Thermal paste degredation

[dylan0451]

kinda as the title and summary suggests. I've just installed a fresh copy of xp after doing an upgrade. I downloaded speedfan to see what the temperature reading were on idle

my E7200 cores are at 39/41c

now, i applied thermal paste to the cpu (like arctic silver 5 but a diff brand name) but then had to leave the house. I got back about 5-6 hours later and applied some paste to the HSF and mounted it.

since the E7200 is supposed to be the most efficient/coolest running cpu out there i was expecting lower temperatures, which leads me to wonder if leaving the applied paste open to the air has reduced its ablities?

my old northwood running on this HSF (scythe ninja) would run at about 30-35 idle, and it was overclocked from 3.2 - 3.6

 

[RallyMaster]

We don't know how Intel does their temperatures yet for the Wolfdale cores yet, so we really don't know. CoreTemp tells me one thing, Speedfan tells me another, RealTemp tells me something else. As long as your heatsink is not hot to the touch, there's nothing to worry about.

 

[mpilchfamily]

Wait a minute. You applied TIM to the CPU then applied more to the HSF before mounting it? If your having any temp issues its from too much TIM. You only need to apply it to one or the other before mounting the cooler.

 

[dylan0451]

Originally posted by: mpilchfamily
Wait a minute. You applied TIM to the CPU then applied more to the HSF before mounting it? If your having any temp issues its from too much TIM. You only need to apply it to one or the other before mounting the cooler.

thats kinda what i'm thinking now... i used a credit card (expired) to spread paste over the entire IHS

after looking at the arctic silver website i see that only a line of paste running down the middle of both cores (core 2 duo) is what is needed

i'm guessing i applied so much that the 775 clip doesn't have sufficient pressure to bring the HSF + IHS together, displacing the paste, and if it did then i need to perform a mop up fast!

all that said, i've just been reading realtemp is more accurate for 45nm chips, and that speedfan maybe over reading by up to 10c!

 

[Bladen]

Whoa, hold on...

You used an expired credit card?

 

[dylan0451]

Originally posted by: Bladen
Whoa, hold on...

You used an expired credit card?

well, i thought if I used one that was in date it might not go through the ATM machine too well!

cleared all the paste from both the HSF + IHS - there was a lot of excess that had squeezed out over the socket latch + around the IHS. I then cleaned both surfaces with nail polish remover, cleaned + alowed to evaporate.

reapplied to the IHS only, using the arctic silver method of a single line down both cores, then put the HSF on.

chucked speedfan + got realtemp V2.70 which reports core temps as 31/32

mind, that is with a very mild overclock (280FSB) which brings the E7200 from 2.53GHz to 2.66GHz

 

[Bladen]

9-10 degrees of a better thermal paste reapplication...

How much did you put on the first time? Nutella loads?

 

[dylan0451]

i'll post up the speedfan results when i'm back at my machine. i think the 9/10c lower is a result of using real temp!

but yes, in comparison to the original intel HSF paste application mine looked like a choc spread sandwich made by a 5yr old!

though a lot cleaner this time i don't think temps have drastically lowered

 

[Zepper]

Generally TIMs won't degrade on exposure to air but they can pick up dust, pollen, etc... which can create small air gaps.

.bh.

 

[Quiksilver]

Originally posted by: mpilchfamily
Wait a minute. You applied TIM to the CPU then applied more to the HSF before mounting it? If your having any temp issues its from too much TIM. You only need to apply it to one or the other before mounting the cooler.

Actually, some review sites do use this method, they put a very very thin layer on the heatsink itself and a smaller dallop on the CPU. I don't know the reason behind it other than to just be sure the TIM is making full contact between the two or if it yeilds better results.

 

[craftech]

Originally posted by: dylan0451

Originally posted by: Bladen
Whoa, hold on...

You used an expired credit card?

well, i thought if I used one that was in date it might not go through the ATM machine too well!

cleared all the paste from both the HSF + IHS - there was a lot of excess that had squeezed out over the socket latch + around the IHS. I then cleaned both surfaces with nail polish remover, cleaned + alowed to evaporate.

reapplied to the IHS only, using the arctic silver method of a single line down both cores, then put the HSF on.

chucked speedfan + got realtemp V2.70 which reports core temps as 31/32

mind, that is with a very mild overclock (280FSB) which brings the E7200 from 2.53GHz to 2.66GHz

The Arctic Silver instructions for Dual Core and Quad Core have you put the paste where the cores are located according to what they are saying. Kind of negates the "even spread" argument if I am interpreting it correctly.

John

 

[BonzaiDuck]

I've said a million times, and saying it again won't get me elected to cyber-dog-catcher.

I stopped using AS5 after running my own tests with micronized diamond and simple silicone-based grease; that was a month before IC Diamond became generally available, and I switched to it for convenience.

Since I lap my IHS to bare copper and do likewise with the heatsink-base, I also test them for flatness. I spread the IC Diamond (or AS5 if I still wanted to use it) with a razor-blade, and distribute it evenly over the entire processor cap. There will be a build-up of paste on the razor-blade, and I just take the end of my Victorinix pocket-knife and scrape it off the razor, transferring it to the center of the IHS.

I also tint the bottom of the heatsink-base where it will mate with the IHS, but this isn't essential or important.