speaking of water cooling btw, anyone able to do a decent comparison run down of the newer all enclosed type (like corsair H80 that i got) and ones with an external reservoir? any notable difference in cooling performance? or just looks cool to have your CPU beer bonging?
guys! what's the best way to remove thermal paste? im about to change the cooling system and was wondering to remove the thermal paste from the cpu and put a new one... (is it neccesary, right?) thx!!
guys! what's the best way to remove thermal paste? im about to change the cooling system and was wondering to remove the thermal paste from the cpu and put a new one... (is it neccesary, right?) thx!!
I've always used toilet paper
But I think it's best if you use isopropyl alcohol...
gonna buy it at my local liquor store then
concentration suggested? 99%?
also, i have to remove some of that paste from my motherboard... yuos.. things got messed up last time would be safe?
Plastics and alcohol get along just fine. Besides, alcohol vaporizes after a few seconds. Thats one of the things that make it so fine for cleaning contacts and electronics, and it has a natural hate-hate relationship with greasy stains. Its acetone you have to be a bit more careful about.
The way i did it (after watching Werelds do it), is just clean the cpu top (if you had another cooler before) with alcohol, then put a small amount in the middle of the cpu and then smear it all over the cpu with your finger (put rubbergloves or something on) then stretch it out with a card (old bank card or credit card or such a thing), till it's actually quite thin (too much will bork it aswell and makes it run hotter) and it's all smooth on top. Then just put the fan ontop of it.
Basically like this (except he doesn't spread it out first with a finger and goes to use the card instant):
In updated vid he just puts the thermal paste on the cpu and then presses the cooler against it... Altho i don't like this method myself.
Proud member of Frustrated Association of International Losers Failing Against the Gifted and Superior (F.A.I.L.F.A.G.S)
Will be getting a dark pro 2 soon, it comes with decentish stock paste. but not as good as the noctua paste
Bought some quite expensive arctic mx4 last year, this stuff doesnt have a expiration date right =P? is that arctic mx4 still good or should I get a syringe of that noctua stuff or arctic silver ceramique 2? (they dont have a whole lot of other choiche)
Just a "dab" (grain of rice or however you want to call it), spread it with a card so that the center is covered properly (make sure to leave 1-2mm at all four sides). Rest will spread evenly purely from heatsink pressure after that, it doesn't need to cover the entire CPU, the actual hot part is close to the dead center. That video above is a little overdone and he'll actually have it coming out the sides after the heatsink goes on.
i like a pea size and then without spreading it with a card have the cooler push paste to the side to avoid any air being left in, prefer this to the thinner but airy alternative.
I surely didn't spread it all the way to the edge like that
Well no, but the video ain't EXACTLY how you did it
You first put a little bit on the cpu, then you spread it out with your finger and finishing smoothness with the card.
Because from what i have learned, putting the cooler right ontop of the paste, without evenly distributing it, it can cause air bubbles to form, wich isn't good either..
Proud member of Frustrated Association of International Losers Failing Against the Gifted and Superior (F.A.I.L.F.A.G.S)
That and it won't distribute the paste 100% evenly, since you can never have a 100% uniform "dab" right in the middle of the heatsink while you lower it 100% straight down..etc
Well I usually just smooth over with my finger until evenly spread and just lower heat sink.
I will use a card to smooth it this time and remove compound from the edges of the cpu.
Thanks guys
Just put a dab in the middle and let the pressure from teh heatsink do the rest. Smooth to the edges is a waste of time and might cause the paste to thin out in certain spots.
Also don't use your finger, you have oil on your skin, you don't want that mixed in with the paste.
Also keep in mind that the edges of the cap don't heat up the same as the middle does where the cores actually are.
What's wrong with the "pea" method?
By just applying a pea-sized amount of paste and then smashing the cooler on-top of it.
Usually the pressure spreads around the paste enough on the CPU to create the heat conduit between the CPU and cooler.
I used to do it the way PWerelds describes it but that was honestly a pain in the bumhole so I tried out the pea method, I didn't notice any difference in temperature.
What's wrong with the "pea" method?
By just applying a pea-sized amount of paste and then smashing the cooler on-top of it.
Usually the pressure spreads around the paste enough on the CPU to create the heat conduit between the CPU and cooler.
I used to do it the way PWerelds describes it but that was honestly a pain in the bumhole so I tried out the pea method, I didn't notice any difference in temperature.
On top of the card method, you're spreading it out so thin, put the cooler on top and if you accidentally bump it while securing, it just smudged the already thin layer.
CPU isn't going anywhere, and with the cooler gradually gaining more pressure, there's only going to be so much of a gap there so the cooler itself will work out what isn't going to fit in that small of a gap.
This is all just theories though, I used to do the razor blade thing, really won't see any difference, I noticed a celcius or 2 lower temps doing it the dab in the middle but that was a long time ago.
