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#1
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Thermal paste
Does using thermal paste on the CPU really make a great deal of difference
in conducting heat to be dissapated? What sort of temperature differences are we talking about between using an average thermal paste and a CPU using no paste whatsoever? |
#2
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The difference between possibly burning out your CPU, and not...
-- DaveW "-" wrote in message ... Does using thermal paste on the CPU really make a great deal of difference in conducting heat to be dissapated? What sort of temperature differences are we talking about between using an average thermal paste and a CPU using no paste whatsoever? |
#3
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Does using thermal paste on the CPU really make a great deal of difference
in conducting heat to be dissapated? What sort of temperature differences are we talking about between using an average thermal paste and a CPU using no paste whatsoever? Yes it does. Air does not conduct heat well at all, and that's what will be sitting between you processor and heatsink unless you use thermal paste of some sort. Here are the various thermal conductivities for some materials. The smaller they are, the slower they transfer heat, and thus the hotter you CPU will get. As you can see, air is like dressing you processor up in a wooly jacket and mittens: Air 0.02 W/mK Conventional thermal paste ~ 1 W/mK Silmore thermal paste ~ 2.80 W/mK Arctic Silver II thermal paste ~ 8.00 W/mK Arctic Silver III thermal paste ~ 9.00 W/mK Aluminum 220.00 W/mK Copper 382.00 W/mK You'll also note that the thermal paste is considerably worse than the metal of your heatsink for transferring heat, so you should be putting on as little as possible: just enough to replace the air gaps between the two surfaces. Ewan |
#4
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Ewan Sinclair wrote:
Does using thermal paste on the CPU really make a great deal of difference in conducting heat to be dissapated? What sort of temperature differences are we talking about between using an average thermal paste and a CPU using no paste whatsoever? Yes it does. Air does not conduct heat well at all, and that's what will be sitting between you processor and heatsink unless you use thermal paste of some sort. Here are the various thermal conductivities for some materials. The smaller they are, the slower they transfer heat, and thus the hotter you CPU will get. As you can see, air is like dressing you processor up in a wooly jacket and mittens: Air 0.02 W/mK Conventional thermal paste ~ 1 W/mK Silmore thermal paste ~ 2.80 W/mK Arctic Silver II thermal paste ~ 8.00 W/mK Arctic Silver III thermal paste ~ 9.00 W/mK Where did you get these figures?? Several places I've seen on the net, they found almost ZERO difference between "artic" thermal paste and the regular white stuff sold at Radioshack for pennies. http://thecrucible.ca/reviews/thermal/performance2.php Actually in this test the cheapo radioshack grease outperforms ALL the Artic silver products!! LOL!! Another test I saw showed in a few days of use the artic stuff was already breaking down and causing higher temps than regular type thermal compounds. -- Stacey |
#5
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"-" wrote in message ... Does using thermal paste on the CPU really make a great deal of difference in conducting heat to be dissapated? What sort of temperature differences are we talking about between using an average thermal paste and a CPU using no paste whatsoever? get a good magnifying glass then have a look at your heatsink's surface you may be surprised ! |
#6
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Where did you get these figures?? Several places I've seen on the net,
they found almost ZERO difference between "artic" thermal paste and the regular white stuff sold at Radioshack for pennies. http://thecrucible.ca/reviews/thermal/performance2.php Actually in this test the cheapo radioshack grease outperforms ALL the Artic silver products!! LOL!! Another test I saw showed in a few days of use the artic stuff was already breaking down and causing higher temps than regular type thermal compounds. Stacey Hi. That is most likely because they used to much of it, when you use Arctic or similar cooler paste then you should only use a drop or two and then spred it out in a very thin layer. Otherwise you will get the exact opposite effect. You don't get the same effect when using to much of normal cooler paste. Regards Martin Bech Copenhagen, Denmark |
#7
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On Tue, 11 Nov 2003 23:58:48 -0500, stacey wrote:
Air 0.02 W/mK Conventional thermal paste ~ 1 W/mK Silmore thermal paste ~ 2.80 W/mK Arctic Silver II thermal paste ~ 8.00 W/mK Arctic Silver III thermal paste ~ 9.00 W/mK Where did you get these figures?? Several places I've seen on the net, they found almost ZERO difference between "artic" thermal paste and the regular white stuff sold at Radioshack for pennies. The figures look about right, but relatively speaking, most of the thermal compounds are close enough. Contrast them to air in a worst-case or heatsink as best, and the thin, pressurized layer of compound makes little difference so long as it's consistency allows it to spread thin and even but not run out or degrade over time. Dave |
#8
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"-" wrote in message ... Does using thermal paste on the CPU really make a great deal of difference in conducting heat to be dissapated? YES What sort of temperature differences are we talking about between using an average thermal paste and a CPU using no paste whatsoever? TOO MUCH Hank |
#9
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Martin Nikolaj Bech wrote:
Where did you get these figures?? Several places I've seen on the net, they found almost ZERO difference between "artic" thermal paste and the regular white stuff sold at Radioshack for pennies. http://thecrucible.ca/reviews/thermal/performance2.php Actually in this test the cheapo radioshack grease outperforms ALL the Artic silver products!! LOL!! Another test I saw showed in a few days of use the artic stuff was already breaking down and causing higher temps than regular type thermal compounds. Stacey Hi. That is most likely because they used to much of it, when you use Arctic or similar cooler paste then you should only use a drop or two and then spred it out in a very thin layer. Otherwise you will get the exact opposite effect. The only place I've seen Artic silver beat radio shack type paste is on Artic silvers website or from people who paid $$$ for that stuff. The clear REALLY cheapo paste isn't very good but any of the white silicon thermal pastes work as well as the $$$$ ones do. You don't get the same effect when using to much of normal cooler paste. So normal cooler paste isn't a "problem" when it's too thick but the "high conductive" stuff is? -- Stacey |
#10
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Where did you get these figures?? Several places I've seen on the net,
they found almost ZERO difference between "artic" thermal paste and the regular white stuff sold at Radioshack for pennies. I just got them off a random Tom's Hardware Guide page. They throw them on all the time. here's one: http://www.tomshardware.com/cpu/20020916/cooler-02.html I'd certainly say that they're a credible source. Actually in this test the cheapo radioshack grease outperforms ALL the Artic silver products!! LOL!! Aha, so this site would be a stealthy Radioshack marketing ploy then :-) Another test I saw showed in a few days of use the artic stuff was already breaking down and causing higher temps than regular type thermal compounds. I have heard of silicone based thermal pastes being subject to "creep" over periods from 3 months to a year, where air gaps get left as the paste shifts. Arctic Silver II was silicone based, but Arctic Silver III and greater aren't. However, in the 3 day range, this is more likely to be the compound adjusting before finally settling in. From the Arctic Silver 5 page: "During the CPU's initial use, the compound thins out to enhance the filling of the microscopic valleys and ensure the best physical contact between the heatsink and the CPU core. Then the compound thickens slightly over the next 50 to 200 hours of use to its final consistency designed for long-term stability." |
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