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Right, just building my new rig now, as all the parts have arrived. Got to the XP120 (it has been used before.) I used my Tshirt and some kitchen roll which was damp to take of the paste, but is that enough, or do I have to use something else, alcohol or the like?
Not sure what paste was in it before, but I want the Artic Silver 5 to work to the best of it's ability, to help me get a decent overclock on my Athlon 3500.
aria sell a paste removing solvent but i believe - if you are careful - a small dab of solvent should be sufficient and then left to dry.
I was about to start a new thread but I saw this one so to keep it all in one place:
How [I]THIN[/] are we talking for the arctic Silver layer on the cpu? I have some myself I want to apply rather than the stock 'grey mush' supplied
Isopropanol works well to remove paste - I get this from work but I'm sure maplins sell it as I've seen others on Hexus mention it. It's not absolutely essential but it will remove all the old paste to ensure a fresh start.
Try not to use acetone (or derivatives such as nail varnish remover) on plastics as this damages them. Metal is fine.
Shiato - generally it is recommended that the thinnest layer of paste is best, ensure all of the "chip" surface is covered though.
I have not installed any AMD64 chips but my experience with athon xp's is a decent covering (not liberal) is better than the bare minimum. I apply paste with a plastic plant pot label tag liberated from a green fingered mother :D, which is long and v-shaped at the business end. Others recommend the finger in plastic bag. I'm sure other members will comment on what works best for them.
If you want to do it on the cheap, then use some vodka, its not as is you need to use a lot, and the alcohol content will do the trick. A little blow and it evaporates also.
To spread, you can do worse that the millions of free store/club cards that are bound to be lying about your place :) remember to mask the edges with a few layers of tape, as if you scrape over the edges of the core, all you have to do is just remove the tape at the end of it all and its perfect!
I find non-Accetone based nail varnish remover works a treat, wipe the main gunk off with a clean cloth then put a bit on a cloth and polish up the core. Then just squeeze a little bit of AS5 onto the core an gradually spread it with a nice bit of springy card till you have a nice thin, even layer..Too much and it just splurges out when the heatsink is pressed ontop, had my new XFX 6600gt sink off the other night to replace the rubbish that comes on it, was pretty runny & didn't look particulary effective
yes, I replaced the 6600gt gunk to...now about 3-5C cooler :D
Well I set mine straight up to 550/560 as this is what these new extreme editions commng out are, just bios tweaked to this with the same old cards for more money! At full load is only pulling 70Cish, full 2000 3dmarks (8500) over my old 9800 pro as well!
artic silver's site, http://www.arcticsilver.com/arctic_s...structions.htm, states that u should put a small blob on the core of the cpu and put the HSF on it and thats it... the HSF will spread the cream out nicely....
ive noticed that with AS5 installed, the max temps rises gradually over time... i was toying around with artic cooling's MX1 cream which they say is not based on metal materials, and thus re-application is not necessary because the 'performance does not degrade over time'
are you sure that a small blob is all that is needed as I read on that page the following section of text
Quote:
For all Arctic Silver versions:
Spread the Arctic Silver thermal compound over the CPU core as shown in the photo to the right. The small amount from the photo in step 5 above has been carefully spread over the top of the core using a single edge razor blade. A razor blade or the clean edge of a credit card can be used as the application tool. You may use whatever tool you choose as long as it is CLEAN and allows you to control the application area and thickness.
The flatter the mating surfaces, the thinner the layer that is required. Stock processors and/or heatsinks with normal surface irregularities will require a layer 0.003" to 0.005 thick as shown below to fill the resultant gaps. (Equal to the thickness of about 1 sheet of standard weight paper.) Properly lapped heatsinks with mirror finishes will only require a translucent haze.
I'd be inclned to spread it manaully as you can't guarentee that it'll give an even distribution when you squash it down with the heatsink, if you push it down slightly unevenly you'l push the paste to one side or tother and it'll probably oooze off the core onto the surround
Yes, a small blob is needed, if you are running A64 or P4. As AS5 indicates, you skip straight to step 9 if you have these.
Does it work on Graphics cards too did I just hear?
Yep had it on both my old 9800 core and my new 6600gt core and it idles at 43c, and thats with the clock/memory at 300/1.20ghz in standard 2d, full load at 3d mode 550/1.20 pull just over 70c and beings thermal throttle kicks in at 145c I think thats pretty good going
I always put a tiny blob on the HS and rub it in vigorously with a finger in a plastic bag.... this makes sure that the AS gets into all the imperfections in the HS - after all - it's the HS thats knobbly, right? Then i dab the remains on the core., as thin as poss.
hope this helps
f