Something odd about arctic silver...

[Clindst]

I built my system about 2 weeks ago.
MSI K8N Neo2 Plat
AMD64 winchester 3200+ @ 2.47Ghz
CoolerMaster Hyper6 heatsink
Arctic Silver 5

Well I have been using the system for two weeeks nonstop and my idle temps were 38ish and load around 50C I remember reading that you should turn your computer off and let it sit so the arctic silver can set and then you should get better temps. Well for the first time in 2 weeks I turned off my computer over night and I wake up and turn it on and my idle temps are now at 44-45C! and my load is approaching 60C I did not touch a single thing and the ambient temp is actually lower than it was before as it is morning right now. What is goin on! well i am going to turn my system off for about 8 hrs while im at school and maybe itll fix itself ahha

Any Ideas?

 

[BigTaf]

possibly too much artic silver

If you put on too much itll actually act as an insulator. Thatd be my first guess.

For any chip with a heat spreader ive found the best approach to be.

1) Clean heatsink and chip with rubbing alchol
2) Place a small drop of AS5 in the center of your chips heatspreader(that metal plate over your cpu)
3) Place the heatsink on your cpu being very careful not to move it around.
4) When downward pressure is placed on the seatsink itll spead the AS around


Because the core(the hot part of your cpu) is dirrectly under the middle of the heatspeader you dont have to cover the whole chip.

btw using that same cooler i got my OC'd prescott (which is a hell of alot hotter than almost any AMD) to 50c under extreme load. However ive found playing around with fan placement with that heatsink is a must and if the cpu socket of your board is rotated 90 degrees(so the fan either blows towards the top of your case or bottom) that heatsink is next to useless without adding a top blowhole

 

[Clindst]

No but the thing is...I was getting great temps...and i let my computer remain turned off for like 12 hours while i sleeped cuz AS said it was better so the compound could set...and now my temps are higher...i havnt dont anything different other than let my computer turn off for 12 hrs...

 

[DeadByDawn]

2) Place a small drop of AS5 in the center of your chips heatspreader(that metal plate over your cpu)
3) Place the heatsink on your cpu being very careful not to move it around.

I was told to cover the chip with a paper thin layer of AS5 using a credit card or similar object to spread it on.
I have not done it so i dont know if its true.

Someone please confirm. Thanks

 

[ocphangaz]

I was told to cover the chip with a paper thin layer of AS5 using a credit card or similar object to spread it on.
I have not done it so i dont know if its true.

Someone please confirm. Thanks

i've tried this.. but to my dismay... i found that spreading is much better than using the HSF to spread...

temp difference was about 2-3C

 

[Clindst]

well I just installed it per Arctic silvers instructions and my temps are still high! im at like 47C idle and 58 load! WTF is wrong with this. This is crazy but could one of my heatpipes malfunctioned and like leaked or something? What about the temp on the board...could it all the sudden report shitty temps?! IM PISSED! I am going to run my stability test tonite and hopefully it will be stable which will lead me to think the sensor is messed up cuz i know at those temps it will not be stable.


ANY IDEAS!?

 

[Clindst]

Hmmmm could it be that my temp sensor became 'uncalibrated when i turned off the comp for that long or somethin?!" this is bugging the hell outa me.... For no reason at all my temps went way up....im at 48C as I type this IDLING and im PISSED

 

[RollerX]

i think if the temps do not drop back down to normal, maybe you should re-sit the heatsink...

It's possible that if the heatsink wasn't fitted tight enough when you first installed it, the contraction due to temp changes could reduce the contact surface area of the cpu and the heatsink base. And don't apply thermal paste like butter on bread plz...

if you do take the heatsink completely off, just use some rubbing alcohol to clean the cpu plate and heatsink base, clean them until they look nice and shiny again. then squeeze a litte thermal paste in the middle of the cpu heat plate then install the heatsink.

if your temps are still high after this, get urself a watercooling system and never worry about temps again

 

[Clindst]

Ok update: So i went into the bios and looked at the temps and they were around 42C and then I booted back into windows and now my temps jump around a lot between 38 and 42...seems weird that they jump so much now....but at least they are reporting lower!

