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How much improvement?

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John Malachi

Registered
Joined
Oct 16, 2003
Let us say you have a heatsink of middle quality, and all parameters are constant except as specified below:

A) un-lapped base, stock thermal goo

B) mirror-polished base, Arctic Silver

How much of an improvement in core temperature can those two changes bring about? Is it a matter of a few degrees C, or ten? Or does it vary too widely to generate any kind of average or estimate?
 
Using the stock Intel cooler and the stock TIM that came with it, my 1.8A (in the sig) would do 2.7ghz 1.5v at about 58c. 2.85ghz and the requisite 1.625v just would get too hot and would become unstable.

I lapped the stock Intel cooler with 150, 250, 400 and 600 grit paper until it was shiny... Then did the same with the integrated heat spreader on my 1.8A until the result was the same. Using a very small dab of generic Radio Shack white-lithium heat sink goo, my temperatures peaked at about 54c while running 2.7ghz @ 1.5v. It would also run at about 57c while doing 2.85ghz @ 1.625, but wouldn't post still at 2.92ghz at 1.75v...

My MCX-4000 and a YS Tech 80mm fan is able to keep it still at 53-54c while running 2.85ghz at 1.625v, and allows it to at least post and run for a few minutes of about 56-57c at 2.92ghz at 1.75v. Still not stable, but I think that's a limitation of the CPU rather than the cooling.

Lapping and better goo-stuff can help quite a bit, at least on the stock cooling equipment.
 
well what it really comes too is lapping is free(almost) and can help. TIM is money but still it cant hurt.
 
I don't remember which site did the testing, it may have been Beyond3D or hell maybe even OC.com... However, there was a big writeup on several different types of thermal greases and their heat transfer ability...

You'd be suprised how good the generic Radio Shack white lithium cheapo stuff came out -- it was just shy of the AS3 and I'm talking like a SMALL amount. My little tube of Radio Shack goo I think cost me about $3.00, so in all likelyhood, it's cheaper than buying all the sandpaper needed to lap a heatsink anyway.

In fact, all the sandpaper needed is probably more expensive than even a tube of AS3 for that matter. Depending on how you order it, it may even be more expensive than a tube of the ceramique... ;)
 
Do not UNDERESTIMATE radio shack goo, it performs virtually the same as Ceramique... Long-term reliability is inferior though...
 
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