Volcano 7+ and AS3

[Paulster]

I currently have a epox 8k3a mobo with an athlon xp 1800+ and it runs in the mid to high 50'sC at idle and the mid to high 60'sC under load
My current heatsink is the volcano 6cu and i didn't even know about arctic silver when i put it on so it is only using the thermal pad that came on the heatsink
I am going to get a volcano 7+ and some arctic silver 3 and put it on my cpu, so how much lower can i expect it to run? I have seen posts saying that Arctic silver alone dropped their temps like 15 degrees from the thermal pad so how much better would AS3 along with a volcano 7+ be rather than a volcano 6cu with its thermal pad in terms of degrees lower

and also, on my shim, i accidentally scraped off some layer that was on it while i was trying to take off the thermal pad residue and it took of the little covering on the shim and made the shim more gold colored...is the shim still usable, or would it be better to use a brand new shim?

thanks

[flounder43]

I am sure the shim is fine. The ASIII will help, but the 7+ is just plain a much better HSF. You will see some much improved temps.

Make sure you get all of the pad residue off of the cpu, nail polish remover/acetone works well.

[mellem01]

I have a xp2100+, i am using the orgional artic silver, my cpu temp holds steady at 35C with the volcano 7+. It is a great cooler, but very very loud.

[Paulster]

great, im really glad to hear that its a good HS cause im sick of these high temps, yea im guessing that the shim would probably work, i was just curious about that little layer on top of it...like if it doesn't matter if it's there or not, then why would they put it there...im just not sure, i guess it cant really matter that much
ok thanks

[mellem01]

If you are talking about a layer of protective plastic on the shim...remove that...it is there to protect it from scratches druing shipping....

[Yodums]

Originally posted by flounder43

I am sure the shim is fine. The ASIII will help, but the 7+ is just plain a much better HSF. You will see some much improved temps.

Make sure you get all of the pad residue off of the cpu, nail polish remover/acetone works well.



Ditto. Everything he said was correct. The Volcano 6cu+ was just as bad as the retail AMD heatsink. The 7+ is a pretty decent heatsink, however watch how you mount it, I heard it was a PITA to get on and off. The pad is really horrible as well. I think you'll be in the 40's load if you have good airflow with that.

Yodums!

[Paulster]

well underneath the layer of plastic type stuff on the shim, it is sorta sticky... this is the up side of the shim by the way, the side that is facing the heatsink

[-=UR=- Ranger]

I wouldn´t worry about the shim. As long as it isn´t deformed or anything like this you should be fine...Just be shure to get no ASIII on the underside....This might (very unlikely) kill your CPU.

[dansonang]

u need skill in mounting the vocano 7+ so that it can outperform any fan available like the AX 7. see my temps. sure beats an ax7 if used in my sysytem

[MameXP]

Hey dansonnang, can you be more specific on " skill in mounting". Give use some hints will you?

[dansonang]

skill comes with practise. i remounted my stock HSF as pracrise to make sure i understand i tight or loose my socket is and measured the right amount of AS3 to use

when I mount I make sure I push it in perpendicular to teh motherboard to prevent any sliding. even if there is poor contact i will never worry. I just add more of the thermal compund to my northy. afterall for my northy, spilling a little AS3 to the sides does not kill as the whole chip is covered with a metal cap

I apply some pressure between my mother board and HSF to ensure maximum contact

[heyou_21]

paulster, i have the same set up as you do, but i have the volcano7(no plus) my temp is 44C under load. it's still dropping as the AS3 is still curing. but it should only drop another degree or two.

[dansonang]

good to see yr temps dropping

[Paulster]

nice, im glad to hear that my temps should drop a lot cause im tired of idling around 60C, ill tell you how it goes when i finally get the cpu back

[Spacepiston]

Shim? What shim? My volcano 7+ didnt come with a shim.

Does Arctic Silver really improve temps over say a generic thermal grease?

[dansonang]

of course it doesn't come with a shim. as for yr second question AS3 really make a difference