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Thermal Tape

E

evenfall928

Limp Gawd
Joined
Oct 3, 2006
Messages
271
Hey, I was wondering if y'all had any thoughts/experiences/suggestions when it comes to thermal tape. I know I could use the Arctic Silver thermal adhesive or whatever, but the tape just really comes in handy when using it on ramsinks and smaller stuff of that sort.

So far we've tried some Sekisui tape, some 3M "frag tape" that was a pain to peel off AND didn't stick, and some other brand that also, lo and behold, didn't stick.

The best tape I've ever had was some kind of blackish looking tape that was on the ramsinks of a video card I bought used, but I can't seem to figure out what that was, much less where to buy it.

Any thoughts would be much appreciated, thanks!
 
I use Akasa thermal tape.
Ace stuff.

ps you can only stick thermal tape once.
If you lift the heatsink once it is stuck, you need to start again with new tape.
 
Hey, I was wondering if y'all had any thoughts/experiences/suggestions when it comes to thermal tape.
Click to expand...

Since you asked...:eek:

Its all crap.

Lapp the ramsink or whatever. These cheap "little" sinks are horrible in general for flatness. Use your favorite thermal compound, a tiny bit and look for non-conductive stuff that mentions it is safe for memory chips etc. (Artric Ceramic for example).

The Trick:

Get a tube of silicone RTV adhesive. This is basicly silicon rubber that cures/vulcanizes at room temp. Apply your paste (I prespread it with a finger and test fit the sink and check the "footprint" but do what you like best), apply the sink. Squeeze the RTV tube gently until some bulges out the mouth of the tube. Using a toothpick gather up a small ball of the RTV on the toothpick. Use one finger to hold down the sink firmly onto the device and gently place the tiny ball of RTV at a outside corner where the sink and the device meet. )note OUTSIDE corner, you do not put RTV under the sink, the RTV is used to "pin" the sink to the device) Gently smear/press a little to make sure the RTV sticks to the edge of the sink and the device. Repeat for all 4 corners. Go get a beer and let it set up for 20 min. If you can place something on the sink to help keep it pressed down, even just a stack of quarters taped together, thats a good thing. Rinse and repeat for all other devices. (after 4 devices stop with the beer or you will fark it up but still wait the 20 min).

Never come loose, later it will peel right off leaving no residue. It take a little practice to get a small workable ball of the stuff exactly where you want it so playing/practice a bit with the RTV before you start is not a bad idea. The real key is to do one sink at a time and let it set up before trying another. If you get it somewhere you dont want let it cure and peel it off with a fingernail.

This can also be done with superglue but it leaves a mess if you pop off the sink later.

Less is more.

I use E6000 adhesive.
 
BillParrish said:
Get a tube of silicone RTV adhesive.
Click to expand...

this is different and very unique method. i use rtv at work all the time and never considered applying them to heatsinks. i'm actually going to try this out for myself.

+1 for creativeness.
 
i gotta say that is creative, how would you take it off if you had to though?
 
It does not 'Harden" like most adhesives, it peels right off with a fingernail leaving nothing behind. It dries to a rubber consistancy and sticks well enough to hold a ramsink but does not "hard bond" to the materials it sticks too. Do not know any other way to describe it. Its liquid silicone rubber in a tube that dries into rubber when exposed to air.

As I mentioned above, tiny "dots" of super glue work just as well but they make a hard bond and while it is easy to pop off the ramsink with a razor or exacto blade worked in-between the sink the chip along the side (you only put a "dot" on the outside corners) you are left with crusty superglue deposits on the sink (not too hard to scrub off) and the chip (pain in ass to clean off).

To repeat, it is important you just put a teeny tiny daub on the OUTSIDE corners where the ramsink and the chip meet. With the RTV you can just give the sink a twist and it comes right off and most if not all of the dried silicone too. Any left will peel right off by rubbing with about anything handy.
 
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