ATi Silencer 4 on X800 - Should I use the silicon paste that comes with it or arctic silver 3?

[Glzmo]

I have just bought myself an Arctic Cooling ATi Silencer 4 for my Radeon
X800 to make my system cooler. It comes with a tube of silicon paste. I was
wondering if it is any better than an old tube of Arctic Silver 3 that I
have at home. I would think it's better to use Arctic Silver 3, but you
never know. Does anybody have any experience with it?

Thanks in advance,

Glzmo

 

[Spencer]

Use the Artic Silver and chuck the other toothpaste they supply away.

Spence

 

[Glzmo]

Done

Use the Artic Silver and chuck the other toothpaste they supply away.

Spence

 

[Danny Sanders]

I have just bought myself an Arctic Cooling ATi Silencer 4 for my Radeon
X800 to make my system cooler. It comes with a tube of silicon paste. I was
wondering if it is any better than an old tube of Arctic Silver 3 that I
have at home. I would think it's better to use Arctic Silver 3, but you
never know. Does anybody have any experience with it?

From the <http://www.arctic-cooling.com/> FAQ:

"The question which paste is best depends on the circumstances. For heatsink
surfaces 100% flat and smooth, the silicon paste achieves the best results,
since this type of paste can create the thinnest film between CPU and
heatsink. This advantage cannot be compensated by the better heat
conductivity of copper or silver based thermal compounds. For rough or
uneven heatsink surfaces the silver or copper pastes are better. For our
coolers the silicon paste is by far the optimal choice."

I am a bit sceptical, but they are supposed to be the experts...

Kind regards,
Danny Sanders www
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[Sleepy]

"The question which paste is best depends on the circumstances. For heatsink
surfaces 100% flat and smooth, the silicon paste achieves the best results,
since this type of paste can create the thinnest film between CPU and
heatsink. This advantage cannot be compensated by the better heat
conductivity of copper or silver based thermal compounds. For rough or
uneven heatsink surfaces the silver or copper pastes are better. For our
coolers the silicon paste is by far the optimal choice."

Personally I've always used the white thermal paste and found it to
be fine but recently I tried Antec Silver Compound (it said on the
packet 99% silver - guaranteed to reduce temps etc ..) but in fact
it raised temps on my CPU by a couple of degrees. It had very
exact instructions for use which I followed to the letter so I was
very surprised to get these results. I've reverted to the white silicon
paste and got back to the temps I expected. My XP2400 is currently
running at 41c as I type and the PC's been on all day.

 

[J. Clarke]

Personally I've always used the white thermal paste and found it to
be fine but recently I tried Antec Silver Compound (it said on the
packet 99% silver - guaranteed to reduce temps etc ..) but in fact
it raised temps on my CPU by a couple of degrees. It had very
exact instructions for use which I followed to the letter so I was
very surprised to get these results. I've reverted to the white silicon
paste and got back to the temps I expected. My XP2400 is currently
running at 41c as I type and the PC's been on all day.

Dansdata ran a test of various heat sink compounds, plus Vegemite and
toothpaste. The best was a particular brand of phase change pad, next was
freshly applied toothpaste (it went downhill as it dried out), then the
various others. Vegemite was one of the better ones IIRC. Bottom line
though was that it didn't make a whole Hell of a lot of difference what you
used.

 

[Wblane]

In the short-term this might be true, but in the long term the silicone based
white rat-shack paste doesn't hold up. A year after I setup my old Thunderbird
1.2 GHz (RIP), I was having random lockups. On removing the heatsink I
discovered the rat shack paste had completely dried out leaving only a flaky
powder behind. I have yet to see the same problem happen w/Arctic Silver III.

Dansdata ran a test of various heat sink compounds, plus Vegemite and
toothpaste. The best was a particular brand of phase change pad, next was
freshly applied toothpaste (it went downhill as it dried out), then the
various others. Vegemite was one of the better ones IIRC. Bottom line
though was that it didn't make a whole Hell of a lot of difference what you
used.

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

 

[Vaughn]

Personally I've always used the white thermal paste and found it to

be fine but recently I tried Antec Silver Compound (it said on the
packet 99% silver - guaranteed to reduce temps etc ..) but in fact
it raised temps on my CPU by a couple of degrees. It had very
exact instructions for use which I followed to the letter so I was
very surprised to get these results. I've reverted to the white silicon
paste and got back to the temps I expected. My XP2400 is currently
running at 41c as I type and the PC's been on all day.

The one test I saw by a computer magazine showed very little difference.
Like "GOLD" terminals on AV wires, it's likely better but the difference may
not be enough to measure. Of course everyone's experience will be
different.