Many Cooling Questions - Arctic Silver 5

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digitalhardware

digitalhardware

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May 10, 2012
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Arctic Silver 5, I've heard, is the best thermal paste around. I will purchase some from Amazon, but I would like to know what the difference is between ones with "3.5g" or just "3.5" in their title.
For example, this one with "3.5g," http://www.amazon.com/Arctic-Silver-Polysynthetic-Thermal-Compound/dp/B0002VFXFE/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1337387892&sr=1-1
Versus
This one without "3.5/g" in its title:
http://www.amazon.com/Arctic-Silver-5-Thermal-Compound/dp/B0002EQU6C/ref=sr_1_3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1337387892&sr=1-3

Well, it's probably a very ignorant question on my part, but I would also like to know, how does the thermal paste work?
My father, me being only twelve years old, makes all the "executive" buying decisions, and strongly believes thermal paste is not necessary. I believe otherwise, and I know it is crucial to transfer heat from the CPU to the heatsink. But, that's all I know. How exactly does it work? My father's argument is "Jason, metal against metal are the best heat conductors. Placing an organic material between them would make them perform worse, if not the same." Usually, I would not argue with my father, but I'm beginning to surpass him, even if I am twelve years old. I've built a computer, know the ins and outs of the computer, but both he and I still have much to learn.

Alright. After I purchase the paste, I'm obviously going to remove the existing heatsink/fan and use Isopropyl Alcohol 70% (it's the best I've got) to remove the current thermal compound. Then, apply Arctic Silver 5 on the cpu by squeezing a little grain of rice amount and spreading with a business card. Finally, put it together. So, here are the steps I am taking, please check if they're correct:
1. Remove heatsink. Unlatch the "cam" hook and turn the heatsink clockwise and counter-clockwise to break thermal seal. Pull vertically.
2. Clean CPU and Heatsink of thermal compound, using Isopropyl Alcohol 70%.
3. Apply AS5. Squeeze grain of rice amount and spread with credit card.
4. Put heatsink back on, latch the "cam" hook securely.
5. Check connections.

Thanks, I'm looking forward to all your answers!

- Jason
 
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Nope. Everything is stock.
This is why I'm going to use new thermal paste. But, should I use Paper Towels + Isopropyl Alcohol 70% or Q-Tips + Isopropyl Alcohol 70%?
 
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If you have a coffee filter I would use that. Something lint free is best. Q-tip would be my second choice.
 
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amuffin used paper towels, but some people use q-tips.

To answer your second question, I'm using stock cooling, and I have no idea how to measure my airflow.

EDIT: I don't exactly have Q-Tips. I have cotton swabs made from 100% cotton. So, should I use paper towels?
 
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Be very careful not to leave lint behind. Use some compressed air to blow off the heatsink when you are done.
 
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Alright, I'll use a paper towel and use a flashlight to check for lint before applying the paste.

I have a question though: After like 6 hours of the computer being on, the CPU is at a constant 58C.
Is it supposed to raise after long periods of time?
 
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^ This.

You should only be at 58C if you are stress testing the computer. Even for normal use, browsing and gaming and videos you should be at more like 50C.

What kind of case airflow do you have? Front intake and rear/top exhaust fans?
 
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But, should the temperature rise like that?
 
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Only if you are running Prime 95. You should be able to browse and watch videos all day long and never hit 50C. Gaming for hours you might hit 50C depending on the game.
 
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Artic Silver 5 is a very good thermal paste but it's starting to lose it's popularity in favor of other thermal paste like Diamond 7, MX-4 and a few others. While AS5 is good you can get other thermal paste that give the same performance and doesn't have a 200 hour cure time. Most like MX-4 have pratically no cure time.
 
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You mean after playing the game? The idle temp will be around 50C if you play for a long time?
My pc has a constant 50 C IDLE TEMP AFTER playing battlefield 3

You're saying, it should hit 55C or so, but drop down to around 35-40C AFTER playing?
 
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Yes. Within seconds it should drop to more like 30-35C. Maybe even upper 20s - 35 depending on case cooling.

Edit: Maybe not upper 20s with a stock AMD cooler. The only AMD based computer I am around much is the X3 440 based computer I built for my sister. It has stock cooling but is in an Antec 300 Illusion so it cools very well. I am not sure how low the X6 Thubans idle.
 
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You should not let your CPU go over 60C. You never answered about your case.

Take the side off the case and see if temps still go that high. If not then you know your case is the problem. If they do then you should think about aftermarket cooling. The Hyper 212+ or Evo are both good low cost options.

What voltage is the CPU at? In my opinion you are still about 10C too hot at idle.
 
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