Does Artic silver 3 and heatsink ever need a clean?

Hi all,

I am having a few probs with my system when i play the sims it cuts out to desktop after 5 mins.
My temps are 30c MB and 45cpu.
Normal for me is about 28c and 37oc cpu.
I was just wondering if maybe i need to clean the sk7 heatsink on the cpu it has been on about 9 months??
I clean the filter on the front of my antec case every 2 weeks.
I have 2 80cm fans in the front and two in the back and a side one.
My system will run prime for 12 hours so far no probs with temp of 46c.
Maybe it is the game or something.
My video is at 290/590 GF4 GI4200.
It is a little warm in the room i bet the wife has turned the air down or something now it is not so warm. LOL
Thanks.
Malcolm.

whats up speedbird...

As for cleaning your heatsink... yeah you definatly have to... im running and sk7 with a 75 cfm smartfan 2 on it, and i have to clean mine about once every 2 months at least. These thin fin heatsinks really clog up with dirt fast.

Also the sim city 4 is a graphics card killer. I remember that once i had my civilzations really kooking that game really started to heat up my old 9700 pro. i would assume the same happens to your geforce. Just a thought however you would assume that if the vid card was overheating it would just artifact.

Also if you are reading your temps off of your motherboards monitor it could be wrong (many are either wrong or socket temps instead of on die temps) so after p95ing for a while touch your heatsink and if it is too hot to keep your hand on.. the temps are wrong, however if this isnt the case your temps are @ least real close.

I know that this stuff is preaty simple knowledge but hope it helps...

Prime

the fins in all the thermalright heatsink have to be cleaned if you want good flow throught thenm

I think Im gonna clean mine today, cause Ive noticed my temps raising.

What can yo use guys to clean the fins?
I remember i tried to get the sk7 off about 6 months ago not sure why and i could not get it off.
Very tight i will try again do not want to damage the cpu.
Malc.

Once you get it cleaned, try and find one of those 80mm dust filters and put it on top of your heatsink fan. It's 100times easier to clean that filter than it its your heatsink.... Just a little info I've learned myself about the thin fin design heatsinks....

only thing with a filter is air restrictions..

and a toothpick & canned air works well to remove the dust =d