AS Issue, MODS Pleeze LOCK

[Spankthru]

Its all over my Duron 750. I scrubbed that mofo with alcohol and still a messy
silver stain. Its all over my L5 L6 L7 bridges. How can I get this stuff off?
It posts, runs with no apparent probs, should I be worried?

This thread has turned into a flame fest, so will be locked.


AnandTech Moderator

 

[Doomguy]

Put some dish soap and water on it and wipe it off. Worked for me.

 

[Dark4ng3l]

I dont think so arctic silver is not suposed to be conductive so I guess your ok

 

[Richardito]

If it runs fine I don't think you'll have any problems.

 

[eLiu]

hey...unless you need to return that sucker... Try the dishwashing liquid, that usually works good...or maybe acetone (nail-polish remover). But seriously, if it does run, you shouldnt have any problems- if it was going to short out and blow up...it woulda done so already (i think).

-eric

 

[SpeedTester]

I'd clean it off the best you can, it says on their web page it is conductive on small traces pins and leads. I hate that damn tube they put it in, I covered my cpu in AS2 when I first got it.



Here are the specs listed at their web site.




Arctic Silver II features:
Made with 99.8% pure micronized silver.
78% to 82% silver content by weight.
Extended temperature limits: ? 40°C to >160°C
New formula insures minimal viscosity change from 0C to 150C
Thermal conductivity: 8.4 W/m°K to 8.8 W/m°K (Hot Wire Method Per MIL-C-47113)
Thermal Resistance: 0.0028°C-in²/Watt (0.001 inch layer)
2 to 7 degrees centigrade lower CPU core temperatures than other thermal compounds.
Negligible electrical conductivity.
Arctic Silver II was formulated to conduct heat, not electricity. It is only electrically conductive in a thin layer under extreme compression.
(While much safer than electrically conductive silver and copper greases, Arctic Silver II should be kept away from electrical traces, pins, and leads. The compound is slightly capacitive and could potentially cause problems if it bridged two close-proximity electrical paths.)
Arctic Silver II is now sold in 3 gram tubes. This is enough compound to cover at least 20 to 30 small CPU cores, or 7 to 12 large CPU cores, or 3 to 6 heat plates.
At a layer 0.003" thick, it will cover approximately 18 square inches.

Link To Artic Silver II

 

[Nevin]

From the instructions as posted on the web site:

1. Arctic Silver II can be removed from CPU cores and heatsinks with isopropyl alcohol or acetone (nail polish remover) and a bit of brisk rubbing.

If Arctic Silver II compound gets on the CPU ceramic, it can be removed with any dish detergent (Dawn, Lux, Palmolive, Etc.), WD-40, citrus based grease removers (Goo Gone, Etc.), Xylene based products (Goof Off, some carburetor cleaners), or an automotive degreaser.
(Do not use soap for an automatic dishwasher.)

Never use any oil or petroleum based cleaners (WD-40, citrus based grease removers and many automotive degreasers) on the base of a heatsink. The oil, which is engineered to not evaporate, will fill in the microscopic valleys in the metal and significantly reduce the effectiveness of any subsequently applied thermal compound.

2. If you use any of the suggested products to remove Arctic Silver II from the CPU ceramic, always do a final cleaning with isopropyl alcohol to remove the residue from the cleaner.

Nevin House
Arctic Silver LLC

 

[Spankthru]

Thanks Compuwiz1 and you all for the suggestions. I was about to go with the
High Pressure steam bath before too long.

 

[Dark4ng3l]

Hmmm did compuwiz post in this thread ??

 

[WarCon]

Compuwiz??? No thats Nevin from Arctic Silver.............

 

[The_Lurker]

<< I dont think so arctic silver is not suposed to be conductive so I guess your ok >>



actually, arctic silver is highly conductive.

 

[compuwiz1]

compuwiz1 did not post in this thread...until now. I helped him thru private messages guys.

 

[cookj]

Un-du or gu-gone from walmart gets artic silver 2 off very easy,it`s an adhesive remover.

 

[Carlton]

Is artic silver conductive? I am not sure. I would like to know before I purchase

 

[compuwiz1]

Carlton, I have had CPUs returned to my store on RMAs, with the reason stated that they are DOA. After cleaning off the excess of Arctic Silver 2, which had obviously been in the briges too, they worked. Is Arctic Silver II conductive? I think it is, under certain conditions.

