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reapplying arctic silver 5

B

bluefire7

Weaksauce
Joined
Oct 29, 2004
Messages
115
in putting this stuff on my rig (see below) i think i may have applied too much as5. i'm getting around 41º at idle! =( my load gets as high as 58º after priming overnight with the fan setting to low. my overclock is only from 2.2 to 2.3ghz.. :(

is it necessary to clean off the entire thing and reapply it again or can i just scrape more of it off? and if so, off of the heatsink or the die?
 
Clean it off with alcohol and reapply. Just put a tiny dab in the center of the cpu, equal to about 2 little grains of rice, then spread it evenly with a credit card or such.
 
so i shouldn't use the heatsink to squash/smooth it out? this is the method i used when first applying it..
 
bluefire7 said:
so i shouldn't use the heatsink to squash/smooth it out? this is the method i used when first applying it..
Click to expand...

As per AS5's instuctions, that is the process for the P4. The instructions were different for an AMD cpu, which were as I posted previously.
 
so the thinner the layer the better right? my hsf isn't lapped, and actually seems a lil rough.. how thin should i go?
 
I would suggest cleaning it off with something more than alcohol. I use electronic contact degreaser with alcohol. Alcohol will make it look clean but the micro groove will still keep previous thermal grease. it becomes readily apparent when you spray contact cleaner and wipe it out to see bunch of grey (as) or white (ceramique) stuff coming off on it. Alcohol will get your job done only to certain degree. people who bought heatsink from me or variants will notice how clean it is usually as I make sure it is as clean as it can be when I ship those things out with electronic contact cleaner than alcohol.
 
I use carb cleaner. I dont know how good that stuff is though, Im not sure what residue it leaves, but its great for removing thermal grease and pads. I use 99% alchol when im done with the carb cleaner.
 
Hrm I think I may have used the credit card method on my P4... I have a 2.53b and an IC7 board that shows it as 40 or so idling. Even given the high reading from the onboard CPU sensor, it seems a little high.

OC I got my temps to 46 or so (again - on board sensor so take with a grain of salt) but the machine crapped out on 3dmark03 at (close to) stock voltage.

So I guess the question is: 46C probably isn't my problem, it is being a chicken over cranking more voltage through the processor, right?

PinataUT
 
how much is that electronic contact cleaners stuff? if it's not too $$$, do you know where i can get some? :)
 
bluefire7 said:
so the thinner the layer the better right? my hsf isn't lapped, and actually seems a lil rough.. how thin should i go?
Click to expand...

Correct. And, the purpose of the AS5, or any thermal grease, is to fill in any of the tiny pores or grooves on the hsf and cpu.
 
Badger_sly said:
As per AS5's instuctions, that is the process for the P4. The instructions were different for an AMD cpu, which were as I posted previously.
Click to expand...
But the A64 has a heatspreader, somewhat similar to the P4. The only difference is the size of the actual CPU. I'd use the heatsink-squishing method.
 
what heatsink are you using? some heatsinks work better with different application methods
 
well i've got the thermaltake venus 12 in my sig right now, but i think i may get rid of that for an xp-90.. anyone interested in the aforementioned? :p
 
bluefire7 said:
so i shouldn't use the heatsink to squash/smooth it out? this is the method i used when first applying it..
Click to expand...

from my experience.. squishing the AS5 cause ONLY the center to have thermal paste... maybe i'm not putting enough, but the amount i put is as description, 2 BB... the temp went up 2C.. so i remove the heatsink and use a blade to smooth it out and the temp went back to normal
 
so you spread it over the entire surface of the cpu and it's cooler by how much?
 
bluefire7 said:
so you spread it over the entire surface of the cpu and it's cooler by how much?
Click to expand...

this happenned when i was upgrading from Arctic alumina to AS5...

when i squish it with AS5... the initial temp was 2C higher than when i was using Alumina...

but after i spread it.. the temp was the same as i was using Alumina before...

after few days for it to set in... the idle temp reduce 3C from using alumina, and load temp reduced almost 5C
 
get the xp-90 it is the best aircooler i have used and has no clearance issues with any board at 1.7vcore with an athlon 64 ambient of 24centigrade i get load temps of around 60 with a low speed fan and it also has fairly good mounting pressure which will alleviate some of the hassle with applying thermal paste and the thickness/method you use.
 
Tetsuo said:
get the xp-90 it is the best aircooler i have used and has no clearance issues with any board at 1.7vcore with an athlon 64 ambient of 24centigrade i get load temps of around 60 with a low speed fan and it also has fairly good mounting pressure which will alleviate some of the hassle with applying thermal paste and the thickness/method you use.
Click to expand...

true true.. and i managed to run without the fans on for 15 minutes with 3d games applications on too! (temp rose to 60+C though)
 
ocphangaz said:
from my experience.. squishing the AS5 cause ONLY the center to have thermal paste... maybe i'm not putting enough, but the amount i put is as description, 2 BB... the temp went up 2C.. so i remove the heatsink and use a blade to smooth it out and the temp went back to normal
Click to expand...
The CPU die is in the centre. Maybe you aren't using enough... but don't use too much.
 
are ther any stores that sell cleaning stuff that i can use? also is it best to lap your heatsink?
 
lapping is difficult, buy a quality heatsink and it will be pre-lapped.

My quesions is:

Have you ever heard of "Burning in" the cpu? After putting on a fresh coat of AS5 last night, I ran the proc without the fan on and got 60c and left it there for 5 minutes. Then I turn my pump and fan on and now it would appear I get a 1c or 2c difference than before I "Burnt" in the cpu. Any knowlegde on this anyone?
 
pandora's box said:
are ther any stores that sell cleaning stuff that i can use? also is it best to lap your heatsink?
Click to expand...

Just use rubbing alcohol, the 91% or whatever, that can be found in pretty much any grocery store. You don't need any fancy/expensive cleaner, just the common alcohol, a paper towel, and a little rubbing.


Toad21 said:
...........
Have you ever heard of "Burning in" the cpu? After putting on a fresh coat of AS5 last night, I ran the proc without the fan on and got 60c and left it there for 5 minutes. Then I turn my pump and fan on and now it would appear I get a 1c or 2c difference than before I "Burnt" in the cpu. Any knowlegde on this anyone?
Click to expand...

How you did it, was just a faster (and slightly more risky) way, as compared to what happens naturally to the AS5 over a period of a week, with the computer being turned on and off and the paste "molding" itself to seat better.

Over a period of a week, after having applied AS5, my cpu temp dropped from 93 @ idle, and leveled out at around 89.
 
well i just bought the xp-90 and gave the cpu a nice THIN coat (although i still used a lil more than they recommended i think. i wanted to cover the entire surface..) and i'm now at 40º load after about 3 hours, and 44º overnight oced at 2420 mhz. is that a strange disparity? i'm still real happy bout the xp-90 with the panaflo. so much cooling for such low dB's... :)

too bad i'm gunna have to remove it all to rma my stupid a8v ><
 
That's good news. I have the same heatsink and fan waiting for my Christmas gift of a 3200+ 939pin. Im trying to make this computer as quiet as possible and the M1A seemed like a good choice for that.
 
it is a good choice.. outta my new setup i think i'm the happiest with the HSF combo. the venus 12 was CRAZY loud at even the middle setting and the panaflo is almost totally silent with only a slight "wooshing" of air. it cools even better too, but that may just be the thickness of as5..
 
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