2500k, do I need to let the thermal paste cure before OC?

SaViOr-

[H]ard|Gawd
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Hey guys my new Sandy Bridge set-up will be here later this week and I plan to OC the 2500k. A buddy of mine told me not to OC right away and that I needed to wait until the thermal paste cured before I did any overclocking. Is this true or can I go ahead and OC the chip once I get everything set up? I haven't really heard this before so wanted to make sure so I don't do something wrong to a new chip lol. Would love to see what she can do on Day 1.

Rig specs:
Asus P8P67 PRO <REV 3.0>
2500k will be cooled by Dark Knight S1283V & using AS5 for paste
G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3 1600
ASUS DirectCU HD6870 @ 985mhz GPU/1200mhz Mem
ASUS EAH6870 @ 985mhz GPU/1200mhz Mem
WD Black 1TB HDD
X-Fi Fatal1ty FPS PCI (Don't think I'll be able to use this card in the new board :( )
Corsair TX850
Coolermaster CM-690


Thanks!
 
No, you can overclock right away. Just make sure your temps don't get out of hand. Besides, curing only lowers temps by about 3-4 C anyways, it doesn't make a huge difference.

Also, curing takes less time under a warmer environment from what I've heard.
 
what tim did you use?

Some of them do need to cure.

Curing does make a overall big factor, on what tim you use, are you serious lol, it is important if you ue a certain types of tim's, because in some of those tim's if they don't cure your temps will be high.

So what Tim did you use?
 
No, you can overclock right away. Just make sure your temps don't get out of hand. Besides, curing only lowers temps by about 3-4 C anyways, it doesn't make a huge difference.

Also, curing takes less time under a warmer environment from what I've heard.

Thank you. This is what I thought, but figured it wouldn't hurt to check on the [H]. I'll most likely run OCCT and Prime95 once I put the rig together for 3-5hrs on stock to see what my idle/load temps are before I start to OC.
 
what tim did you use?

Some of them do need to cure.

Curing does make a overall big factor, on what tim you use, are you serious lol don't listen to the guy that just posted, it is important if you ue a certain types of tim's, because in some of those tim's if they don't cure your temps will be high.

So what Tim did you use?

If by Tim you mean paste then AS5. It's what I've always used in the past.
 
AS5 needs to cure before its at its prime.

while tops a few yrs ago, its now jusgt hmmmm...... Theres better now and they don't need cure time.

You can oc, but be warey of your temps.
 
AS5 needs to cure before its at its prime.

while tops a few yrs ago, its now jusgt hmmmm...... Theres better now and they don't need cure time.

You can oc, but be warey of your temps.

What would you recommend instead of AS5? I could order something else before the cpu arrives.
 
ICDiamond 7 is considered one of the best from what I've heard, but it might rub off the writing on your CPU's surface. There's also lots more out there.
 
x-4 x-3 the diamond stuff is only like 1-2 points of difference but is alot more money, nt he best bang for your buck
 
dont u mean mx? and isnt mx2 fine?

i actually got a 40g bottle of cooler master ice fusion for 9$ and its decent but as5 and others would be better
 
Thank you. This is what I thought, but figured it wouldn't hurt to check on the [H]. I'll most likely run OCCT and Prime95 once I put the rig together for 3-5hrs on stock to see what my idle/load temps are before I start to OC.


remember with sandy bridge OCCT and Prime95 will not show true stability. you will need to run something like 3DMark11 or vantage to see if its truely stable.

AS5 is fine. no reason to go really crazy on TIM. your talking a 1-5C difference in temps between the shitty stuff and high end stuff. definitely not enough to change your ability to overclock.
 
remember with sandy bridge OCCT and Prime95 will not show true stability. you will need to run something like 3DMark11 or vantage to see if its truely stable.

AS5 is fine. no reason to go really crazy on TIM. your talking a 1-5C difference in temps between the shitty stuff and high end stuff. definitely not enough to change your ability to overclock.

Roger. I've been doing a minimum of 3-5hrs on Prime95 Blend Test followed by 3DMark 06 & 11. The TIM I chose is the Noctua NT-H1. So Far shes ran Prime95 and 3dMark 11 stable at 4.9GHz @ 1.35 (Max 1.38 in HW Monitor Pro)
 
Curing time depends on TIM. AS5 requires a lot of curing time with some heat cycles. While it is excellent in cooling performance, it is a bit outdated. Many current thermal pastes equal it, some even outperform it, and require next to no curing time nor heatcycling. Its not like it performs poorly at the start, but Arctic Cooling MX-2/MX-3 and Zalman STG2 are good examples of more modern thermal pastes. Both give AS5 a run for their money and require no hassle for optimal performance, as good as they get out of the box.
 
Curing time depends on TIM. AS5 requires a lot of curing time with some heat cycles. While it is excellent in cooling performance, it is a bit outdated. Many current thermal pastes equal it, some even outperform it, and require next to no curing time nor heatcycling. Its not like it performs poorly at the start, but Arctic Cooling MX-2/MX-3 and Zalman STG2 are good examples of more modern thermal pastes. Both give AS5 a run for their money and require no hassle for optimal performance, as good as they get out of the box.

So what is the best method for applying MX-2 to the new sandy bridge processors? I've looked around online, and the responses seem to be mixed
 
So what is the best method for applying MX-2 to the new sandy bridge processors? I've looked around online, and the responses seem to be mixed


Depends on a cooler. On standard flat base cooler a drop that is something between a rice grain and pea on the center is a common and easy method. It doesnt necessarily spread all the way to the corners but it doesnt matter as the part that produces heat is in the center of the CPU.

If you are using a HDT (heatpipe direct touch) it is more complex. You have to fill the gaps between the heatpipes, scrap excess off, and then either draw a thin lines of TIM in the spaces between the heatpipes or do a cross shape on the CPU. Just dont put too much.
 
Depends on a cooler. On standard flat base cooler a drop that is something between a rice grain and pea on the center is a common and easy method. It doesnt necessarily spread all the way to the corners but it doesnt matter as the part that produces heat is in the center of the CPU.

If you are using a HDT (heatpipe direct touch) it is more complex. You have to fill the gaps between the heatpipes, scrap excess off, and then either draw a thin lines of TIM in the spaces between the heatpipes or do a cross shape on the CPU. Just dont put too much.

I've got the Corsair A70. When you say heatpipe direct touch, is that some sort of special feature, or are you just talking about a cooler with heatpipes? I haven't installed it yet, but I'm pretty sure the A70 has heatpipes
 
I've got the Corsair A70. When you say heatpipe direct touch, is that some sort of special feature, or are you just talking about a cooler with heatpipes? I haven't installed it yet, but I'm pretty sure the A70 has heatpipes


That is a HDT cooler. It means that heatpipes make a direct contact to the CPUs heatspreader. A standard cooler has a flat metal slab and heatpites run through it.


HDT cooler
http://www.legitreviews.com/images/reviews/1389/corsair_a70_015.jpg

A normal flat base cooler.
http://www.legitreviews.com/images/reviews/1215/thermalright_venomous_x_008.jpg


*edit* Follow the link in this post for good example how to apply paste on HDT coolers. Its a good article too. It should be the first that comes up. Too bad HardOCP has personal issues with that site so we cannot direct link it.
http://hardforum.com/showpost.php?p=1037019418&postcount=4
 
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