How to check if AS5 is new?

I have two tubes of AS5 - one is new, one is about a year old. Is there a way to check which is the newer one - consistency/colour for example?
Thanks :)

Nope, but then again as long as they are kept sealed, they will degrade at a stupidly slow rate. You'd never be able to tell :)

Exactly. I have a tube which is quite old now and it is still useable as it is sealed from the air.

OK thanks for the replies. :)
Just I've read in the past that if AS5 is over a year old it shouldn't be used. I didn't think there would be much truth in it though TBH but I thought it's best to check.

It's absolute crap mate. It just stems from them wanting to sell more sticks of the overpriced stuff :)

Yeah thought so. Just one last question - how hard is AS5 to remove? I also read something saying it's very hard to remove completely which is probably about as true as it going off within a year.

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Originally Posted by watercooled

Yeah thought so. Just one last question - how hard is AS5 to remove? I also read something saying it's very hard to remove completely which is probably about as true as it going off within a year.

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It's very easy to take AS5 off. Toilet roll gets most of it off. Toilet roll + nail polish remover takes it all off. Or you can buy the special cleaning stuff (waste of money imo)

Thinking about it, if it did go off after a year, we should all be replacing our CPU gunk one a year. I agree with Agent, best to give it an expiry to sell more tubes of it, and build it obsolescence in a product is always a good thing from a manufacturer's point of view.

it can separate if stored in warm conditions as i found out with a new tube that had been stored warm, thats why they say store for a year and buy new. its not sales pitch.

after all silver won't mix, it needs a carrier fluid.

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Originally Posted by SiM

It's very easy to take AS5 off. Toilet roll gets most of it off. Toilet roll + nail polish remover takes it all off. Or you can buy the special cleaning stuff (waste of money imo)

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As SiM says - it's easy, although I personally never use nail polish remover as some contains acetone and will leave a nasty film on the CPU.
I've seen bottles without it mentioned on the ingredients, which is why I just don't use it at all. Alcohol does the job nicely for me :)

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Originally Posted by GoNz0

it can separate if stored in warm conditions as i found out with a new tube that had been stored warm, thats why they say store for a year and buy new. its not sales pitch.

after all silver won't mix, it needs a carrier fluid.

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I've got sticks too that have been stored in very warm places and never separated. Either way, a year is a stupidly small time for them to be made, shipped, sold and used.

I find it interesting that the silver doesn't separate under conditions of 100deg C+, yet does when it was stored in a warm place? What happens when this stuff is sold in countries where the ambient temperature is significantly higher than the UK?

Sounds more like a bad tube to me :)

edit - http://www.arcticsilver.com/as5.htm

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Absolute Stability:
Arctic Silver 5 will not separate, run, migrate, or bleed.

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Sounds like one of those many fake tubes of AS that was going around.
http://www.arcticsilver.com/arctic_silver_fraud.htm

they put it down to heat, sent me a new tube and a tester of the ceramique a few months before release. i still have a tube thats about 4 years old and its still fine. thats been sat in the works van in some very high temps, so you might be right.

as for fakes, it was from a well known retailer and they never said it was fake when i emailed arctic silver and they asked for it back.

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Originally Posted by Agent

As SiM says - it's easy, although I personally never use nail polish remover as some contains acetone and will leave a nasty film on the CPU.
I've seen bottles without it mentioned on the ingredients, which is why I just don't use it at all. Alcohol does the job nicely for me :)

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Is adhesive remover ok to use on a CPU to remove stubbon AS5? I have an old tin of Bostik Adhesive remover. I have used it in the past and it gets everything off. Not sure if it does any harm though?

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Originally Posted by Dragonclaw

Is adhesive remover ok to use on a CPU to remove stubbon AS5? I have an old tin of Bostik Adhesive remover. I have used it in the past and it gets everything off. Not sure if it does any harm though?

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No idea what's in it I'm afraid so can't say. However its very hard to damage a CPU, it can just cause hassle of you have something on the CPU that reacts with the AS5.

I've seen nail polish remover literally break down AS in weeks and cause silly temps.

Keep in mind it's just CPU gunk. Don't worry about it too much, it's not rocket science :) Just use your noggin and you'll be fine.

Has anyone seen that Coolaboratory Liquid Metal TIM? It contains a variety of metals and the outcome is a substance that is liquid at room temperature. It comes in a hypodermic syringe with a needle which is kind of scary and it eats aluminium coolers. They say it like 'cheap aluminium coolers' but most of the high-quality coolers I know of use don't use bare-copper bases. Also, what are CPU heatspreaders made from?

I think nail polish remover can damage circuit boards, so be careful if you try to clean any excess off from around the CPU socket. I use Isopropyl alcohol to remove AS5, it can be bought at the chemist quite cheaply and lasts for ages.