Reapplying thermal paste bunk

[jack bauer]

I tried the first step in sloving my heat issues. I took off the amd heatsink and cleaned off the thermal paste, the way instructed my amd. I reapplyed a 3/4 - bb size amount to the center of the chip, and reattched the fan and heatsink on my 170. Now I have even higher temps, great. Was getting low/mid 30s and on load 45C. Now, 45 on idel. Who knows on load. Bad idea. Should of left it alone. Now what. Can't put back on the thermal paste that came with the heatsink. wtf!


mobo temps still raising. 51C and CPU is in the 40Cs. Maybe I should just take it in?

 

[RallyMaster]

How about you get a new cooler? Why are you using the stock AMD? If it's not the quad heatpipe one, get rid of it.

 

[jack bauer]

I am using the 4 pipe new amd heatsink and fan. Was the stock thermal paste better? Did I apply too much thermal paste. I took off the heatsink again just now and it had spread pretty good. Except the corners. Should I leave the computer off for a while? Should I reapply thermal paste more/less?

 

[Fallengod]

Hard to say. The stock paste IS BETTER but.......probably only makes maybe 1-2C difference. Although it is better quality and wont seperate over time.

Strange that yours temps went up that much. 5-8C is a pretty big difference. Maybe not enough compound? or Too much? Hard to say without pics.

 

[RallyMaster]

If you want to, try spreading the AS5 out with plastic wrap. If it decrease temps then it means that your chip is probably pretty big. If it doesn't do anything, then simply do the old fashioned way and apply AS5 to the middle (size of a grain of rice) of the CPU IHS.

 

[HardWarrior]

Doesn't AS5 have to cure for a few power on\off cycles before it it sets?

 

[jack bauer]

I have another question about termal paste. On the artic silver site, it says apply a 3/4 bb size to center of cpu. Makes a round circle that doesn't go all over the chip. Is this good enough? What happeneds if you put too much? Does thermal paste even cool the chip at all? All I know is, I have higher temps since I applied the new paste, like AS5 says. CPU is a good 5C greater than before, plus mobo temps also went up 5C.

 

[Navid]

Are you sure the only thing that changed was the thermal paste?
The CPU thermal paste cannot raise the motherboard temperature! Not by 5 degrees!

Did you clean both the sink and the CPU with alcohol before applying the paste?

Has the room temperature gone up?

Did you modify anything else like the exhaust or intake fan?

 

[jack bauer]

I added a sound card to the lowest slot. Yes, temps DID go up, but at night, when it's cool, I still get higher temps. 38C CPU at night, 43C mobo, used to be 35C at night, 38C mobo. Something changed. I reapplied the paste 3 times, each time, same high temps. Should have never messed with it, bad advice.

 

[Navid]

what happens if you apply too much thermal paste. I noticed when I first put in my new chip, there was a lot of thermal paste on the heatsink, and I had lower temps.

Theoretically, the thermal paste should only be used for filling the microscopic holes in the two surfaces you are mating (the CPU and the sink).

The thermal paste is better conductor of heat compared to air. But, it is a worse conductor compared to direct metal to metal contact. That is why you should not put too much and you should not put too little. But, I think too much is better than too little! Putting too much should not raise the temperature by 5 degrees.

You say something else changed (sound card).
Never change two things at the same time. You will end up in a situation you are in now. You don't know which change is the cause of the problem. You may want to put the sound card where it was before and find out what the CPU temperature is then.

 

[jack bauer]

Why do the new AMD quad pipe heatsinks have so much thermal paste on them? Is it a different kind? I don't think the sound card really did anything, it feels just warm a little and would not affect cpu temps. Maybe my amd stock quad pipe fan is broken in some way.

 

[vietbboibrave]

Sounds like improper seating of the heatsink. Make sure your heatsink is making good contact with the full surface area of the processor and is strapped down correctly.

Also, AS5 takes a few max heat/cool down cycles to reach it's lowest temps. After a week you should see 4-5 degree temp drops.

 

[Navid]

Originally posted by: jack bauer
Why do the new AMD quad pipe heatsinks have so much thermal paste on them?

As far as I know, any heatsink comes with a thick layer of thermal paste. It used to be that they came with a thermal pad. That's how the manufacturer can be sure that it can be mounted on almost anybody's CPU and provide reasonable heat transfer.

