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So...AS5

A

AlwaysAngryGuy

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jul 17, 2004
Messages
142
Okay okay, I know how tired you guys probably are of these "How do I put my arctic silver on?" threads but I've just got a quick question then I'll be off.

I was reading instructions on how to apply it on the Arctic Silver website and they say that for AMD 64 chips you should just put a dab in the middle and then put the heatsink on and twist a little bit if possible. However, this kind of contradicts what most people say about how to put it on which is to put it on and then spread it with a credit card or something... Which is the instructions AS gives for other processors.

So.. I guess I should just listen to Arctic Silver since it IS their product.. but, do you think their A64 way will work just as well?
 
I have alwasy spread out my AS 5 on any CPU that ive put it on. XP, 64 and P4. It has alwasy worked out perfectly for me. I just put it on and spread it veyr thin over the whole CPU
 
yeah well.. I'm thinking I might do that because I just put it on in the middle and put the heatsink on and twisted a little bit, then, just to see if that method would work or not I checked to see how much the compound had spread... it wasn't very much, but it might've been enough.

I should probably clean this off if i wanna try again, yeah?
 
Yeah, its much safer to spread it thinly across the chip. You definitely know that the whole chip is covered with AS5. If you put a dab in the middle and twist it, you could risk having an edge of the chip not having any compound on it, and therefore the heatsink can't get the heat from that portion of the chip.
 
AlwaysAngryGuy said:
yeah well.. I'm thinking I might do that because I just put it on in the middle and put the heatsink on and twisted a little bit, then, just to see if that method would work or not I checked to see how much the compound had spread... it wasn't very much, but it might've been enough.

I should probably clean this off if i wanna try again, yeah?
Click to expand...
yes, you should clean it off...use 90%+ Isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol (available at WalMart) and a lint-free cloth (like a coffee filter, or Maxwell CD Cleaning Cloths (w/o solution!!))to clean the compound off.

then re-apply, with AS LITTLE AS YOU CAN! the thinner the better
 
I just cleaned it off with some 90% however it still appears.... dirty.

Or at least as not as new as it was. Is that normal, or should it look pristine?
 
How dirty do you think the chip would be fresh out of the anti-static bag? Say I remove the chip, spread some AS5 on it, and put it right into the mobo?
 
The instructions on the AS website used to describe the need to spread a thin layer across the CPU. I believe that they realized that this new twisting method is just as effective and that no gain is really seen in taking the time to spread it on the chip. This in turn leads to a better marketting pitch because now that its much easier to apply (no spreading) its another selling point to their products.

If you feel more comfortable putting a thin layer on, then by all means do so, its better to feel comfortable with what your doing, But realize that by no means is either method better then the other, nor will either lead to any disasterous or unsatisfactory results.

Personally I used to put the thin layer on when I was using ASII and AS3 and have been using the new dab/twist method with AS5 and have noticed no difference (other then the temperature decrease inherint with using AS5 instead of AS3).
 
o and

chip goes in mobo then as5 goes on
Click to expand...

I don't see why it would make any difference whatsoever, the TIM gets on the CPU either way. Personally I never put my TIM on with the cpu in the mobo, why would I? much easier to manipulate a tiny CPU then an entire mobo (esp. if its mounted inside my case).
 
Thats why you have a nice case that has a removable mobo tray :D It prob doenst make much of a difference.. but with the a64s and p4s when you put on the AS5 before the chip is in the mobo.. then u dont have much spots to hold onto it when u place it in the mobo.. I alwasy put the chip in the mobo then place the AS5 on it then.
 
That... was a nightmare. It took far too long.

I was trying to get it just perfect and right when it was about to happen... some area would get uncovered by my moving the card over it softly.

I honestly just hope it works...a good temp would be nice too since that just took me forever.

Question: Is it okay if the compound goes down the side of the chip a little bit? I mean... not like all over the place but on the side there is a little bit from it being pushed over the edge with a card.
 
AlwaysAngryGuy said:
That... was a nightmare. It took far too long.

I was trying to get it just perfect and right when it was about to happen... some area would get uncovered by my moving the card over it softly.

