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Thermal Paste Question

D

Dominik78

n00b
Joined
Feb 22, 2010
Messages
18
Hey Guys,
I just installed a Hyper 212 plus CPU cooler for my Core i7 950. I used Arctic Silver 5 and drew a line with paste like on the diagram they have. Like an Idiot I found I couldn't get the support bracket it and have to remove the cooler after the paste had touched both CPU and cooler.
My Question is, should I have cleaned both off with alcohol and started over?

Right now my core temps are 45, 42, 42, and 38C at idle. I did one prime 95 run and one core did reach 82C. I do have a slight overclock to 3.2ghz. It was one of the automated settings and I'm guessing it might not be ideal and once I know what I'm doing I'll try to sort that out too.
But again, my main question for now is, should I remove the the Cooler, clean it and the CPU and start over with the thermal paste?
 
i would say yes, at least on the cpu then use something like a credit card to smooth out whats on the heatsink (if theres enough on the heatsink).
 
I had an Ocz cooler with direct touch heatpipes that had gaps between pipes & the base. I spread paste onto the heatsink first to fill in all the gaps that would contact the cpu, wiping off any excess paste. Then I applied a cross pattern to the clean cpu & installed the cooler it seemed to work OK for me.
 
Yes. With direct-touch heatpipe design the good old almost foolproof pea-drop at the center doesnt work. Fill the gaps of heatpipes with the paste you use with credit card and wipe of excess. Then make apply TIM in crossshape on your CPU, press the cooler on it, twist about 20 degrees to both directions to remove air bubbles and tighten the screws.


Some also use methor where you draw thin lines of TIM between the heatpipes. This should also work really well. Google "Application on HDT Coolers" to see example.
 
Nice, I did that google search and looks like this method might work best:
http://++++++++++++++++.com/index.p...ask=view&id=170&Itemid=1&limit=1&limitstart=5

Of course in my case there are 4 heat pipes so I might have to improvise a little. Guess I know what I'm doing next weekend :)

Edit:
Guess they don't like linking to competing sites, but I used the search you said and the site is benchmark reviews
Google search: "Application on HDT Coolers benchmark reviews"
 
Thats why I told you to google it. :D Actually its not the competition as reviews from different sites are posted daily at the frontpage, its just benchmark reviews that is blocked. HardOCP has some kind of personal issue with them but I dont know the details. :/
 
Finally got around to redoing the paste. My temps are about 5C lower now, but still not as low as many have here. 40 to 46C idle and average of 75C in prime95 after about 15mins.

Then again I used one of the XMP profiles for a slight overclock and maybe some of the voltage settings in those aren't right.

Anywho, in the process of all this I salvaged some Noctua fans from my decomissioned server board and installed them in my current build. Then I go online and browse noctua and realize that once again, I've done something idiotic.
For my server board, dual Xeon, I had two NH-U12DXs
(http://www.noctua.at/main.php?show=productview&products_id=19&lng=en)

After browsing on Noctuas site for a bit I found that they are selling bracket that allows someone to retrofit any noctua CPU cooler ever made since 2005. In fact, owners of Noctua CPU coolers can get them for free!
(http://www.noctua.at/main.php?show=productview&products_id=30&lng=en)

I have a pretty good mindset right now to rip out the Cooler Master 212+ I just put in. Ugh. Some days I feel like the strawman.

I also need to check out how Noctuas NT-H1 paste compares to AS5. I forgot I had two tubes of that lying around before I bought AS5. *Shakes head*
 
Dominik78 said:
Finally got around to redoing the paste. My temps are about 5C lower now, but still not as low as many have here. 40 to 46C idle and average of 75C in prime95 after about 15mins.

Then again I used one of the XMP profiles for a slight overclock and maybe some of the voltage settings in those aren't right.

Anywho, in the process of all this I salvaged some Noctua fans from my decomissioned server board and installed them in my current build. Then I go online and browse noctua and realize that once again, I've done something idiotic.
For my server board, dual Xeon, I had two NH-U12DXs
(http://www.noctua.at/main.php?show=productview&products_id=19&lng=en)

After browsing on Noctuas site for a bit I found that they are selling bracket that allows someone to retrofit any noctua CPU cooler ever made since 2005. In fact, owners of Noctua CPU coolers can get them for free!
(http://www.noctua.at/main.php?show=productview&products_id=30&lng=en)

I have a pretty good mindset right now to rip out the Cooler Master 212+ I just put in. Ugh. Some days I feel like the strawman.

I also need to check out how Noctuas NT-H1 paste compares to AS5. I forgot I had two tubes of that lying around before I bought AS5. *Shakes head*
Click to expand...

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/coolers/display/thermal-interface-roundup-1_13.html

Artic 5 at the bottom of the pile. Mx-4 the new stuff these days.
 
I also need to check out how Noctuas NT-H1 paste compares to AS5. I forgot I had two tubes of that lying around before I bought AS5. *Shakes head*
Click to expand...
NT-H1 is great.Its biggest advantage over the AS5 imo is no curing time.
Then again I used one of the XMP profiles for a slight overclock and maybe some of the voltage settings in those aren't right.
Click to expand...
Maybe the XMP sets the voltage too high,so it heats up your CPU.
 
OCZ Freeze or IC Diamond (the latter is better). AS5 (silver) too risky due to high electric conductivity.
 
AS5 is capacitative not conductive.

also remember it has a 200 hour break in window, so 15 minutes in your temps will be slighly higher then after you give it some time to set.

in practice the difference between any name brand paste is going to be maybe 1 or 2 degrees. if you already have a tube of AS5, there is no reason to go out of your way to get something else.
 
ghost6303 said:
AS5 is capacitative not conductive.

also remember it has a 200 hour break in window, so 15 minutes in your temps will be slighly higher then after you give it some time to set.

in practice the difference between any name brand paste is going to be maybe 1 or 2 degrees. if you already have a tube of AS5, there is no reason to go out of your way to get something else.
Click to expand...


Of course, it IS a good paste after curing and still among the best. But for future reference, it just has been surpassed by other and easier to use products, cheaper too. AS5 is no longer king of the hill.
 
@ SilentKnight: Yea, that's what I'm thinking. Once I've sat down and learned about some basic overclocking with this platform I'll try to do some of it manually. I've read that some people sometimes get functional albeit somewhat strange settings with XMP.

@ Ghost, Cray and Maza: Yea, makes sense.

I finally consolidated a few boxes in the garage with computer parts and accessories. I actually found a a huge tube of AS3 untouched and a conductive pen for when you still had to unlock the multipliers manually hehe.

Do you Guys think it's worth replacing the cooler master 212+ with the NH-U12DX or should I just leave it alone?
 
Last edited:
Use Aida64 (successor of the Everest) to check for voltage values under XMP to see if they're too high.I think XMP would boost DRAM and IMC to higher than needed value.
 
Just noticed that the Cooler Master 212+ CPU Fan is out of balance and vibrating very noticeably to the touch unlike any of the other fans. That can't be good for the board.
 
The Formula III came with the AI Suite where you can see all the temps, voltages and fan speeds. Does Aida64 have features beyond that that would useful?
 
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