Is this thermal paste bad?

[bayern]

hi
I have phenom II 955 and I took the heatsink off and touched some of the thermal paste by mistake so some of it was removed.
since then the temperatures rised about 4c idle and rised a lot on load, so i underclocked it to 2100 mhz and now the temperature reaches 60c after 5minutes of prime 95 and the fan if annoying
so i bought this cheap white thermal paste and this is some of what was written on it
ZP thermal compound
High Thermal Conductivity Low Bleed Stable
Uses: Thermal coupling of electrical device to Heatsinks
Thermal Conductivity: >1.22 W/m-k
Thermal Resistance: <0.20°C-in²/W
and I just want to know is it good,or will ac5 make a big difference cause I am not an overclocker

 

[cyansnow]

i dont know about your current thermal compound but ac5 is garbage imo, i use promlitech PK 1 now, and arctic cooling mx-4 on my graphics cards.

 

[WR2]

ZP is about average thermal grease.
It's good enough you shouldn't worry about going out and buying AS5 or one of the other premium thermal compounds.

 

[bayern]

this is a picture of it

 

[WR2]

Yeah, that ZP.

 

[bayern]

thank you very much for your replies,
i am currently using amd stock thermal compound (wich i removed some by mistake as i said) but can you please tell me will zp improve my temps

 

[bayern]

thank you very much for your replies,
i am currently using amd stock thermal compound (wich i removed some by mistake as i said) but can you please tell me will zp improve my temps

 

[WR2]

If you have a messed up thermal interface now, it should.

Have you tried it out yet? That's the best way to tell.

 

[bayern]

no i haven't tried it yet but i am afraid it will increase the temps and i can't get an a very good thermal compound like ac5 (cause i live in tartus,Syria which is a small city) unless i go to Damascus

 

[WR2]

I guess the next question is - why did you buy then?

 

[bayern]

well i was desperate to fix the problem because the fan is annoying so i asked about the price of the zp thermal compound and it was very cheap but now i am afraid it will make my temps worse
(thanks for your replies by the way)

 

[WR2]

All thermal compounds work within a few degrees of one another.

An expensive thermal compound that isn't skillfully applied might not work as well as an inexpensive compound (TP) that is carefully and correctly used.

 

[bayern]

ok so i understand that it wont increase temps.
and how do you advise me to apply it the pea sized method
or crossed lines method

 

[WR2]

If you test during the hottest part of the day temps will differ from when you test at the coolest part of the night.

Has it been unusually hot in your area lately? That might have as much to do with higher temps than the TIM. You might not actually need to make changes.

For the Phenom II X4 either one works well.
Just don't use more on the crossed lines (a common error) than you do for the center pea.

With pressure of the heatsink and heat of operation the TIM will usually migrate to where it's needed.

 

[bayern]

well now the temp is 25c (it's 01:00) and high humidity 82% (don't know if it matters)
and it idles at 44c
and on load it reaches 60c (underclocked to 2100mhz)
(fan spinning faster than 5000 rpm)
is this normal or zp is necessary

 

[bayern]

please reply

 

[bayern]

how do you compare zp thermal compound to stock phenom 2 thermal paste?

 

[amuffin]

If you need help removing the paste read my Thermal Paste Removal Guide.

 

[bayern]

Best answer selected by bayern.

 

[bayern]

hi
i know i just picked the best answer but i just want to know, when I apply the zp thermal compound how long will it last, and do I have to change it regularly (like every year), and can I use ethyl alcohol (90%)

 

[gyuuula]

First, the TIM's primary function is to fill the micro-gap between the CPU and the heatsink. Witouth TIM, there will be air trapped between the surfaces, and air is one of the best heat-insulator you can get..

So, when you took of the heatsink, you were already fucked, because when you reseat the heatsink, air bubbles will form under the heatsink.

ZP is a cheap, generic paste around 2-3$, it will do a job, but a little more expensive paste (5-10$) will keep your CPU 5-6 C° cooler. As people said before me, a premium paste only give you 1-2C°, doesn't worth the money.
The best stuff, you could use as TIM is liquid metal, but that is expensive and dangerous, as it is electrically conductive, it could short your PC if it's accidentally spreads around.

For application, just put a small blob or line in the middle of the CPU, and put on the heatsink with one, quick move. If you put too much paste, it will actually insulate your CPU, most TIMs are not that good at transferring heat, just better than air.
Thermal conductivity(W/k*m): copper: 401 > aluminium: 205 > Generic TIM: 4-8 > air: 0,002

Some TIM will last forever, others will dry out over time and lose performance. But they should last at least for a year. Watch out for the temperatures, and re-apply the paste, if your CPU is getting hot.