Do CPU Heatsinks 'expire'

[sonyman]

I'm just wondering do cpu Heatsinks 'expire'? like do they become less effective say after 6-7yrs of hard use, like the pc being on approx 16hrs + a day each day?. because I have a Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro first rev and I'm sure I use to get lower tempts then 55'C for a Q6600 core 2 quad?

I say 'expire' because the heat pipes have refrigerant in it which could have leaked out over time or through cracks

[abaxas]

Not really unless there is a fault with it.

It's more likely, grot/dust/fluff buildup on heatsink/fan or cheap arse thermal compound.

[watercooled]

Not sure about heat pipes, but I've seen thermal compound go really bad when it's been in use for a long time.

[sonyman]

well I clean the heatsink and fan regularly and the thermopaste has been reapplied several times, I use Arctic Silver 5...the only thing I can think of is the refrigerant has leaked out of it over time (thats if it has refrigerant like fridges do)

[watercooled]

It's not refrigerant like you'd get in a fridge but heat pipes do contain a fluid used to transfer heat, and if this fluid were to escape then it would impact the cooling performance. I'm not sure how common this is in practice though.

[sonyman]

i'll have to bite the bullet and get a new heatsink to try then

[scaryjim]

Is that 55 at idle, or 55 under load? If it's the latter, then you're nowhere near the thermal limit of the chip and I really wouldn't bother replacing the heatsink. If it's 55 idle, then you may have a problem, but if you're using the same fan it came with it could actually be the fan bearings wearing and making the fan spin slower than it's meant to, so replacing the fan might do the job. That's far more likely that losing fluid from the heatpipes, unless there's been some kind of stress or impact to the pipes.

[sonyman]

Is that 55 at idle, or 55 under load? If it's the latter, then you're nowhere near the thermal limit of the chip and I really wouldn't bother replacing the heatsink. If it's 55 idle, then you may have a problem, but if you're using the same fan it came with it could actually be the fan bearings wearing and making the fan spin slower than it's meant to, so replacing the fan might do the job. That's far more likely that losing fluid from the heatpipes, unless there's been some kind of stress or impact to the pipes.

its usually between 52-55 at idle and hits about 58-60 under load.... this is with a 2nd fan bodged up at an angle blowing air to the heatsink as well as the original fan blowing as well.

[scaryjim]

58 - 60 at load sounds quite reasonable for a Q6600, tbh - in a hot summer on the stock cooler mine used to hit 70 and start throttling: a 140mm fan blowing additional air to the cooler brought it down to mid-60s. If the second fan helps that suggests a case airflow issue rather than a cooler issue, to me. Also, if the processor doesn't have speedstep enabled this will exacerbate any case airflow problems, as it will be pushing more heat into the case when it's idle, raising the ambient temperature of the air in the case and reducing the efficiency of the cooler.

[chrestomanci]

It's more likely, grot/dust/fluff buildup on heatsink/fan or cheap arse thermal compound.

That would be my guess.

I have seen temps (under load) drop by 15C or more, just by cleaning all the accumulated dust and fluff from the heatsink, and re-installing with fresh thermal compound.

If you have smoker or fury pet in your house, then you should probably check your heatsink for crud build-up at least once a year, and clean it if it looks dustly. A strong suck from the crevice tool of a vacuum cleaner only takes a few seconds and is remarkably effective.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Norwegian Blues do.

[scaryjim]

... I have seen temps (under load) drop by 15C or more, just by cleaning all the accumulated dust and fluff from the heatsink, and re-installing with fresh thermal compound. ...

well I clean the heatsink and fan regularly and the thermopaste has been reapplied several times ...

So I don't think it's going to be crud build up unless the OP is doing a really shoddy job of cleaning the heatsink and fan

OP: it would be kind of helpful to know the specs of the rest of the build, tbh - case, GPU, PSU, number and layout of fans, disks, that kind of thing. The whole thermal setup of your PC will have a significant impact on your CPU temps: while it's the most obvious factor, the CPU cooler isn't necessarily the weak spot in the system....

Oh, and CAT: it's just resting.

[sonyman]

well my specs are

Zalman Z3 Plus Mid Tower Case with 2 top case fans, 1 case fan at rear and 1 case fan at front.
Asus p5n7a-vm motherboard
EVGA 670 ftw 2gb
4x Corsair 2GB DDR2 RAM
3x 3.5inch hdds
1x ssd drive
1x optical drive
500w Seasonic psu

[scaryjim]

I take it the front fan is an intake and the other 3 fans are exhaust?

If so, the top-front fan is exhausting the cool air that should be going through your CPU cooler, instead pulling warmer air from the back of the GPU and the chipset into the cooler. It also looks like you have a blower-style GPU cooler which will be exhausting some of the cool air your one intake fan is providing. Basically you have a recipe for trying to cool your CPU with lots of warm air, which will be really inefficient (heat transfer is directly proportional to the difference in temperature, so the warmer the air going through your CPU cooler the less heat it will draw away from the CPU).

Try swapping the top-front fan to the second front fan mount (so you're pulling more cool air in to the case and exhausting it all near the rear), give everything a good clean, then let us know if that helps

[Zak33]

I'm just wondering do cpu Heatsinks 'expire'? like do they become less effective say after 6-7yrs of hard use, like the pc being on approx 16hrs + a day each day?. because I have a Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro first rev and I'm sure I use to get lower tempts then 55'C for a Q6600 core 2 quad?

remember.. you didn't have an EVGA 670 ftw 2gb in it all the time ago ;-)

My QX6700's run at 55C in a warm room at tickover.. I actually doubt the thermo reading on them... I own a lazer temp reader and the base of the heatsink on trhe CPU is nearer 48C

But they are not cool chips.. never have been

If you're getting crashes.. move the fans about and use a vacuum on the heatsink fins

[sonyman]

remember.. you didn't have an EVGA 670 ftw 2gb in it all the time ago ;-)

My QX6700's run at 55C in a warm room at tickover.. I actually doubt the thermo reading on them... I own a lazer temp reader and the base of the heatsink on trhe CPU is nearer 48C

But they are not cool chips.. never have been


If you're getting crashes.. move the fans about and use a vacuum on the heatsink fins

Ive moved fans around and even added a 2nd fan in front blowing air in but still the same....also the EVGA is a blower so it will exhaust most of the hot air out the back so shouldn't be a factor much. Im gonna buy another heatsink and try that out and if that doesnt work then at least I got a heatsink already for an upgrade in the future, cus the heatsink fits all current cpus that are out now anyway.