Thermal paste and chips

[Cerulean]

Right, so some of the older computers (and some components of modern computers) have a non-metal surface on which a heatsink is planted.

These surfaces are plastic, correct? So on plastic chips that require heatsinks for heat dissipation, does it make a difference if I were to use AS5 or AC (Arctic Ceramique)?

 

[leSLIe]

those old chips weren't designed with efficient heat dissipation in mind, for example, in gpus the first one to have a metal surface at least partially was the Geforce 1.

Well It wouldn't really matter that much whether you use either one

 

[70 Polara]

On the older cards with plastic packages, Ceramique seems to produce slightly lower temps in my experience. It is also easier to remove from the chip with Isopropyl Alcohol then AS5.

 

[plugwash]

Right, so some of the older computers (and some components of modern computers) have a non-metal surface on which a heatsink is planted.

These surfaces are plastic, correct?

I've seen all sorts of chip packaging over the years. Plastic encapsulation is probablly the most common but i've also seen solid ceramic packages and ceramic packages with metal lids that don't actually touch the die inside directly.

Then there are the early flip-chip packages (first seen with the P3, still the norm for laptop chips afaict) where the heatsink directly contacts the pack of the die.

Plastic is usuallly black, ceramic is usually an orange colour.