 

[Richardito]

<< Is artic silver conductive? I am not sure. I would like to know before I purchase >>



Just think about it for a second... It contains silver and silver conducts electricity. The medium (silicon fluid) doesn't conducts electricity. But if the silver particles are sufficiently close to each other it will conduct electricity.

 

[compuwiz1]

BTW, conductivity should only be a concern when the product is not used properly, ie., applying too much and on other places than the core.

 

[Carlton]

It does make sense that silver is conductive. I just want to make a wise purchase. IF AS is conductive, isn't that bad? I'm new so bear with me. To clarify I am speaking electricaly.

 

[Carlton]

It does make sense that silver is conductive. I just want to make a wise purchase. IF AS is conductive, isn't that bad? I'm new so bear with me. To clarify I am speaking electricaly.

 

[Nevin]

Rather than speculate about AS2's conductivity, please take the time to measure it with a voltmeter. You will find that it presents infinite resistance at DC. (It is non-conductive.) AS2 is slightly capacitive due to the suspension of conductive particles in a non-conductive fluid. The capacitance will measure approximately 2pf to 5pf over a 0.05 inch gap.

Not following the instructions and attempting to clean AS2 from the ceramic of an AMD CPU with alcohol or another non-recommended and ineffectual cleaner may only remove some of the suspension fluid and leave enough silver to be partially conductive.

I know we're guys and hate to do this, but please read and follow the instructions.


Nevin House
Arctic Silver LLC

 

[richleader]

How are so many people screwing up with Artic Silver? One guy toasted his geforce 2 mx with it! Makes me sorta wary of ever using it (I usually use the low rent radio shack grease) but maybe all these people are just idiots. Compuwiz--is it that runny and uncontrollable? Or do people just try putting it on by squeezing it out of the bottle?

 

[Carlton]

&quot;Not following the instructions and attempting to clean AS2 from the ceramic of an AMD CPU with alcohol or another non-recommended and ineffectual cleaner may only remove some of the suspension fluid and leave enough silver to be partially conductive.&quot;

So you are saying that it can be conductive? In the circumstances that you state. Why not engineer a product that would eliminate this risk? Do other products have the same problem? I would be interested in knowing that information before I make a purchase.

 

[Richardito]

<< How are so many people screwing up with Artic Silver? One guy toasted his geforce 2 mx with it! Makes me sorta wary of ever using it (I usually use the low rent radio shack grease) but maybe all these people are just idiots. Compuwiz--is it that runny and uncontrollable? Or do people just try putting it on by squeezing it out of the bottle? >>



IMHO some people have no idea of what part of the CPU to use it on and they just cover everything. People should do a little research before using heat transfer compound and smearing the CPU. The GeForce video card problem is somewhat different. Using the AS epoxy kit is risky because it can destroy your card, that's a fact. When installing heat sinks on the memory chips you have to be extremelly careful. The adhesive can short out the chip if it touches the legs of the chips. I would prefer in this case to use a non-electrically conductive thermal compound mixed with the epoxy. Whatever extra cooling AS could offer doesn't justify the danger and the price of a new card. IMHO the limiting factor in video card cooling is the fan. A better-flowing fan will help you much more than silver in the epoxy adhesive.

 

[thaioneon]

Just use some solvent or WD40 to remove the paste. When you put it on use a credit card the one you bought the stuff with, to scape almost all of it off and you will be fine. Its supposed to be a few molecules thick to work the best.

 

[Richardito]

<< AS2 is slightly capacitive due to the suspension of conductive particles in a non-conductive fluid. The capacitance will measure approximately 2pf to 5pf over a 0.05 inch gap. >>



Here's a couple of definitions:

Capacitance= In electricity, capability of a body, system, circuit, or device for storing electric charge. Capacitance is expressed as the ratio of stored charge in coulombs to the impressed potential difference in volts. The resulting unit of capacitance is the farad [for Michael Faraday]. In an electric circuit the device designed to store charge is called a capacitor. An ideal capacitor, i.e., one having no resistance or inductance, may be spoken of as a capacitance. When an alternating current flows through a capacitor, the capacitor produces a reactance that resists the current (see impedance). While every element of a circuit has some capacitance, it is a goal of good design to reduce such unwanted or stray capacitance to a minimum.

Capacitor= Or condenser, device for the storage of electric charge. Simple capacitors consist of two plates made of an electrically conducting material (e.g., a metal) and separated by a nonconducting material or dielectric (e.g., glass, paraffin, mica, oil, paper, tantalum, or air)...

So AS can store an electrical charge which is then discharged later. Isn't this action considered to be conducting electricity?