much, I've been using it on GPU's and CPU's for years. Don't believe all the internet propaganda, it's one of the most durable pastes I've used (2yr GPU and CPU mounts w/o issues) but rather hard to get a good spread sometimes due to it's thick viscosity. Yes it is like sand paper if it moves a lot it can scratch, diamond is very tough. Remove with Arcticlean or some other acetone based product and dab it up, then wipe with one light swift motion - DON'T scrub. ICD requires 50psi for optimal spread using pea method, which is why it's often shown to perform better using more than the usual recommended amount due to not enough pressure. I've only noticed minor scratching from ICD, never anything as bad as letters being scratched off heatspreaders. Swiftech sells something similar now, micronized carbon based paste. I don't think they would trust carbon based pastes if it had issues, though it's probably more diluted in silicone. Gelid Extreme and NT-H1 seem to be popular nowadays though, but I think direct-die showed pump-out/reliability issues with NT-H1 (and MX2? I could be mistaken here) - Probably not so much of an issue on a larger surface.
 
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