Does Arctic Silver go bad?

[mosin]

Let's get this out of the way first...

Yes, I know how to prep for Arctic Silver.
Yes, I've installed heatsinks with Arctic Silver before.
Yes, I did it right.

The problem...

I changed out the heatsinks in my dually, so I could get the temps lower. I'm running Palomino core MPs, so the things tend to run a bit warm. Also, the box is on the small side for a dual rig. I modded a pair of Swiftech 462s to fit my board, and installed them without any hassles. My initial result was a case temp of 29C with one cpu running 38C, and the other was 39C @ idle. Under full load, the processors hit the mid 40s. I thought that was great. Now, however, when the case temp is 29C, one cpu is 41C, and the other is 43C. They still hold up fairly well under full load, however. The highest temp I've seen so far is 46C. It isn't really a problem, so much as it is curiousity on my part.

Could the Arctic Silver be bad?...

I didn't have a new tube of AS, but I had an old one. I read someplace that if it is kept refrigerated, it won't tend to separate. I have always kept it that way. It applied like always, so I didn't give it a second thought. Could it have been bad? Why did it do well at the outset? Why didn't my temps change immediately?

 

[[H]'er]

yes it goes bad

 

[trust_no1]

Just to eliminate any other factor, have you dusted out your case?? A little extra dust can add a few *C to your temp, :/

 

[jaffy]

yes it goes bad

But how long does it take to "expire"?

 

[[H]'er]

I think 1 year is the expected life but I have been known to use some that was almost 2 years old

 

[mosin]

Just to eliminate any other factor, have you dusted out your case?? A little extra dust can add a few *C to your temp, :/

Of course. What would be the point of taking a rig all apart just to put it back together dirty?

But how long does it take to "expire"?

How would you know? Would my results be typical?

 

[ocphangaz]

my arctic alumina turns from whitish colour to brownish colour after 2 years...

 

[jaffy]

How would you know? Would my results be typical?

Not typical. I'm just curious.

 

[mosin]

Not typical. I'm just curious.

Me too. I've built a lot of rigs, but this is the first one that ever gave me this sort of result. It isn't at all bad for a dual cpu machine, but it was even better...until this little temp swing. It seems to have settled down to the numbers in the first post. Go figure.

If it hasn't stabilized, I'll start over. It would be a hassle, though.

I forgot to mention that bios readings and MBM readings are the same.

 

[thuper]

I bought a tube of AS3 in Dec. of 2002 when I was building my system. I used it a couple of times since and then let it sit for over a year.

Last month I used that same tube on my Arctic Cooling Silencer. There was some water (I think) that came out of the tube first, but it was a tiny amount and the paste still seemed the same. The Silencer works fine, so I think it was okay.

 

[Napalm_Fire]

weird thing with me is, I just applied my new AS5, then 2 days later, temps rose 1-3c, so I redid it, temps went back down 1-3c, not 2 days again, and back up.

I dusted the heatsink, and im running without my IHS, so those both help the cooling factor. I just find it weird, before the 4 days of these tests, it was fully cured for the 200+ hours and temps were up 5C from first application, im thinking im going to go with AS-Ceramique(sp?)

 

[pxc]

AS is mostly hype, or good looking only next to very poorly performing compounds. I still use some of the tube I bought a year ago and it does work, but it's no better than quality white compound like NTE303.

I like NTE303 because it's much more stable over the long term and easy to clean.