Simple reason, if you press it right ontop if it, you can NEVER get rid of most airbubbles that CAN form under it. That's why it's safer to smear it out before putting the cooler on..
Proud member of Frustrated Association of International Losers Failing Against the Gifted and Superior (F.A.I.L.F.A.G.S)
What's wrong with the "pea" method?
By just applying a pea-sized amount of paste and then smashing the cooler on-top of it.
Usually the pressure spreads around the paste enough on the CPU to create the heat conduit between the CPU and cooler.
I used to do it the way PWerelds describes it but that was honestly a pain in the bumhole so I tried out the pea method, I didn't notice any difference in temperature.
On top of the card method, you're spreading it out so thin, put the cooler on top and if you accidentally bump it while securing, it just smudged the already thin layer.
CPU isn't going anywhere, and with the cooler gradually gaining more pressure, there's only going to be so much of a gap there so the cooler itself will work out what isn't going to fit in that small of a gap.
This is all just theories though, I used to do the razor blade thing, really won't see any difference, I noticed a celcius or 2 lower temps doing it the dab in the middle but that was a long time ago.
I re-read it three times now and I don't quite follow.
Are you saying the pea method is good or bad? o.O
Anywho... I did notice that if I fudged up and moved the cooler around (twisted it left/right) while just trying to apply pressure so it would fit on-top of the CPU the paste might get smudged around the edges.
rice grain method is the way to go. I dunno where people are getting this bubble idea from. You'r squeezing a solid little grain that's getting smashed outwards, the chances of a bubble are slim to none and if you do, it's going to be so small you wouldn't know the difference.
For the record I've heard the thicker stuff is better to do with the pea thing, thinner pastes like AC5 probbaly work better with smoothing out.
I use shinetsu which is thick as fuck so smoothing it out would not only be a pain in the ass but inconsistent as well.
Also, it's not pea size, that's a lot of fucking goop that'll bleed over the sides lol
Quote:
Here's a fun little fact about heat transfer; Heat will automatically transfer itself through the most appropriate medium. This means that if there's something with active particles available such as liquid, "goo", or air, it'll transfer to that. Otherwise, it's forced to transfer directly to solid.
It generally prefers the medium that's most free moving, which would be air. If air isn't available, or there's isn't enough of it, it'll simply overheat unless a liquid or paste type substance is in contact with it. Obviously though, material does have an effect, as Afrospinach proved above with the mention of not removing the plastic shield on a heatsink.
Essentially, both of them generally produce equal results if done correctly.
Personally, i used to spread. I thought that it'd be much better to do so. However, once i realised that the heat would simply transfer through a smaller area at the same efficiency, i started using the pea method. It's similar with watercooling. I used to use watercooling in a previous rig. I started with 8mm ID tubing. I thought that 1/2" tubing would prove to be more efficient. Unfortunately, what i didn't account for was the pressure you get in smaller diameter tubing, and sure enough, even with higher flow tubing and high flow components, i saw almost no difference in performance.
So, pea or spread, both produce roughly equal results simply due to the nature of energy (or to be specific, heat) transfer.
These Sandybridge chips are incredibly small. I mean damn, the actual dimension of them astounds me. You don't even want a pea sized amount on these. It needs to be a little less. Even just squeezing a small amount out and pressing it onto the center of the chip should be enough.
So as I said before, the chip is in the middle so that's where you want your focus. The only reason the caps were introduced was because of the amount of chipped CPU's happening when they were bare. The things are so ridiculously small now that the caps make people think they're bigger than they really are.
Taking from the videos the pea spot seem to leave a large outer area totally uncovered by compound. Surely that's going to make an impact. Or does the outer part of the chip stay cool.
Saying that isn't the chip in have chosen have a different size surface area? Sure I've seen an oblong shape! Will have to check. But spreading also leaves areas bare if not enough compound is used..
Simple reason, if you press it right ontop if it, you can NEVER get rid of most airbubbles that CAN form under it. That's why it's safer to smear it out before putting the cooler on..
no, thats why exactly you use the pea method, so the air is pushed to the sides. when you smear it out thinly the paste doesnt go outwards anymore, and any air between the heatsink and cpu is trapped. that lil amount of air will do more harm preventing heat being transfered than the extra 0.02mm thickness you would have.
Simple reason, if you press it right ontop if it, you can NEVER get rid of most airbubbles that CAN form under it. That's why it's safer to smear it out before putting the cooler on..
no, thats why exactly you use the pea method, so the air is pushed to the sides. when you smear it out thinly the paste doesnt go outwards anymore, and any air between the heatsink and cpu is trapped. that lil amount of air will do more harm preventing heat being transfered than the extra 0.02mm thickness you would have.
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lovely. Getting watercooling in a couple of days 
gonna OC then
would be safe?
