Arctic Silver vs. Silicone Compound

[Chalky]

Can anyone tell me if the Arctic Silver 5 thermal compound really performs
better than the standard Silicone Compound that came with my Arctic Cooling
VGA silencer? I want to overclock my 9700pro.

G

 

[Debug]

Can anyone tell me if the Arctic Silver 5 thermal compound really performs
better than the standard Silicone Compound that came with my Arctic Cooling
VGA silencer? I want to overclock my 9700pro.

G

I've never used it but all reviews I've read say it does by about 1or
2 degrees. Silver is the best conductor of heat available, copper
second.

 

[Chalky]

I've never used it but all reviews I've read say it does by about 1or
2 degrees. Silver is the best conductor of heat available, copper
second.

Is one or two degrees even worth the price of the tube? I think a 6gram tube
sells for like $6.00.

 

[NotSmart]

Opps, you forgot about the electron valence count of gold.

 

[Philip Callan]

Opps, you forgot about the electron valence count of gold.

Actually carbon-nanotubes are one of the highest, interesting read below:

http://makeashorterlink.com/?R51C46901

Old (2002) article, but the math is sound and its between a cooling geek
and a Arctic Silver person.

 

[Debug]

Is one or two degrees even worth the price of the tube? I think a 6gram tube
sells for like $6.00.

Not to me, maybe to others it is.

 

[Debug]

Opps, you forgot about the electron valence count of gold.

I'm talking heat conduction though and not eletrical conductivity.

 

[GTX_SlotCar]

It should be easy to find some review comparisons. The ones I've read
indicate that AS5 was as low as 1° to 2° lower at idle and as much as 15°
lower under load. I used it when I installed my VGA Silencer. I guess I
looked at it this way, I'm spending about $25 to get better cooling on my
card, it's worth another $5 to lower it another few degrees. You could buy a
less effective cooler for $20, but you didn't.

Gary

 

[J. Clarke]

Can anyone tell me if the Arctic Silver 5 thermal compound really performs
better than the standard Silicone Compound that came with my Arctic
Cooling VGA silencer? I want to overclock my 9700pro.

Dansdata (<http://www.dansdata.com IIRC but might be .org or .net--if you
don't find it google "dansdata") did a comparison of several heat sink
compounds and he also threw in toothpaste and Vegemite. Turns out in
practical terms they make little difference and the phase-change pads seem
to be very slightly better than any of the pastes.

 

[Chip]

I've never used it but all reviews I've read say it does by about 1or
2 degrees. Silver is the best conductor of heat available, copper
second.

Actually, diamond has a higher thermal conductivity than silver. Its not a
very practical material to use as a thermal paste though

Chip.

 

[Debug]

Dansdata (<http://www.dansdata.com IIRC but might be .org or .net--if you
don't find it google "dansdata") did a comparison of several heat sink
compounds and he also threw in toothpaste and Vegemite. Turns out in
practical terms they make little difference and the phase-change pads seem
to be very slightly better than any of the pastes.

I think the most improtant thing when using any thermal paste is to
use it *very* sparingly. Too much and you will do more harm than good.

 

[Chip]

I think the most improtant thing when using any thermal paste is to
use it *very* sparingly. Too much and you will do more harm than good.

This is a myth and I completely dispute it. The real danger when applying
themal paste is not applying enough. If you put too much on, it just gets
squeezed out of the way, so that only a thin layer remains between core and
heatsink.

Try it - put plenty on and then remove the heatsink. What do you see? A
*thin* film of compound on top of the CPU and on the HS where the CPU makes
contact. And a rim of compound all around the outside, where its been
squeezed out of the way.

But if you don't put enough on then you run the risk of there not being
enough to fill the grooves in the heatsink and you can have air gaps. Or
areas of the CPU that aren't even in contact with the heatsink at all!

It wasn't until I started lapping heatsinks that I could see for myself how
unlevel both the heatsink and the CPU! really are. You need to make sure
your CPU is making good contact and if you go for the "thinnest layer
possible" approach, there's no guarantee that this will be achieved.

My advice is to put *plenty* of compound on. Yes, your temps with AS3 and
AS5 *might* be a couple of degrees higher. I say "might" - I am not
convinced. And even then so what? But you will be sure that there is a
good bond between the CPU and the heatsink. Put not enough on, and you risk
temps much much higher, possible damage to your CPU and all sorts of
instability problems caused by parts of the chip overheating.

Chip.

 

[Asestar]

Ah heck why not use gold heatsinks?
Why settle for copper or aluminium? I mean girls do wear a lot of jewlery,
that's ok, but can't boys have a big gold heat sink in their pc? So why
would it be a waste of gold.. we ARE proud in our pc's

(well most of us.. hehe)

 

[Wblane]

I used to use the cheap rat-shack white grease too. Try using that crap on a
processor for a year though: it dries out and you get overheating. The cheap
white grease turns into a flaky powder after a year.

Dansdata (<http://www.dansdata.com IIRC but might be .org or .net--if you
don't find it google "dansdata") did a comparison of several heat sink
compounds and he also threw in toothpaste and Vegemite. Turns out in
practical terms they make little difference and the phase-change pads seem
to be very slightly better than any of the pastes.

-Bill (remove "botizer" to reply via email)

 

[Debug]

Ah heck why not use gold heatsinks?
Why settle for copper or aluminium? I mean girls do wear a lot of jewlery,
that's ok, but can't boys have a big gold heat sink in their pc? So why
would it be a waste of gold.. we ARE proud in our pc's

(well most of us.. hehe)

Silver conducts heat better than gold. Geve me a sterling silver
heatsink.

 

[Debug]

This is a myth and I completely dispute it.

That's not what the pros say. The paste is just to fill in the pits
and not to create a layer between the cpu and heatsink.

 

[Debug]

I used to use the cheap rat-shack white grease too. Try using that crap on a
processor for a year though: it dries out and you get overheating. The cheap
white grease turns into a flaky powder after a year.

Same with those pads some HSF's come preinstalled with. I used a pad
on an old T-Bird and when I went to change HSF's to a better one I saw
that the pad was completely dissolved away.

 

[J. Clarke]

Same with those pads some HSF's come preinstalled with. I used a pad
on an old T-Bird and when I went to change HSF's to a better one I saw
that the pad was completely dissolved away.

The pad is supposed to do that. First time the CPU comes to working
temperature the pad melts and if all went as designed the only place where
there's any of the material left is in irregularities in the surface.

 

[Chip]

That's not what the pros say. The paste is just to fill in the pits
and not to create a layer between the cpu and heatsink.

Who said anything about creating a layer? All I am talking about is making
sure you have got enough on there to make sure there is good contact between
the CPU and the heatsink. Which you can very easily fail to do if you don't
put enough gloop on.

Sure, you don't want to go mad. I think this all started because people
were putting *loads* of the stuff on and it was ending up all over the
bridges. But if you put just enough to thinly cover the chip itself, then
thats fine. As I said before, any extra gets squeezed out. You don't have
any "layer" in between.

The AS instructions that you only need a "haze" of the stuff and highly
dangerous, unless you have a lapped heatsink and a lapped CPU. Otherwise
the lack of flatness of the two surfaces can easily mean you don't have
enough.

Chip.

 

[Chip]

Silver conducts heat better than gold. Geve me a sterling silver
heatsink.

Someone makes one. Can't remember who, but they do exist.

Chip.