thermal pad or thermal paste

[mdchesne]

Even recent websites from manufacturers such as AMD continually stress the importance of thermal pads over thermal paste stating thermal paste is only to be used for temporary use or if the HSF is going to be replaced often. And yet, AS5 has gained so much more fame than any pad out there in terms of thermal conductivity. I wonder if it's profitable to make a thermal pad with the same thermal conductivity as AS5 but in a pad for long-term use in accordence to manufacturer's recommendations? AS5-TP (Arctic Silver 5 -Thermal Pad), lol

why not use a thermal pad on, say, the xp-90 or 120? does the 5-10C balance the need to replace the grease every (correct me if my time is off) 3 months and why doesn't anyone make decent thermal pads. like brand name thermal pads that work just as efficiently

 

[Doctorweir]

thermal pads *shudder*

5-10C IS a reason which may well influence stability, overclockability, etc.
So it will always be ASx for me

 

[mdchesne]

true, i would prefer a temp drop over convinience any day, but why isn't it possible to make a superior thermal pad for long-term use without removal/reapplication?

 

[bbarlow10]

Who replaces their thermal paste?

 

[Jeff7]

I haven't re-applied the Arctic Silver in any of my systems just because it was old. If anything, it's because I needed to remove the CPU heatsink to remove the power supply, or make some other upgrade or tweak.
My parent's PCs have been running for quite some time now - my mom's is well over a year old, still with Arctic Silver X in there (X, because I don't remember which number I used), and it's working fine. Thermal grease is usually designed not to dry out. Or at least, that's how it's supposed to be made.

 

[CaBoOse999]

Paste

 

[mdchesne]

Originally posted by: bbarlow10
Who replaces their thermal paste?

some of the crappier brands dry out every couple of months. like the stock greases that come with HSFs

 

[Munky]

Originally posted by: mdchesne

Originally posted by: bbarlow10
Who replaces their thermal paste?

some of the crappier brands dry out every couple of months. like the stock greases that come with HSFs

Does AS5 dry out too? I hope not, because I don't intend on replacing mine every few months.

 

[mdchesne]

i haven't seen a test that's been done on it for more than a couple months of high-heat simulations so i don't know if it does or not. silver oxidizes tho, right? that might cause the AS5 to go bad after a while

 

[imported_Kensai]

Meh, I just use some cheaper silver stuff. No AS5 stock in town.

 

[christopherzombie]

I use the pad on my 3500+. I'll switch to paste when I get a new HSF.

 

[AristoV300]

I applied AS5 and have never had to reapply it. This is straight from their page:

"Absolute Stability:
Arctic Silver 5 will not separate, run, migrate, or bleed. "

 

[Saint Nick]

i think we all swear by ASx here hehe

 

[gobucks]

ARCTIC SILVER 5 all the way!!!!! That stuff is the absolute best! AS5 is way thicker than most paste, so it won't come off (be careful not to get it on you when applying, though, lol).

Pads don't fit into the microscopic grooves in the heatsink and CPU, and so they don't conduct heat as well.

 

[Promit]

Wait...how long will standard (i.e. cheap) silicone grease last?

 

[Doctorweir]

Originally posted by: Promit
Wait...how long will standard (i.e. cheap) silicone grease last?

Oh, oh...dry out alert
Honestly...use AS5 as silicon grease won't make it long and is far behind in heat conductivity...

 

[Burn2619]

Pads don't fit into the microscopic grooves in the heatsink and CPU, and so they don't conduct heat as well

I prefer AS5 but pads can fit in those grooves if your getting good pads. Take a pad and rub it between your thumb and pointer finger then remove tha pad and rub those fingers and see what happens. There is a heat conductive material that transfers between the heatsink and CPU. The one thing I do like about pads is the lack of mess and or having play with them when I remove my blocks.

