Something other than Arctic Silver.....

[RedDeathDrinker]

Thermal goop. Everyone swears by Arctic Silver these days, but I'm doing some testing for you....

Copper based grease. The theory is there.........:)

(OK - Automotive anti-sieze compound to be precise.)

So far it's looking good. CPU runs at 39C (as per MBM 5) full load at stock speed.

Next week, I'll try some ASII on it, and compare the results.....

[Mike K]

Try to test it as soon as you can and post the results soon.
I' m very interested in it.
Also, is that compound cheaper than ARII?
And what exactly is the brand name?:D

[RedDeathDrinker]

This is the funny bit........

ASII is like £5 for a small 1oz tube.

This is £3 for half a kilo...........

Used as an anti-sieze compound in cars (useful to stop brake pads squealing as well)

[CrystalMethod]

I've been thinking the same thing for months now but never had the guts to try it myself. Hats off to you for being the brave soul to risk his CPU in the name of science...
...or mad science...
...whichever you prefer...

[RedDeathDrinker]

It's as full of copper particles as Arctic Silver is of silver particles.......

Hey! This counts as my first O/Cing madness!

[funnyperson1]

nice, that could last me a whole year....how easy is it to apply, artic silver is a pain, stuff gets all over the place...

[*JEREMY*]

I asked about that stuff here awhile back and I was going to try it untill I found out that it tends to really thin out,almost watery when it gets hot.And then I thought about the pressure being put on it and thought for sure with the heat it would be leaking out everywhere.Your the first person I have seen tried it though,so credit there:D

[ButcherUK]

thin is good, you want it thin, just make sure you don't over-apply ;)

[nikhsub1]

Silver conducts heat much better than copper.

[*JEREMY*]

Originally posted by nikhsub1
Silver conducts heat much better than copper.
yeah but not enough to justify the price for it.They actually have silver compound antisieze too,we get it at work every once in awhile but mainly copper based

[jbell]

Originally posted by nikhsub1
Silver conducts heat much better than copper.


But your running a copper heat sink.....


better go steal your mom's silver, melt it down, and forge yoru own silver heatsink!!

LOL

[Colin]

Anti-seize compounds contain between 5% to 10% copper and a whole bunch of other yucky stuff. A thread on using it as thermal grease pops up on one of the various overclocking forums every two months or so. The same thing happens with topics such as “aluminum gives up heat better than copper”, “my CPU idles below ambient with aircooling”, etc. The gist of the anti-seize compound threads is the goop thins out and runs after a few days and the temps go up. I wish you luck. :)

[nikhsub1]

Originally posted by jbell



But your running a copper heat sink.....


better go steal your mom's silver, melt it down, and forge yoru own silver heatsink!!

LOL

Someone will come out with a silver heatsink, you watch! At only $5 an oz. it is actually not that expensive and I think it is easier to work with than copper. Could you imagine a Swifty MCX462 or an SK6 made of silver? That would be a thing of beauty!

[RedDeathDrinker]

My experience of Copper Ease under heat is that is tends to solidify, rather than thin out. I've seen it mentioned, but no hard figures for it though.

I'm keeping a log of the temps, to see how it compares over time.

As there is only a thin (very thin) smear of it needed, it will be interesting to see the results, using exactly the same setup........

[RedDeathDrinker]

Update:

Nice and stable temps so far, running SETI permenantly.

Got some ASII coming my way, so stay posted!

[SickBoy]

Copper-based thermal grease already exists... it's called Ice Copper and it's available online in several places. I don't know how it compares, though if it bests AS2 and Cooling Flow I am sure I would have heard more about it by now.

Just do a Google Search for "Ice Copper" and I am sure it will turn up.

SB

[Colin]

I have some Iced Copper. Radio Shack paste beats it. There was a test done by an Australian Site last December that had Radio Shack grease beating Iced Copper by 7C!

[Mike K]

Does that Radio Shack paste ASII?
And how much is the Shack' s paste cost?

[Twyst]

I think the Radio shack paste is silicon based? (guessing here) I used it on my HSF fan for a while was like 2$.

[Slurgi]

Watch out because over time it might "pump" outside the core.

AS1 was known to do this.

The constant heating/cooling (due to turning off the comp) causes it to pump outside the core.

Just a random thought, anyone know what i am talking about?

[Colin]

I never had or heard of a documented case of the original Arctic Silver small contact formula being pumped out of a thermal interface.

[Diggrr]

I used to use this stuff when setting up resistance welders. (not the same brand though...formula might matter)
The stuff does harden with age. It also conducts pretty well so don't use too much. (of course with 24kVa just about anything conducts....water explodes with these voltage/currents).

Just my two cents worth, though I must admit, I am curious as to the results.

[RedDeathDrinker]

Well, after two days of constant SETI, and a duct onto the CPU fan, plus an overclock to 1.5GHz, core temp is a steady 42C.

Copper Ease withstands heat to over 1100C (One Thousand One Hundred), so the core should give it no problem there........

[ButcherUK]

Originally posted by reddeathdrinker
Well, after two days of constant SETI, and a duct onto the CPU fan, plus an overclock to 1.5GHz, core temp is a steady 42C.

Copper Ease withstands heat to over 1100C (One Thousand One Hundred), so the core should give it no problem there........

Heh, AS doesn't, it boils around 150-200C (not sure exactly), how do I know? I boiled some on a LM317 regulator that I shorted (bad capacitor), the regulator survived though :D

[Mike K]

I' m still not sure if I want to use it because you you said it will dissolve and my Dragon Orb is so hard to put on
And how long does it take to solidify?

[Diggrr]

I finally remembered the name of the stuff we used...copper lube. It wasn't in the form of assembly grease though, it was a 40% copper slime that came in a can with a brush attached to the lid like pvc cement does. It was labeled as a conductive anti-seize.
It only took a day or so to firm up, but again, that was with all that voltage going through it about 300 times an hour for three shifts.
We used it between the copper plates of the welder and the plates that the fixturing was attached to. It worked like we use heat sink compound to transfer heat, only for electricity. It improved the conductivity between those old beat up plates of copper by filling the voids. They had their own cooling water circuits in the fixtures themselves.
It still seems to me like it would work for heat transfer though, I guess the tests will show.

[RedDeathDrinker]

I'm quite happy with it's performance so far. With some case mods, I'm down to 39C CPU temp...............

ASII arrived today, will test with it on Monday (Away hillwalking this weekend)