Ceramic vs. Metallic Paste...

The metallic AS5 is marginally better... But it's got it's downsides.

Sharp vibrations will sever the heat-bond after the paste has cured... moving your case around can often provoke this breaking of the bond, which makes your temperatures skyrocket.

It's not suitable for temperatures under 0c

It has to be re-applied EVERY time you remove your HSF... Ceramique can be used for years before a re-application is necessary... provided it doesn't get contaminated with dirt or dust.

It's way more expensive.
 
I've actually gone to using the Ceramic stuff due to being able to get a 22g tube for only a lil more than the small AS5 one.

That and I'm usually messing with my GPU's more and I feel better knowing I'm not putting metal infused paste on bare dies.

Oh yeah, I didn't notice a temp difference on my cpu's. Perhaps 1c tops, nothing worth noting. I never heard about the vibration thing before, and never had it happen even with all the moving my computers do *shrug*
 
It will be extremely difficult to measure any difference in temps using any of the better quality products.

The major reason there are two are:

AS5 is electrically conductive, AS Ceramique is not (in comparison to AS5).

I use AS5 for CPU and chipset chips, Ceramique for Mosfets and video card memory chips, anyplace there is a chance I might get some on the component leads.

If I ran out of AS5 I would not hesitate to use the Ceramique on a CPU.
 
Why didn't I know about this before!

The advantages of ceramic being non-conductive and not having to reapply it all the time is well worth a rise in temperature of 1 or 2C.
 
I have often heard about AS5 being eletrically conductive. I have my doubts about that as I've seen people glob that shit on there like it was mayonaise or mustard on a sandwich. I've seen the shit down inside CPU sockets and on processor pins without having any adverse effects. (Other than being messy.)
 
Dan_D said:
I have often heard about AS5 being eletrically conductive. I have my doubts about that as I've seen people glob that shit on there like it was mayonaise or mustard on a sandwich. I've seen the shit down inside CPU sockets and on processor pins without having any adverse effects. (Other than being messy.)
Click to expand...

AS5 is not conductive. It's proven not to be conductive. I've even tested it. It's NOT conductive.

It can be capacitive at high frequencies (According to AS's website) but I also doubt that given the atrocities I've seen :eek:

And about the "snapping" of the cured AS5 paste. I moved my video server from my house to my dorm room, and my temperatures rose by almost 27c. I checked around on the net, and sure-enough, others had reported this.

Seems my AC freezer 7 was too heavy during the car ride, and the vibrations broke the cured seal.
 
Arcygenical said:
And about the "snapping" of the cured AS5 paste. I moved my video server from my house to my dorm room, and my temperatures rose by almost 27c. I checked around on the net, and sure-enough, others had reported this.

Seems my AC freezer 7 was too heavy during the car ride, and the vibrations broke the cured seal.
Click to expand...

Woah, funky. Guess that's a nice added benefit to using AS:C. I just use it cause I get the same temps and it's way cheaper. And calming the paranoia of some getting on leads and traces and SMC stuff near chips without heatspreaders and all is always nice as well, as I know I don't have to worry about that.
 
I use Ceramic; It's cheaper, it works very well, and it's Definatly not conductive; I'm sure given enough effort (which isn't likely in computers) you could have Just enough AS5 to short out a lead or two. It wouldn't happen except in extreme cases, but I just like to be safe.
 
hmm I could have sworn ...

Not Electrically Conductive:
Arctic Silver 5 was formulated to conduct heat, not electricity.
(While much safer than electrically conductive silver and copper greases, Arctic Silver 5 should be kept away from electrical traces, pins, and leads. While it is not electrically conductive, the compound is very slightly capacitive and could potentially cause problems if it bridges two close-proximity electrical paths.)


Doh !

I am old. I claim selective memory flashback, SMF, this rare medical condition is found mainly in old over the hill engineers who have read so many technical reports and specifications that they now know everything about everything but can only remember things like the diameter of the water pump pully on an 1978 Dodge Monaco with 383 cu in engine and AC. Donate and support research for a cure for this horrible affliction, before your Uncle comes over to fix the blower fan on the Central Airconditioning but instead installs six 30,000 BTU 1964 Amana window air conditioners that, when all turned on, make the street lights go dim for 10 squre blocks.



Negligible electrical conductivity.
Arctic Silver II was formulated to conduct heat, not electricity. It is only electrically conductive in a thin layer under extreme compression.
 
I used Ceramique on a system years ago...man, don't recall which one, a while back anyway. I think heat wise it was ok, my only issue with it was I found it a little bit more of a hassle to apply, I think it was a lot thicker than AS if I recall. I've just been using AS5 the past few times, including this new one.
 
If you don't believe me that MX-1 is better, please go to xtremesystems.org/forums and search for Thermal in the title. You will find a comparison of 26 Thermal Paste , The MX-1 is about 2C-4C better than AS5. Another plus is that you do not spread it over the CPU, just put a drop or small line in the center and put the heatsink over.
 
I'm using Ceramique on my video cards and on my chipset. I am using AS5 on the CPU. I think the AS5 is just to thin and runny for certain applications.
 
BillParrish said:
Then of course there is the stuff the CIA and NRO use in the electronics for the black helicopters. Created with DARPA funds its not available to us http://www.eng.buffalo.edu/research_materials.php
Click to expand...

I read a article that had that vs AS5 and ASC. It did worse than either of the Arctic Silver products.


EDIT:: To note that at the end of the technobabble about how the diamond paste is better, it states that "Disclosure: Joe Citarella has a financial interest in a company developing cooling products for electronic chip cooling." And I have the feeling that company is the one that makes the diamond stuff and makes me more skeptical about it. Not to mention it would be like cleaning up glass dust or something when you tried to remove it...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top