Heatsink compound problem

[RJARRRPCGP]

I have been having the following problem, even when the heatsink had always been installed properly:

After taking off the heatsink, I discover that the heatsink compound (the white thermal gel) literally disappeared!!! I have to repeatedly add more of it.

 

[-Shadow-]

It's normal that heatsink compund is wearing off after a time . Your silicone compound ( i think it's silicone ) should last half a year until there had almost all of it of it disappeared .

You should change to Arctic silver , it's a non-conductive metal compound , it lasts longer than silicone and it can also decrease the temp +-5° if you change from silicone to metal .

 

[Eagle]

You should change to Arctic silver , it's a non-conductive metal compound , it lasts longer than silicone and it can also decrease the temp +-5° if you change from silicone to metal .

Sort of, Arctic Silver is a conductive metal compound. Arctic Alumina is a non-conductive metal compound. If you get Arctic Silver on the green die off the CPU it can short it out. They also sell Arctic Silver Adhesive and Arctic Alumina Adhesive for video cards that dont have a way to lock the fan into place.

 

[-Shadow-]

Sort of, Arctic Silver is a conductive metal compound. Arctic Alumina is a non-conductive metal compound. If you get Arctic Silver on the green die off the CPU it can short it out. They also sell Arctic Silver Adhesive and Arctic Alumina Adhesive for video cards that dont have a way to lock the fan into place.

What do you say ?! I read it in a magazine that arctic silver is definately non-conductive ( they also tested if it's conductive , it's definately not )

I use A-S since 3 years and it didn't short off any of my CPU's .

 

[cooliscool]

It's somewhat conductive, but it takes a certain amount to conduct.

Note to RJA: never use white silicone compound. Get yourself some AS5/AS3/Alumina/Ceramique.

 

[Eagle]

You probably were carefull with it. Arctic Silver claims on their website it isnt conductive and then they explain right below it how it really is conductive. So you probably read an advertisement.

Not Electrically Conductive:
Arctic Silver 5 was formulated to conduct heat, not electricity.
(While much safer than electrically conductive silver and copper greases, Arctic Silver 5 should be kept away from electrical traces, pins, and leads. While it is not electrically conductive, the compound is very slightly capacitive and could potentially cause problems if it bridges two close-proximity electrical paths.)

It says its not electrically conductive but then explains that you have to keep it away from pins and traces. It doesnt take a electrician to realize if its capable of bridging traces together then it is conductive. Basically, they were trying to sucker you and it worked. It may resist conductivity but isnt completely non conductive. On the other hand Arctic Alumina is completely non conductive but doesnt provide as much thermal transfer.

By the way, RJA the stuff your using is phase change compund. Its, not as good as Arctic Silver but it liquifies when its heated and solidifies when its cooled. You probably thought it dissapeared because the CPU was hot when you looked at it. Actually it turned to clear liquid.

 

[vampireuk]

I use Shin Etsu myself. the best stuff you can get really

 

[RJARRRPCGP]

It's somewhat conductive, but it takes a certain amount to conduct.

Note to RJA: never use white silicone compound. Get yourself some AS5/AS3/Alumina/Ceramique.

Well, I did find another compound that isn't white silicone at Bestbuy, but I dunno what it's based on exactly. The color of it is silver.

 

[RJARRRPCGP]

You probably were carefull with it. Arctic Silver claims on their website it isnt conductive and then they explain right below it how it really is conductive. So you probably read an advertisement.



It says its not electrically conductive but then explains that you have to keep it away from pins and traces. It doesnt take a electrician to realize if its capable of bridging traces together then it is conductive. Basically, they were trying to sucker you and it worked. It may resist conductivity but isnt completely non conductive. On the other hand Arctic Alumina is completely non conductive but doesnt provide as much thermal transfer.

By the way, RJA the stuff your using is phase change compund. Its, not as good as Arctic Silver but it liquifies when its heated and solidifies when its cooled. You probably thought it dissapeared because the CPU was hot when you looked at it. Actually it turned to clear liquid.

OK, so you're saying that it turns transparent, just like what I thought possibly occurs.

 

[-Shadow-]

It says its not electrically conductive but then explains that you have to keep it away from pins and traces. It doesnt take a electrician to realize if its capable of bridging traces together then it is conductive. Basically, they were trying to sucker you and it worked. It may resist conductivity but isnt completely non conductive. On the other hand Arctic Alumina is completely non conductive but doesnt provide as much thermal transfer.

