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Confusion about thermal paste

B

BlackThought

Gawd
Joined
Jan 20, 2011
Messages
598
Recently i got a CM Hyper 212+, my idle temps dropped about 8 degrees. (33 idles now, 41 before)

So after a day, i decided to run Prime95

And my temps quickly jumped to 60 C (my mobo is set to warn me @ 60)

But is it supposed to be that high with a aftermarket cooler? So many reviews of ppl saying it keeps their 955 BE at 55C max load, mine shot up to 60 real fast, and i ended the test.

My question, could this be because i applied too little thermal paste?

I put a very small rain grain amount on there and spread it, and it looks really thin.

The reason i ask this is because my stock heatsink came with pre-applied thermal paste, and to me it looked "thick" not credit card thick but you could clearly see it raised from a side view.

Extra info:

My case is a COOLER MASTER HAF 912 RC-912-KKN1. I don't have a case fan on top so i thought it would be best to have the CPU fan on top taking air from the opening on the top of my case, is that a good direction to have it facing?
 
What paste did you use? Also, I would rotate the cooler and have the CPU fan facing the back of the case towards the exhuast fan, assuming you have one. Also, do you have any front fans on your case pushing air in?
 
Temperature varies on many factors like the airflow inside your case,orientation of the HSF itself..etc..

What's your thermal paste?I think 5 degrees is not really a big deal,if it was 15-20 degrees then i would have been suspected then.
 
BlackThought said:
Recently i got a CM Hyper 212+, my idle temps dropped about 8 degrees. (33 idles now, 41 before)

So after a day, i decided to run Prime95

And my temps quickly jumped to 60 C (my mobo is set to warn me @ 60)

But is it supposed to be that high with a aftermarket cooler? So many reviews of ppl saying it keeps their 955 BE at 55C max load, mine shot up to 60 real fast, and i ended the test.

My question, could this be because i applied too little thermal paste?

I put a very small rain grain amount on there and spread it, and it looks really thin.

The reason i ask this is because my stock heatsink came with pre-applied thermal paste, and to me it looked "thick" not credit card thick but you could clearly see it raised from a side view.

Extra info:

My case is a COOLER MASTER HAF 912 RC-912-KKN1. I don't have a case fan on top so i thought it would be best to have the CPU fan on top taking air from the opening on the top of my case, is that a good direction to have it facing?
Click to expand...

Usually, you want the fan on your 212+ to face, so that its pulling in air
into the HS, and disapates it out the back of the case. A rear fan helps
this, or add a second fan on the back of the 212+ blowing it away.
(pass the fans air through the HS, taking the CPU heat)

The way you have it, your blowing outside air into your HS and into the case itself.
That is your problem. The goal is to take heat(air) away from the CPU, and get rid of it.

With Prime95, 10 hour test I never cracked 49C tops.
At idle, I'm at 28C, no OC.

As far as thrmal paste, a thin coat to fill the groves of the HS/CPU is all thats needed.
 
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most of the time prime95 or other stress test programs will heat the cpu more then any normal work/game. the grain of rice is too small. IHS are larger then in the past when that was made up. i think a pea size is a better term. after some testing and seeing examples on youtube using a clear plastic my preferred method is draw an "X" from corner to corner ( not all the way) that is not to thick. another thing is 60C is not that hot. i like to keep my stuff under 60C too but the cooler i would say is still between budget and high end.

[ame="http://youtu.be/EyXLu1Ms-q4"]application of thermal paste examples [/ame]
 
When I place terminal paste, it looks like the above picture. Roughly the size of a quarter, but thin.
 
Joe S said:
What paste did you use? Also, I would rotate the cooler and have the CPU fan facing the back of the case towards the exhuast fan, assuming you have one. Also, do you have any front fans on your case pushing air in?
Click to expand...

