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Arctic Silver III

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Robber

Registered
Joined
May 26, 2002
Location
Phoenix
I have had some recent experiences with AS3 that I thought some of you might find interesting. I built a new box awhile ago with an XP1900 on an 8K3A+ MB alond with a of of other goodies. My initial HSF was a Vantec I had laying around installed with AS3. After running a bit (5 days) with no OC, I was seeing CPU temps of 20C higher than MB temp (they started 7C higher). I figured I did someting wrong and removed and reinstalled the HSF. Same result. Decided on more significant action so I installed a Swiftech MCX462. All was good for awhile with the lowest air cooled CPU temps I had seen. Then, after about 50 to 60 hours of operation, I watched the idle temps once again climb until I was 18C above MB temp. AS told me it was vibration from the Delta and that I should get a new fan. They also sent some "improved" AS3 for my trouble.

I had an Antec 630 case with a beam across the left side opening that gave me an idea. I made a bracket and mounted the Delta to the beam right above the heatsink, insuring I only had 0.010 inches gap. Same result. After a few days, my idle temp was once again 18 - 20C over the MB. Tried two more times with very thin to very thick AS3 layers with essentially the same results. JUst for kicks, I put the heatsink on with no thermal paste and got idle temps 21C over the MB temp. Obviously, the problem was not vibration. BTW, my case had plently of cooling and the MB temp was at about 30C most times

I have since moved to a Lian Li and am using Nanotherm Blue 2. CPU temps are not as good as AS3 when it is first installed but my idle stays at about 10C over MB after more than 100 hours of on time.

I know others have good luck with the AS but, for reasons that escape my teeny little engineers brain, I have not. Just thought some of you might be interested.
 
your temps were the same with , or without as3, so, my guess is that somehow your heatsink was on crooked.

maybe the clip is bent wrong, or weak. i know as3 thins out at first, and then it sets with a thicker consistency. sounds like the as3 was thinning out of place or something. did you lap the heatsink? you have to make sure your heatsink is flat and has no unevenness to it. maybe you got a defective heatsink that was warped on the bottom or something.

also, did you read the as3 instuctions on their page? it specifically says to clean the chip's core, anf the heatsink very well before applying as3, and you must rub it in the heatsink very well to fill the microscopic pits.

just some ideas. hey, maybe your temp sensor is not accurate...hmmmm
 
All good questions. I am confident the Arctic Silver was real, particularly the last batch because it came directly from AS. The Swiftech mounts directly to the board using screws and springs and I am reasonably confident it is mounted correctly. In fact, I actually tried two since I had an extra for another computer. AS far as lapping goes, I did lap both but they were very flat and did not need much, if any. Finally, I did follow the instructions to the letter, both for the HS and the CPU. The only difference is that I did try various thicknesses, ranging from almost transparent to probably 0.004 thick. The only thing left is the processor itself and I was not confident I could successfully lap it and make it beter instead of worse.
 
Despite their instructions, most of us just put a blob on the core and put the heatsink on. It works fine for us!
 
wow, i've never just blobbed. first i rub some in the HSF base with
a plastic bag. rub really hard, until there is none visible, but gives
your HSF a discolored look.

then i put a small ammount on the die, and take a piece of
tape, and use the non sticky side and my finger to smeer
a thing of layer as possible.
 
Starfoxer said:
wow, i've never just blobbed. first i rub some in the HSF base with
a plastic bag. rub really hard, until there is none visible, but gives
your HSF a discolored look.

then i put a small ammount on the die, and take a piece of
tape, and use the non sticky side and my finger to smeer
a thing of layer as possible.

That is very similar to what I do also. The thin layer is crucial to heat transfer.
 
One of the interesting things I discovered was that it did not seem to make a great deal of difference how carefully the paste was applied. I was always careful to keep the thickness under control but it did not always look real smooth. However, as long as I was in the range of almost transparent to just a few thousandths thick, the results were similar. I started with idle temps within 4 to 6C of the MB temps then the CPU temp would steadily climb over the next several days. I am sure thickness does matter but it would seem only if you really get carried away.
 
Tismedt said:
I've never done the blob thing and it seems to me clean up would be a nightmare.


It's not a HUGE blob, ya know. You eventually learn how big to make so it just covers and doesn't have too much excess. Even so there isn't any real mess. I find you need something like contact cleaner to clean this stuff up anyways. It's pretty easy when you have a solvent.
 
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