 

[ocphangaz]

for me the best thermal prob is my own finger... just touch the heatsink... if it's reporting at 47C, it should be kind warm on the hot side... at 38C it should feel just slightly warm..

same goes with my casing... my system temp suddenly shoot up 6C for no apparent reason... been like that for 4 months now

 

[Xyrax]

I just upgraded my Mobo and CPU about two weeks ago. I got the MSI K8N Neo2 Plat. with an A64 3500+ (winchester) and a thermalright xp-90 with a 92mm panaflo. At first I applied the arctic silver 5 the same way I always did on my older systems (spread a thin layer) and my temps were similar to yours after 1.5 weeks of cycling (I turn my computer off every night). So I reapplied the arctic silver5 following the directions on AS's website this past weekend (small drop in center of IHS and let the HSF spread it). For the first few days my temps were still high but now their dropping. Currently I'm idling at 33 celcius and I max at about 45 celcius under load. I expect the temps to drop even lower once I move my hard drives up to the 5.25" bays clearing the area in front of my two front intake fans.

AS's web site says it'll take up to 200 hours of cycling to allow the silver particles to properly line up for optimal heat transfer. Give it time and for a week or two try turning your system off every night to allow it to cool to room temp.

[edit] BTW, after reapplying the AS5 per AS's instructions, my idle temps immediatly dropped about 5-8 degrees. It seems AS5 isn't as forgiving when it comes to using a little too much as previous AS's.

 

[SidewinderX]

and you don't leave it off for those hours... you "burn" it in by leaving your computer on...

 

[Dephcon]

I'm fan of ceramique, its just super.. and non conductive

 

[tsuehpsyde]

Good lord, this question gets asked so much.

Linkage:
http://www.arcticsilver.com/arctic_silver_instructions.htm

Yes, you are supposed to 'burn it in' by running your computer AND turning it off. Proof?

Due to the unique shape and sizes of the particles in Arctic Silver's conductive matrix, it will take a up to 200 hours and several thermal cycles to achieve maximum particle to particle thermal conduction and for the heatsink to CPU interface to reach maximum conductivity. (This period will be longer in a system without a fan on the heatsink or with a low speed fan on the heatsink.) On systems measuring actual internal core temperatures via the CPU's internal diode, the measured temperature will often drop 2C to 5C over this "break-in" period. This break-in will occur during the normal use of the computer as long as the computer is turned off from time to time and the interface is allowed to cool to room temperature. Once the break-in is complete, the computer can be left on if desired.

Honestly, read people....for God's sake.

 

[Tiny]

^^^^^^^^
QFT...all of it.


Also, don't rely on your mobo's bios readings....most are off by a large margin. Use Lavalys' Everest Home Edition (free) to get your readings, and so much more.

 

[Steak]

Some Neo2 still have the cold boot/temp bug. Mine does idle at 41C on cold boot, after reboot, it stays at 34-36C all day.

 

[2Fresh]

If your rig is running fine...who cares? Seems like you are tripping over nothing.

 

[Clindst]

Ya its still running safe but Im afraid my system will get unstable at higher temps cuz im OCed so much. Its just annoying that my temps went up for NO reason...

 

[BigTaf]

On any chip without a heatspreader thats correct (AMD XP, Mobile chips, etc)

If you look at the artic silver directions they will also veryify what i just said, however in saying that ive never noticed a big difference either way ~1-2c. And with a temperature difference that small you could chalk that up to different ambient temperature.

I just find its a great way of insuring you dont put too much on and seeing as the core is in the center of the chip, temps really couldnt go up like i noticed a later post mentioned.

I was told to cover the chip with a paper thin layer of AS5 using a credit card or similar object to spread it on.
I have not done it so i dont know if its true.

Someone please confirm. Thanks