vroom_skies
VIP Member
O crud lol.
I hit the wrong buttom.
I use AS5.
Bob
I hit the wrong buttom.
I use AS5.
Bob
Thermal paste
- Thread starter xBoom
- Start date
I've done it on a Dell P3 laptop and I had differences of nearly 10C load. Have YOU ever tried it?
The old thermal pads were junk, they were practically tinfoil sheets inbetween the processor and the heatsink...they trapped mroe heat than they transferred.
When I removed the thermal pad and applied soem generic "goop" from Fry's, my load temps went way down.
Of course I have no documented proof, I did it probably 2 years ago or more. But why would I lie? The old thermal pads are utter crap, and replacing them with a good thermal paste should give you DRASTIC improvements. I can understand if you haev a eprfectly fine thermal pad, but this one was horrid. Like I said, it looked like a sheet of tin foil and that was it.
EDIT: For a bit of humor, or just informational purposes...check this out - http://www.dansdata.com/goop.htm
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fade2green514
Active Member
if you don't use thermal compound between your cpu and its heatsink then you're a noob.
i sanded each surface down to a mirrored finish and i still used thermal compound. less of it, but i still used some. why? because it helps, and when you're competing to have the best of the best, you'll do anything (especially a $5 thermal compound mod) for a higher overclock and/or lower temperatures.
can you say "FLAT!"
http://www.doomedpc.com/images/ebay/MirrorFinish2.JPG
btw, you can get super fine grit sand paper at like an autozone or something, thats what i did.
then, you use a paper towel between your fingers and the cpu pins (so they dont bend, of course) and tape the sandpaper to a piece of glass (i took one out of a picture) and you just sand it down. start at a lower grit and work your way up so you get rid of that initial nickel plating on top. the reason you use a piece of glass is so that you get a completely flat surface. you can do the same for the heatsink.
i sanded each surface down to a mirrored finish and i still used thermal compound. less of it, but i still used some. why? because it helps, and when you're competing to have the best of the best, you'll do anything (especially a $5 thermal compound mod) for a higher overclock and/or lower temperatures.
can you say "FLAT!"
http://www.doomedpc.com/images/ebay/MirrorFinish2.JPG
btw, you can get super fine grit sand paper at like an autozone or something, thats what i did.
then, you use a paper towel between your fingers and the cpu pins (so they dont bend, of course) and tape the sandpaper to a piece of glass (i took one out of a picture) and you just sand it down. start at a lower grit and work your way up so you get rid of that initial nickel plating on top. the reason you use a piece of glass is so that you get a completely flat surface. you can do the same for the heatsink.
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Yup, that's lapping your heatsink. I used to do that as well when I had desktops. It allows for an almost mirror flat finish, less gaps between your 2 contact surfaces, and better heat transfer. When my laptop's warranty expires I'll probably upgrade the cooling as well, even though so far it's pretty good at keeping cool. Eventually I'll have to clean it out though I'm sure.
Iluvpenguins
New Member
My idea is that the thermal pad was all crapped up and needed a replacement which is why it was running so hot,then you applied thermal paste and it was refreshed and renewed.
Guy, no offence, but in 18 years of playing with computers I've probably done more CPUs than you have in your lifetime. I'm more than familiar with P3 heatsinks, but we're not talking P3s here, are we...
That's the way an enthusiast does it, yup. I never had the patience, but then again I wasn't paid to have that kind of patience.
So, what are you saying? Besides the fact that you are older than me? Because that's has no bearing on the discussion.
You asked for some kind of proof that thermal paste works better than a thermal pad on a "drastic" level. I have offered my personal experience, I lost about 10C on my old Dell P3 laptop by switching to thermal paste from an old thermal pad. You could have built a computer from toothpicks, it doesn't change anything here. I could show you the same results on any CPU, providing the thermal pad is worn enough to cause overheating, as was the case with mine. Like I said, you won't see a noticable difference if the thermal pad is brand new and transferring heat efficiently...I agree with you there.
Archangel
VIP Member
nope.. i had nothing on it then.. and the heatsinks surg=face want entirely smooth anymore
Riight.. its noticable you have absolutely nothing to with selling them, are you? because youre running around calling everyone stupid who doesnt agree with you. maybe you should just be open for more things.. but i gues you're just too narrow minded for that. ( possible because youre doing in pc's for 18 year's you think you know it all, dont you? )
Considering the fact that the context of the thread is with modern CPUs, and that is what I am questioning, show me evidence with a P4, C2D, A64, or anything current. Any evidence at all. I do agree with the P3 and thermal pad problem, that some had that problem and scraping the crap off it and using thermal paste solved the problem. I've done it many times myself.. But that's not the issue at hand.
Exactly my point. You didn't know what you were doing. You can't compare not using any thermal paste solution with using one and say "holy shit! Using this thermal paste dropped my temp 15C!!!". Well no bloody kidding. The point is using factory supplied solutions with after market solutions does NOT make that big a difference, so I suggest that the OP had no idea what they were doing either. Hell, toothpaste makes more of a difference.
m0nk3ys1ms
Active Member
Umm, 60C idle is bad, real bad. Put some thermal paste on there.
fade2green514
Active Member
you realize 75F is around 21-23C right? lol 60C is a bad load temp.
whether you're using air, water, or phase change cooling you always ought to use some thermal compound of some sort. the only way it can hurt is if you're an idiot and you put too much on. any thermal compound has worse heat conduction (even liquid pro) compared to copper or aluminum (or most solid metals used for heatsinks) i have a flatter surface than most people do on their heatsinks and i still use thermal compound. i could compare, and the difference wouldn't be HUGE but it would still be a lot better than not using the compound.
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Archangel
VIP Member
well.. i didnt know much about pc's when i used that CPU.. since it was the first PC i build on my own... however, i did fit the HS back on the same way it was without the paste,. and it did make +/- 16*C difference.. so in fact,.. it did drop the temp that much.. you can but it as you want.. but its just true..
and.. appearantly youre about the only one who does know what he's doing, right?
It's truly unfortunate that I'm the only one that's perfect. It's a difficult reputation to live up to, but somehow I always seem to manage.
lol
j/k 