Applying thermal compound

[Shuzer]

Hey guys, I'm finally getting my Vantec Aeroflow in tomorrow, and I have three questions about applying Arctic Silver III...

One, I was looking at a thermal compound guide, and it said to apply a rice-sized glob to the heatsink and spread it around evenly so it's opaque and covers mostly to the edges, but it also said that it's not highly recommended by most, should I do this?

Two, from what I've read, I want to put a layer of thermal compound directly on the die and spread it around the entire surface, not alot, just enough so that it's not opaque, is this right?

Three, how should I go about cleaning off the melted pad from my stock heatsink/fan? I read use an rubbing alcohol-dampened cloth, is this right?

 

[Steven Q Urkle]

dont put any on the heatsink,

you may want to rub some in then wipe it off in the center.

On the a paper make a trny dab about a grain of rice, ten use half of that and smear it on the die

Its an odd paste, it will cover the whole thing easily, it sort of stretches out.

the pad should come off, but it there is some on the die then try to scrae it off, but be EXTREMLY careful not to chip or scratch it.

achol is safe to use, make sure its dry though.

 

[Global_Inferno]

My personal way of doing it.. (CPU temp. on mine is at 38*C on a 3000+ Barton, so it has gotta be fairly good!)

Was...

1. put a small dab on the bottom of the heatsink and spread untill almost opaque..

2. put a slightly larger dab on the CPU (in comparison for the size) and spread that untill a completely UN-opaque layer is covering the whole chipset...

The reason for applying it to BOTH the heatsink and the CPU die is so that when the heatsink is being put on... the grease/compound doesnt get rubbed off all over the un-coated surface WHERE it ISNT wanted!

 

[TrueWeltall]

Originally posted by Steven Q Urkle

achol is safe to use, make sure its dry though.

70% alchol.

 

[Shuzer]

Sigh. Got my heatsink/fan in, spent about 10 minutes making sure everything looked good compound wise, when I was satisfied, I closed up everything, and put it back together.

Turned on my comp, was watching the cpu fan the whole time, hit the power button.. ran for half a second, then I heard a loud clicking/popping sound, my computer was loading up and all, but the fan stopped moving.

I immediately shut down, and tried to see if the fan was okay. It felt stuck, so I pushed it a bit, and the blade started going around, so I figured it just jammed on a groove, or something.

Plugged everything in, fan didn't turn out. Shut down, took the fan off the heatsink, and upon further inspection..

looks like some sort of transistor popped off and got jammed in the fan :x I took it out in hopes that it would work, but alas, apparently, whatever popped off on first boot, was needed.. I tried to get the fan off so I could solder the transistor back on, but the way it's built, I can't get it off.

Guess I'll just be sending it back for an RMA and hopefully the computer shop near my house has Aeroflows, if not, I'll order one again.

 

[Doobz]

i would recommend arctic silver ceramique, it's better for cooling than arctic silver III and it's nonconductive, so if you get a little on a circuit it's no big deal

 

[TrueWeltall]

Maybe it was the termal diode(sp?) coming off.

 

[Shuzer]

I really have no clue what came off, but whatever came off, it snapped off, and it stopped working due to it.

BTW, I got a little bit on the chip, did my best to wipe it off, basically left a small amount, kinda smeered, CPU is running fine, is it bad for it?

 

[TrueWeltall]

Originally posted by Shuzer
I really have no clue what came off, but whatever came off, it snapped off, and it stopped working due to it.

BTW, I got a little bit on the chip, did my best to wipe it off, basically left a small amount, kinda smeered, CPU is running fine, is it bad for it?

Shouldnt be too bad for it. Was the thing green that snapped off?

 

[Shuzer]

Nah.. was copper, battery shaped, very small. Had silver ends
_____
(_____)

Kinda like that, only less uhh.. yeah, you get the picture

 

[Doobz]

and this came off of the HSF?

 

[Shuzer]

Just the fan, inside of it, near the magnetic part.. had to take off the fan casing in order to see what it was

 

[KiNG]

http://www.arcticsilver.com/arctic_alumina_instructions.htm

works even if u dont use AS

 

[Guest]

i just put a glob of that shit in the middle of the cpu and stuck it on. im runnin about 95-105F idle.

anyone know why ive never seen temps higher than 125F? under really high load and a low fan rpm, all i ever get is 125F. you think its MBM?