I thought this same thing out a few months back when I was working on an old proxy box but was out of as5 and had some old "crap in a tube" IE the white junk from radio shack. I know some what what the temps were in the box when I used it more but it was now just a small proxy and really didn't care much for it. I took a pad that came from a stock hsf and trimmed it down some and took a little of the "crap in a tube " and smeared it on the chip in a thin layer and placed the pad on it. I booted the box and since this is an old board it doesn't have a ton of system features it does have the temp and volt setting. Everything seemed fine and it's still trucking along.

I didn't notice any spikes or lows in heat but now after reading this I may put a little effort into playing with this.

 

[islandtechengineers]

I remember reading something somewhere in regards to pads or paste; if your cpu/sink came with a pad from the factory (not someone adding the pad with the product), you can use it and there shouldnt be any problems. Why would amd/intel ship a low quality pad with their product? I wouldnt doubt it at all that at one moment or another, a few some time pc manufacturers used a cheap pad to save on the long run. I personally prefer artic paste (even if my product arrives with a pad) and hopefully there isnt any major problems with pads.

 

[Navid]

Originally posted by: mdchesne
true, i would prefer a temp drop over convinience any day, but why isn't it possible to make a superior thermal pad for long-term use without removal/reapplication?

A thermal pad is composed of several layers. It is meant to be something that can be applied without too much attention (in production line) with repeatable results (production requirement).
In return, it lacks the performance of thermal paste (only if applied properly). Thermal paste can be applied very thin.

If someone comes up with a break-through that improves the cooling (heat transfer) of thermal pad, the same material can be used in a paste and result in even better heat transfer.
The minimum thickness of a thermal tape makes it inferior to a thermal paste.

There is no reason to have to re-apply thermal paste every 3 months!

 

[Promit]

My rig's only two weeks old, so I think I'm still ok...but how long before I need to redo it? Naturally I'll give it something silver based when the time comes, but I'm not going inside before I have to.

 

[slash196]

Thermal pads are the suck.

 

[Burn2619]

Thermal pads are the suck

Ahh yes those colorful interesting remarks that add so much insight to a conversation. They are so very helpful to the question at hand

I asked a friend of mine to send me a few pads this afternoon and I ordered a new tube of AS. Both should be here by mid next week and I'm going to run a few fun experiments just for ***** and Giggles. Like I saidI don't think I would give up my AS but I think it will be an interesting thing to check out as far as hard numbers go.

So in testing I will use a
standard pad
Articsilver5
Radioshack brand white thermal paste


Does any one have an idea for a 4th test subject ? IE a step lower then AS5? I once remember this copper like putty stuff but the name of it evades me at thistime of night.

 

[imported_Slider]

How about toothpaste?

 

[Navid]

Originally posted by: Burn2619
So in testing I will use a
standard pad
Articsilver5
Radioshack brand white thermal paste

The stock thermal pad has paraffin in it. After installation and use, the paraffin melts and fills the microscopic holes of the surfaces. You will never be able to clean it like it was first. If you then use a thermal paste, the existence of paraffin reduces the overall thermal conductance.

But, if you have made your mind to do this, make sure you get isopropyl alcohol (90%) and use it for cleaning both surfaces as much as you can before applying a paste.

Edit:
There is another problem with the pad.
After installation and use, because of the paraffin-like substance, the pad becomes like glue holding the CPU tight to the sink. It has been reported by many that the CPU has been pulled off the socket while removing the sink.
The best you can do is to turn on the PC and run something to heat up the CPU like prime95. Then, power down and immediately remove the sink. Don't attempt to remove the sink from a system that has been off for hours.

 

[Burn2619]

make sure you get isopropyl alcohol (90%) and use it for cleaning both surfaces as much as you can before applying a paste.

It all depends on the pads used I would say. I have seenthe pads you speak of IE like the ones dell uses andthe ones laptop heatsinks. These are a bit better then the elcheapo pad once they get here I will write down the mfg info on all the products tested. Also denatured alcohol is better to use for cleaning the surface since isopropyl has a polymer like residue that gets left behind and also can contain up to 30% water based on it's % rate. Denatured is a tad more harmful but as long as your safe and use gloves ext and have an open air area to do your cleaning you should not have any issues.

I also remember the copper like substance now was more a termal adhesive and not just a removeable substance.