But you still can't deny it that the compound is one of the best ( for heatsink ) , so they didn't really "sucker" me You just have to be careful not to "grease" any pins with it ( which isn't very difficult ) So i don't think the elec. conductivity is a reason not to buy it .


And i don't think an hardware specialized magazine can be put on the same level as an advertisement

 

[vampireuk]

http://www.chillblast.com/customer/product.php?productid=356

Order yourself some of that, you will not be disapointed

 

[-Shadow-]

Eeek ! Something to the topic "heatsink" :yucky:

Kids , don't try this at home !

 

[Eagle]

But you still can't deny it that the compound is one of the best ( for heatsink ) , so they didn't really "sucker" me You just have to be careful not to "grease" any pins with it ( which isn't very difficult ) So i don't think the elec. conductivity is a reason not to buy it .


And i don't think an hardware specialized magazine can be put on the same level as an advertisement

Oh I agree, arctic silver is the best. I use it all the time.

 

[cooliscool]

No doubt, AS is amazing.

I ran out recently though and haven't been motivated enough to go to the computer shop and buy some more, so I've been using a mixture of diaper rash cream (active ingredient Zinc Oxide is a good heat conductor with good viscosity), and toothpaste for some added thickness. Keeps my P4 2.26GHz @ 3.4GHz in the 43C range Idle, about 54C full load in my room which is a bit warm right now. That's only about 2C higher than my fully burned in AS5.

 

[-Shadow-]

No doubt, AS is amazing.

I ran out recently though and haven't been motivated enough to go to the computer shop and buy some more, so I've been using a mixture of diaper rash cream (active ingredient Zinc Oxide is a good heat conductor with good viscosity), and toothpaste for some added thickness. Keeps my P4 2.26GHz @ 3.4GHz in the 43C range Idle, about 54C full load in my room which is a bit warm right now. That's only about 2C higher than my fully burned in AS5.

LOL ! I'll remember that trick if i run out of Heatsink compound

 

[Eagle]

Wow, I would rather just let it heat up a little till the next time I got to the store than to put all that crap on my cpu. Seriously though, that stuff doesnt come off. To the naked eye it may look like its gone but microscopically thermal compund works its way into the crevices of the processors surface and its not easy to get it out. I can only imagine how hard it would be to get that stuff off. Not to mention the corrosive properties of toothpaste. Toothpaste is made with flouride. Not something you should be putting on your CPU.

Your CPU doesnt require a thermal compund at all. A heat sink can do its job without it, just not near as effectively. On a temporary basis your better off not having anything on it than having some concoction with diaper rash powder and toothpaste.

 

[RJARRRPCGP]

Eeek ! Something to the topic "heatsink" :yucky:

Kids , don't try this at home !

Gee wiz, that heatsink compound job looks like a 12 year old did that!!! LOL.

 

[-Shadow-]

Gee wiz, that heatsink compound job looks like a 12 year old did that!!! LOL.

You can find more of 'em at : www.dau-alarm.de , it requires a little german knowledge

Meaning of "DAU" = Dümmster Anzunehmender User = Dumbest Expectable User

 

[cooliscool]

Wow, I would rather just let it heat up a little till the next time I got to the store than to put all that crap on my cpu. Seriously though, that stuff doesnt come off. To the naked eye it may look like its gone but microscopically thermal compund works its way into the crevices of the processors surface and its not easy to get it out. I can only imagine how hard it would be to get that stuff off. Not to mention the corrosive properties of toothpaste. Toothpaste is made with flouride. Not something you should be putting on your CPU.

Your CPU doesnt require a thermal compund at all. A heat sink can do its job without it, just not near as effectively. On a temporary basis your better off not having anything on it than having some concoction with diaper rash powder and toothpaste.

Powder? Who said anything about diaper rash powder? It's a cream, and it's quite easy to get off.

I ran my CPU without any thermal grease just as a test.. and I was idling at 62C. How smart is that? Seriously, you act like I don't know these things.

 

[Eagle]

Powder? Who said anything about diaper rash powder? It's a cream, and it's quite easy to get off.

I ran my CPU without any thermal grease just as a test.. and I was idling at 62C. How smart is that? Seriously, you act like I don't know these things.

Well I didnt say it was smart, what would be smart is going down to the computer store and getting you some thermal compund.