I honestly just hope it works...a good temp would be nice too since that just took me forever.

Question: Is it okay if the compound goes down the side of the chip a little bit? I mean... not like all over the place but on the side there is a little bit from it being pushed over the edge with a card.
Click to expand...
It should be ok.

I know what you mean, happened to me too.
 
oops im sorry, I was thinking about like XP chips, yes good point P4s or A64s would not be a good idea to do outside the mobo, doh im an idiot sometimes. I sometmes wonder how I manage to dress myself in the mornings.

Question: Is it okay if the compound goes down the side of the chip a little bit? I mean... not like all over the place but on the side there is a little bit from it being pushed over the edge with a card.
Click to expand...

As long as it wasnt the result of being squeezed out (due to too much AS5) but rather just a bit of slippage with the credit card, and assuming its not a lot ... it should be perfectly fine.
 
jayjaya29 said:
Yeah, its much safer to spread it thinly across the chip. You definitely know that the whole chip is covered with AS5. If you put a dab in the middle and twist it, you could risk having an edge of the chip not having any compound on it, and therefore the heatsink can't get the heat from that portion of the chip.
Click to expand...

With the heatspreaders on A64's and P4's it doesn't really matter if you have thermal compound right to the edge. Most of the heat will be at the center of the heatspreader anyways.

I just put a dab on the middle of the heatspreader and put the heatsink on. It idles around 34C, so i don't see anything wrong with doing it that way.
 
Well shit.

Just turned the computer on and it started POSTing and then shut itself down.

Think this is a heat problem? Should the Zalman 7000 Al-Cu wobble a little bit after being installed?
 
Maybe you should try applying it like they tell you to. :rolleyes:
 
A good/poor application shouldn't be the difference between good computer health and total meltdown. You should recheck your mounting.
 
No. I wasn't talking about the order of operation. I was asking about whether or not a CPU is dirty enough right out of the bag to have to clean it off first before applying the AS5.
 
I've been through this a few times over the past couple weeks. I upgraded my cpu from a 3.0c to a 3.2e. Applied a very thin layer of AS5 to the cpu, mounted my thermaltake copper pipe 101 to it, stuck a thermaltake 92mm ufo fan on it and fired up the system. I had also lapped the bottom of the hs to a mirror finish for best performance. The prescott idled at 48C, while the 3.0c that came out of it idled at 38c. Then I read the directions from the arctic silver about just using a dab in the middle. Hell I figured I'd try it, took off the hs, cleaned off all the AS5 and redid it with a drop in the middle per instructions, put back on the hs and fan and turned it on - it then idled at 43C and over the next week went down to 40C at idle, huge difference. I was going with the "less is more" theory on the first application, but I guess I wasn't using enough, or just not enough in the middle of the cpu where most of the heat builds.

So I tried it on the 3.0c that I had moved over to another system where it was idling at around 38C (same as it was in the other system) - once again with a very thin layer of AS5, so I cleaned the cpu and hs, applied a drop in the middle again, replace hs and fan, boot up and notice an immediate drop to 35C at idle. I'm convinced that with my "thin layer" method, I was just not getting enough AS5 on the cpu, specially in the middle of the cpu. From now on, I'll follow the directions from Arctic Silver.
 
GJSNeptune said:
No. I wasn't talking about the order of operation. I was asking about whether or not a CPU is dirty enough right out of the bag to have to clean it off first before applying the AS5.
Click to expand...

Well, if it's out of a retail package, it's probably as clean as it will ever be. OEM...not so much.
 
According to my motherboard (MSI K8N Neo2) I'm idling at around 38C. It's also about 80F in this room right now, so I figure that's pretty good.

Why is the loudest thing in my case the motherboard fan? It's horrendously loud. At least, I think it's the MB fan that's doing it... it's either that or the videocard but I'm pretty sure it's coming from that little fan on the mobo.

Is it normal for everything to fluctuate a little bit? My temp changed every few seconds between 38 and 39C and same with my fan and volts.
 
AlwaysAngryGuy said:
Is it normal for everything to fluctuate a little bit? My temp changed every few seconds between 38 and 39C and same with my fan and volts.
Click to expand...
yes.
 
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