Need advice for thermal paste + hs fan for Intel E6600

[Ne0]

Hi folks, I'm looking for some advice on what thermal paste and maybe a new heatsink fan I should buy for my C2D E6600. I was removing dust out the case yesterday and had to remove the fan from the heatsink. Sticking the heatsink back into the motherboard was a challenge and a pain in the backside. I must have taken it out of its place and put it back onto the processor at least 10 times. I've noticed that my temps are creeping up a little and this is because the stock thermal paste is wearing away.

Yesterday when I turned the PC back on the CPU was idling at its normal temp of around mid 20's but when I increased workload of the first core the temperature shop up way above 60. Naturally I thought the heatsink wasn't seated correctly to I reseated it and screwed everything back again and doing so I noticed there is a small layer of thermal paste on both the top of the processor and heatsink fan.

I'm not being picky or anything but I do like to keep my temps low and I do have good cooling. I have looked at the Arctic Silver 5 thermal paste from Scan (link) and ArticCooling Freezer 7 Pro from Scan again (link). I am looking for a solution to clean the paste which is already on the CPU/heatsink currently but cannot find anything so any suggestions would be appreciated. My question is will the ArticCooling Freezer 7 Pro be any nosier than my stock Intel heatsink fan and secondly should I notice a difference in temps after applying the paste and with the new fan?

[staffsMike]

well the freezer comes with decent thermal compound pre-applied.

it's quieter than the stock cooler.

Akasa AK-TC TIM Clean CPU & Heatsink Cleaner
to clean the cpu

[edp33]

Hi Ne0

Madshrimps did a comprehensive guide to heatsinks not long ago, the link is here. It includes the Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro
CPU Heatsink Roundup Fall 2007

[this_is_gav]

If you want to make sure it's seated properly and making full contact, when you have cleaned the thermal paste from both the CPU and heatsink (I use the similar stuff as staffsMike does - looks like they've got some new packaging), put some fresh stuff on the CPU heatspreader only (and only a thin layer) and then seat it. Pull it straight off again and make sure there's a relatively even spread across the heatsink of roughly the size of the CPU's heatspreader. If there's any real gaps then your heatsink isn't seated right.

[Ne0]

Thanks for the replies, interesting to hear what you guys use with your E6600's. Reading the heatsink comparisons I am having second thoughts about the ArticCooling Freezer 7 Pro now, I think I should stick with the stock heatsink and just reapply the paste with the cleaner sfaffsMike suggested and go over with some AS5. Is there a special cloth I'm going to have to use to wipe the stuff off?

[this_is_gav]

Is there a special cloth I'm going to have to use to wipe the stuff off?

You'll laugh (and others will scoff) but I use toilet paper. Honestly. An ear bud if I want to remove it from an edge (eg when it's slightly over the side of the heatspreader). It may leave a bit of dust, but it's never hurt it yet. Not for the pure record-breaking overclock by any means for that reason, but for general use and moderate overclocking (~3.4GHz) it's fine.

Any lint-free cloth would probably be better, but I prefer the disposable option. Just make sure you don't use a scented wipe.

[Skinleech]

I use loo roll or kitchen roll too, as well as some paste cleaner I got from Scan or Dabs or somewhere to assist cleaning.

As for the E6600/paste/HSF combo, I use a Scythe Ninja cooler in fanless mode and AS5. You need a biiiiig case for the Ninja though as it's a beast.

[staffsMike]

I use loo roll or kitchen roll too, as well as some paste cleaner I got from Scan or Dabs or somewhere to assist cleaning.

I use kitchen towel to but you should probably use something lint free.

As for the E6600/paste/HSF combo, I use a Scythe Ninja cooler in fanless mode and AS5. You need a biiiiig case for the Ninja though as it's a beast.

Do you.. Do you really?

[Webby]

Silverstone TJ-08 FTW

Oh I use a Thermalright Ultra 90 on my E6550 with no problems running at 2.8GHz stock volts, running F@H constantly CPU core temp is 47-51oC depending on room temps.

Thermalright don't make the Ultra 90 anymore (but you can still buy them here for example) it has been replaced with the better Ultima 90 and both would be more than adequate for your E6600

[Skinleech]

I use kitchen towel to but you should probably use something lint free.



Do you.. Do you really?

Yeah, looks very similar to mine inside... Great heatsink though, and having a nearly noisless PC is fandabbydosy.