Alternative Thermal Compound...

[LinkStatic]

I know that AS2 is the recommended thermal compound to date. However, can anyone please tell me about " SILICONE Heat Sink Compound ( Type Z9 ) " ? and how good this thermal compound is... I found it lying around my workplace. The paste is manufactured by GC Electronics. It is said to contain Silicone, which I think is a very good conductor ( prime choice for semiconductor wires and contacts... )

This is the only thing that stops me from oc'ng my duron....

[.. AE 86 ..]

just give it a try and put a bit on ur cpu or display card or watever
i think it should work well since it contains silicone

[Bubba]

I've used the Radio Shack compound and it worked really well.I think that it's silicone.I still prefer the ASII over anything though.

[Hoot]

If your HSF baseplate finish is good, IE flat and smooth, the difference in performance between a quality silicon type grease and Arctic Silver will be minimal.

Hoot

[Colin]

Sorry Hoot, this is not true. While highly lapped surface may make the job for generic thermal grease easier, it will do the same for Arctic Silver. The primary function of a thermal compound is to fill the microscopic surface imperfections. Even in a highly lapped surface, on the microscopic scale where the thermal compound functions, the surface looks like a combination of the Grand Canyon and the Sierra Nevadas. Take a look at Thermal Interface Basics. (http://www.arcticsilver.com/thermal_interface_basics.htm)

As to silicone, it is only the vehicle for the particles that enhance the thermal interface. In a generic white goop like Radio Shack’s, it’s the zinc oxide particles that do the work. With Arctic Silver it’s obviously the silver particles that do the work. Since silvers thermal conductivity is 15 times greater than zinc oxide (silver 426.77 W/mK, zinc oxide 27.196 W/mK), that advantage in thermal conductivity will be present whether the surfaces in the thermal interface are highly lapped or not.

[LinkStatic]

Ok... I'll just try it and see if it improves my temps... If it can bring my temps down by 3 or 4 degress that will be fine....

ty

[Hoot]

Using a Swiftech MC-462A on a 1Ghz AXIA "Y" @ 1.5ghz, I switched from Dow Corning 314, a silicon based zinc oxide thermal grease to Arctic Silver. The net reduction in core temperature was 1C. I realize this represents only my particular case, but when someone is trying to get their temps down 10C, telling them Arctic Silver is the solution, is not right. That, having been said, I still use Arctic Silver for my thermal interface material, despite having a 4 ounce tube of 314 sitting here. Arctic Silver is the best thermal interface available for a reasonable price, but it is not the panacea some people make it out to be.

Hoot

[Colin]

Hoot - The themistor on you former KT7 board compressed temp changes to the extent your 1C difference is more like 2 to 3C. The Iwill you have now is even worse. Not that I am picking on Iwill, the KK266-R Plus is the best socket 462 motherboard I have used to date. Having tried a number of thermal compounds in the last year using the KT7 series and KK266, I would have to consider the possibility of some residual Dow Corning 314 contaminating the thermal interface and hampering Arctic Silver's performance. Even with the limitations of a socket thermistor, I have never found the difference between Arctic Silver and any silicone based zinc oxide grease to be only 1C.

Regards,

Colin