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Thermal Paste

U

UnMinded

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Sep 29, 2004
Messages
1,321
For chirstmas i plan on getting my brother some paste as one of his presents. But as you can guess i do not know that much about paste. So can anyone kinda help me on this. Thx
 
actually, some ppl like Arctic Silver Ceramique because its non-conductive, if my memory serves me right...almost same temps
 
I like $2 white zinc oxide thermal grease. I've read of many people who have ripped out cpus when they removed their heatsinks using AS5 and Ceramique. I can't wait until someone tries twisiting a hot heatsink off a 775 cpu.
 
to tell you guyz the truth Arctic Silver IS NOT CONDUCTIVE it is Capacitive :D and my cause close connections to "short" out :D AS5 is great as long as you are careful and dont get it everywhere...... Ceramique is good too though it performs within 2-3C of AS5 :D check out www.arcticsilver.com for more info
 
I used Artic Silver 5 for the first time when I applied it to a Zalman 7000a alcu hsf for my 2.8c.
It works great!
 
i've used both AS5 and ceramique on my CPU, temps were actually the same (at least not enough of a difference for me to notice).
 
Arctic Silver has always seemed not that worth it to me. Some swear by it, I'm sure it does a good job, but I'm just fine with silicone-based thermal compound that you can get at Radio Shack for $2 a tube, while it is important to use thermal compound a bigger difference is made in the heatsink/fan you use with it. I'd buy him something else with the money unless he really wants thermal paste, in which case I'd get Arctic Silver Ceramique, which at least can't short anything out.
 
LoneWolf said
I'm just fine with silicone-based thermal compound that you can get at Radio Shack for $2 a tube
Click to expand...
You know, that's what I've used for years too and never had a problem with it from Pentium 200mmx overdrive hsf's, Voodoo cards, TNT's GF2's etc.
This time around when I got the Zalman I got the AS5 too and it worked out good.
Can't really say if it's better than the Radio Shack stuff but it does work.
It was about $11-12 I think.
Worth it for the peace of mind rather than regrett not getting it, imho.
 
From what I've heard, the absolute best stuff is AS5, and AS Ceramique is great for video card ram. Personally using Arctic Silver 5 on my cpu and video card and Ive seen better temps from my cpu AND video card just from ditching the stock yucky silicone thermal paste. And a 3.5 gram tube only costs like 7-8 bucks. (got mine from frozencpu.com)
 
LoneWolf said:
Arctic Silver has always seemed not that worth it to me.
Click to expand...

Not worth it? a 3.5 gram tube is under $10 and will do 20+ heatsinks. Its practicly free. Keep it upright in ur fridge and it will last forever (almost). I keep mine in a shot glass.
 
MikeP said:
Keep it upright in ur fridge and it will last forever (almost). I keep mine in a shot glass.
Click to expand...

Why, what will happen if not in a cold area for long? I keep mine in a sealed tin can.
 
MikeP said:
Not worth it? a 3.5 gram tube is under $10 and will do 20+ heatsinks. Its practicly free. Keep it upright in ur fridge and it will last forever (almost). I keep mine in a shot glass.
Click to expand...

Arctic Silver does its job. I don't debate that. The job is pretty simple though: to have a thin coating of material that allows heat transfer from a processor to a heatsink/fan even in the microscopic areas where there isn't perfect contact between the two. The stuff from Radio Shack for two bucks (or that comes with a lot of the heatsink/fan units you purchase online now as a freebie) does a reasonable job for even less. With the money I saved, I'd go up a step in quality on my CPU heatsink or on the fan on top of it. Just my two cents. It's been widely proven that using a bit of thermal compound results in an improvement for cooling a CPU of about 2-3 degrees. However, there aren't huge differences from one heatsink compound to another in temperature, so I can't see the reason to spend more on compound as opposed to spending more on a CPU cooler.

P.S. I'm using a Thermalright SLK-800 with my system, so I don't think cooling the CPU is too much of an issue.
 
the "white" stuff does a good job. i don't argue that, for a regular person, it doesn't matter, i don't have the exact numbers, but i think my CPU was 1-2C warmer with the radio shack stuff, i only tried the arctic brand because everyone raves it keeps htings "5-7C" cooler, which i knew was an exageration, but still.

either way, paste would be a welcome present, i hate when i set up a rig and then can't find any thermal paste. the 3.5g tube of AS5, has lasted me a Thermaltake giant 2 install, 8 cpu's, 3 graphics cards, and still quite a bit left. just don'e loose it, i have lost 2 tubes already.

IMO price isn't that bad, concidering it is the only time you will buy it (if you don't loose it) and $10 is nothing compared to the overall price of the rig, the lower temps also give some people an extra feeling of safety/ego.
 
I have seen no differences in AS5 and AS Ceramique. My temps usually stay under 40C Idle and under 50C load.

The Ceramique is a little easier to work with.
 
zapian_ said:
Why, what will happen if not in a cold area for long? I keep mine in a sealed tin can.
Click to expand...


Go to Arctic silvers site. They recommend keeping it upright in ur fridge if your going to be storing it for any period of time.

As to the cheaper paste working jsut as well that is not the case. I used the "standard" paste that came with my Zalman 7000CU cooler and it worked OK , about a week later I switched to AS5 and it took a few days but CPU temp went down 2c at idle and 3c at load.For an OCer this is signficant. Based on how many uses you get out of a AS5 tube that 2-3c cost me fifty cents.
 
wallijonn said:
I like $2 white zinc oxide thermal grease. I've read of many people who have ripped out cpus when they removed their heatsinks using AS5 and Ceramique. I can't wait until someone tries twisiting a hot heatsink off a 775 cpu.
Click to expand...
The chips don't have pins, and they're secured down by a latch... i dont see hwo this will be a huge problem..?
 
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