Is TIM burn-in still a thing?

[TheWorstPathfinder]

Or was it never a thing and I'm mis-remembering? I'm looking to understand the optimal approach to setting up the TIM paste for its best long-term effectiveness. Is the best approach to a new build and CPU TIM to: a) just do my normal thing and let things happen, b) run stress for a period of time to run it hot, c) something else?

Context:

I just finished building a system with a Ryzen 7 7800x3d cpu. Used MX4 as TIM and an Alphacool Core 1 waterblock. Running CPU-Z stress test and I'm getting max temps ~76.5C @ 115% utilization.

Thanks!

 

[EarthDog]

A. Do your normal thing.

If the TIM needs heat cycles to work it's best, you'll get there. That said, the difference, often, isn't much, a couple of C...

MX4 doesn't need anything... you can confirm on it's website/instructions. It would tell you.

 

[Nebulous]

......and like that, the Sheriff shoots from the hip. Two targets..two kills.

Did you see how fast that was?

 

[maxfly]

The only paste I can think of that needed any burn in was Arctic Silver. Which is why I only used Ceramique
Altho, while on the subject, there are a couple of newer thermal pads (TIM replacements)that require thermal cycling to reach optimal temps but I can't remember what they are off hand.

 

[Nebulous]

The only paste I can think of that needed any burn in was Arctic Silver. Which is why I only used Ceramique
Altho, while on the subject, there are a couple of newer thermal pads (TIM replacements)that require thermal cycling to reach optimal temps but I can't remember what they are off hand.

I still use Arctic Ceramique on my GPU's. Got like more than 1/2 left of a giant syringe I purchased years ago.

 

[don256us]

This is a blast from the past for me. I forgot that this was a thing. The last time I can recal thinking about it was the late 90's? If it's a thing I'm not aware. Built many machines and not done any burn-in.

I've built myself several machines from scratch and set them off to folding 24/7 right away.

 

[ShrimpBrime]

Arctic Silver 5 requires a 200hr burn in cycle.

Arctic Silver Incorporated - Arctic Silver 5

www.arcticsilver.com

I'd say a combination of thermal cycles and checking the mounting pressure a few times after first mount would be good practice for most of any pastes, even if paste manufacturer states it's not needed.

 

[Robert17]

I think this was one of those 'abundance of caution' approaches to a mostly unknown procedure, i.e., the act of applying TIM by the consumer market. Get me a couple volumes of data that show that PC integrators (Dell, Lenovo, etc.) that would apply TIM, test temps, off/on, off/on.......... before packaging and shipping millions of PCs and I will consider that burn-in is critical. I never did it. Never had a problem.

Old school guy, and I mean really old school (dude started with IBM the year I was born, '54), told me early on that I should leave my PC on as the repeated heating/cooling of the CPU could cause cracking of the traces over time due to thermal expansion and contraction. This was just as I was getting into the game in '88 when CPU design was not yet discussed in terms of nanometers. He installed (lead man) all the hardware and software at a nuclear power plant in the 80's so I took him at his word.

These days I accept that proper cooling components have been improved and progressively mitigated heat issues such that leaving a PC on or burning in has become unnecessary.

 

[freeagent]

I still cycle a fresh application a few times with Linpack

 

[mackerel]

I think this was one of those 'abundance of caution' approaches to a mostly unknown procedure, i.e., the act of applying TIM by the consumer market. Get me a couple volumes of data that show that PC integrators (Dell, Lenovo, etc.) that would apply TIM, test temps, off/on, off/on.......... before packaging and shipping millions of PCs and I will consider that burn-in is critical. I never did it. Never had a problem.

Even if pastes do have some "burn in" time, it doesn't mean they don't work before that is complete. For most people in most systems, the question is: is it good enough? You can use it straight away. If it gets better over some time, great. Maybe important for someone looking to tweak the system to the absolute edge, but doesn't make a big difference otherwise.

 

[Woomack]

I remember Arctic Silver 5 drying out and sometimes cracking in the center of IHS, and the oil was on the sides. I also remember Arctic Silver Ceramique drying out when it was left in a tube for longer. It was so dry that you couldn't apply it - it wouldn't spread. It was popular many years ago, and I had a couple of tubes of both. I still hated them, as I never knew if they were usable. Once MX2 and other more modern TIMs appeared, I never used anything Arctic Silver branded.
Just to be clear, Arctic Silver is a Japanese brand, while Arctic is a German brand.

 

[mackerel]

Just to be clear, Arctic Silver is a Japanese brand, while Arctic is a German brand.

Arctic Silver seems to be USA based. Website lists California. Arctic, formerly Arctic Cooling, was apparently founded in Switzerland a couple years after Arctic Silver, now operating from Germany. Certainly the two companies both using "Arctic" has caused confusion before, although I don't see much activity from Arctic Silver for a very long time.

 

[Woomack]

Arctic Silver seems to be USA based. Website lists California. Arctic, formerly Arctic Cooling, was apparently founded in Switzerland a couple years after Arctic Silver, now operating from Germany. Certainly the two companies both using "Arctic" has caused confusion before, although I don't see much activity from Arctic Silver for a very long time.

Maybe Arctic Silver is in the US now (or was from the beginning), but I remember that they explained that the number 4 in Japan means death, so they skipped AS4 and moved from 3 to 5 because of their culture. Maybe I'm wrong, but I thought they were from Japan (or the owners were?). Some other brands have no problems releasing PSUs called Hellfire or Cannon
I just mentioned that, as most people around the forums think it's the same brand.

 

[mackerel]

Maybe Arctic Silver is in the US now (or was from the beginning), but I remember that they explained that the number 4 in Japan means death, so they skipped AS4 and moved from 3 to 5 because of their culture.

Maybe the Japan market big or important at the time?

 

[ShrimpBrime]

burning in has become unnecessary.

Or, with a crazy thought, are doing it anyways. First thing user does, check temps.

"Idle looks good, lets see what CBR20 looks like"

And it just happens. lol. We've all been doing burn ins "essentially" just from the curiosity of the re-paste conclusions. Needed or Not.

 

[freeagent]

Or, with a crazy thought, are doing it anyways. First thing user does, check temps.

"Idle looks good, lets see what CBR20 looks like"

And it just happens. lol. We've all been doing burn ins "essentially" just from the curiosity of the re-paste conclusions. Needed or Not.

If my temps aren't the same or better, I will wipe it off and redo it

It just bugs me if I don't.. lol

 

[Nebulous]

Yeah I have enough different branded thermal grease to last me a lifetime. I found some small tubes of generic stuff that came with universal heatsinks. I even have the little packets of grease that came with P4 heatsinks

 

[freeagent]

I installed my 58X3D last night, and you know I had to do it..



30 rounds of Linpack Xtreme, 10GB load

 

[freeagent]

Same thing with my 5900X haha.. like clockwork..



No boost override.. yawn.