AS5

As far as fans, i have the stock ones, back of the case is pulling air out, front of the case is bringing air in.
I have some small 80mm fans but they're a little too loud for my liking, if i have to get more fans just let me know

Silent Knight said:
What's your thermal paste?I think 5 degrees is not really a big deal,if it was 15-20 degrees then i would have been suspected then.
Click to expand...

Artic Silver 5 paste is what i use, it had good reviews so i got that when i first built my comp
msny said:
Usually, you want the fan on your 212+ to face, so that its pulling in air
into the HS, and disapates it out the back of the case. A rear fan helps
this, or add a second fan on the back of the 212+ blowing it away.
(pass the fans air through the HS, taking the CPU heat)

The way you have it, your blowing outside air into your HS and into the case itself.
That is your problem. The goal is to take heat(air) away from the CPU, and get rid of it.

With Prime95, 10 hour test I never cracked 49C tops.
At idle, I'm at 28C, no OC.

As far as thrmal paste, a thin coat to fill the groves of the HS/CPU is all thats needed.
Click to expand...


So flip it around so the fan is on the bottom blowing air up?

gesicht said:
most of the time prime95 or other stress test programs will heat the cpu more then any normal work/game. the grain of rice is too small. IHS are larger then in the past when that was made up. i think a pea size is a better term. after some testing and seeing examples on youtube using a clear plastic my preferred method is draw an "X" from corner to corner ( not all the way) that is not to thick. another thing is 60C is not that hot. i like to keep my stuff under 60C too but the cooler i would say is still between budget and high end.

application of thermal paste examples
Click to expand...

I was looking at this before i made the thread, and he puts on a lot more than i do.

contitego said:
When I place terminal paste, it looks like the above picture. Roughly the size of a quarter, but thin.
Click to expand...
So you only cover the center and not the entire CPU?
 
BlackThought said:
AS5

As far as fans, i have the stock ones, back of the case is pulling air out, front of the case is bringing air in.
I have some small 80mm fans but they're a little too loud for my liking, if i have to get more fans just let me know



Artic Silver 5 paste is what i use, it had good reviews so i got that when i first built my comp



So flip it around so the fan is on the bottom blowing air up?



I was looking at this before i made the thread, and he puts on a lot more than i do.


So you only cover the center and not the entire CPU?
Click to expand...

Flip it so the backside of your HS either faces the back or top of the case,
making sure theres a fan or venting to take the dissapated air away a
short distance away. An exhast fan make all the difference.

The fan should be blowing into the HS, on the other side.

Take a credit card, or better yet one of those small key ring cards
with a nice flat edge. Put a pea size gob in the middle, and spread it evenly
with the card. Leave about a 1/8 inch all around bare. Thickness should be
about the size of of light paper.

Got it?
Give it a try, your temps will drop 5 degrees easy, at max CPU.

This is my 6th build in about 12 years, i've used them all, this one being the
best I've used. Sets up much faster then AS5, and spreads easy.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835186020
 
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I just tried to turn my heatsink, the thing wont work any other direction, fan has to either be blowing down or on the bottom blowing up.

I have it blowing the air up thru the sink and out the top hole of my PC now

I'll look into getting that thermal paste soon msny thanks
 
Capture.PNG


Wow what a simple turn of the fan made. im running Prime95 going on 15 minutes now

This is with one of my side panels off tho, so im guessing it will rise a little when i put it on, but whoa.....

Just as i expected, goes to 50 and stops with the side door on.

:D:D:D
 
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BlackThought said:
Capture.PNG


Wow what a simple turn of the fan made. im running Prime95 going on 15 minutes now

This is with one of my side panels off tho, so im guessing it will rise a little when i put it on, but whoa.....

Just as i expected, goes to 50 and stops with the side door on.

:D:D:D
Click to expand...

Good job!...;)

Since you dont have a fan to exhaust at the top, I'd stick another fan on the other
side of the HS, so you end up with a push/pull system.

You could drop that another 2 to 3C, along with better thermal paste.
 
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