They don't know if your CPU is completely flat or has a slightly warped heat spreader. That practice guarantees that for somebody who just wants to have a working CPU, the installation will be trouble-free.

However, someone who cares about the last single MHz of overclock he can squeeze out of his CPU can always clean the sink and apply a very small amount of thermal paste and install. Then, remove and inspect to see if it is spread to confirm that the two surfaces are both flat. Clean the surfaces again and apply the right amount of paste and install.

Some go as far as lapping their heatsinks.

 

[Navid]

Originally posted by: vietbboibrave

Also, AS5 takes a few max heat/cool down cycles to reach it's lowest temps. After a week you should see 4-5 degree temp drops.

I wish that was true!

 

[Fallengod]

Originally posted by: Navid

Originally posted by: vietbboibrave

Also, AS5 takes a few max heat/cool down cycles to reach it's lowest temps. After a week you should see 4-5 degree temp drops.

I wish that was true!

Yeah sorry but, no way in hell. After "burn in", you might see 1C drop. Thats about it.

 

[marincounty]

New sound card? You might have a software problem with your new soundcard.
How is your cpu usage? I had a problem with my soundcard software using a lot of cpu cycles and causing excessive heat.
I used a program called taskinfo to identify the problem. Once I turned off the program the problem was solved.

 

[m1ldslide1]

Originally posted by: jack bauer
I added a sound card to the lowest slot. Yes, temps DID go up, but at night, when it's cool, I still get higher temps. 38C CPU at night, 43C mobo, used to be 35C at night, 38C mobo. Something changed. I reapplied the paste 3 times, each time, same high temps. Should have never messed with it, bad advice.

While it is fair for you to say that you shouldn't have messed with it, it is also fair to say that using AS5 is NOT going to raise your temps over stock thermal paste. There is a cause of some kind here - improper paste application, or improper HSF re-installation or something like that. With proper application you should see a 1-3 *C temp drop using AS5 over stock thermal paste.

Like others have stated, the paste has to cover the entire surface of the CPU to be effective. Try putting the pea-sized drop of AS5 and then attaching the HSF, then remove the HSF to see if that is enough to cover the entire surface. If not, then you have portions of the CPU that isn't transferring heat to the HSF as efficiently as it could be. If that's the case then try using a little more AS5.

I believe that you have to use a LOT of it to risk any damage to your mobo/CPU. Like, so much that it's spilling over the edges of the CPU. That said, if you have too much in general then you won't conduct heat quite as well as you could otherwise. But you still wouldn't have the temps that you're listing. I would prefer a little too much to not enough.

 

[JEDIYoda]

Originally posted by: jack bauer
I tried the first step in sloving my heat issues. I took off the amd heatsink and cleaned off the thermal paste, the way instructed my amd. I reapplyed a 3/4 - bb size amount to the center of the chip, and reattched the fan and heatsink on my 170. Now I have even higher temps, great. Was getting low/mid 30s and on load 45C. Now, 45 on idel. Who knows on load. Bad idea. Should of left it alone. Now what. Can't put back on the thermal paste that came with the heatsink. wtf!


mobo temps still raising. 51C and CPU is in the 40Cs. Maybe I should just take it in?

Its a known fact..well maybe not so well known but still known that too much thermal paste will cause you to have higher that normal temps!

 

[jack bauer]

But the AS5 sites says for Opteron, the paste only needs to cover the center:


http://www.arcticsilver.com/arctic_silver_instructions.htm

step 10

 

[Fallengod]

Yeah those are great instructions and all, but as any experienced user will tell you, it really doesnt matter. Ive done the whole rice grain in center method as well as just using a creditcard or flat surface and spreading a thin layer over the entire cpu. My temps were identical with both methods. Feel free to benchmark yourself.

Just pick a method and slap some damn as5 on it and clamp it down.



As far as how your temps changed. No freaking clue. As others stated, perhaps you applied too much? Other than that, doesnt make sense. Were you under the influence of anything when checking the before and after temps?

 

[jack bauer]

No. But I need to know what a cpu cap is; asus wants it on when you return it and I can't find it.

 

[jack bauer]

I read you should still be able to read the lettering on the chip after the layer has spread, if you can't you have too much, is this correct?