thermal paste curing?

[mcycle]

ive read around the internet about this but didnt find anything directly related to this.
so what does this mean exactly?

 

[Superhal]

in a nutshell, it means that the TIM doesn't reach it's maximum transfer potential until it's heated/cooled a few times, and that until it reaches its maximum, you will see increases in temperature. if you use your computer normally (a few hours a day, turn it off at bedtime) it should cure within a week.

this appears to be caused by the thickness and consistency of the suspension fluid. a thicker compound, e.g. artic silver, usually needs some time to settle, while thinner ones, e.g. mx-2, don't.

there's a really good study somewhere (I can't find it now, it's on a bbs) where somebody tried a whole bunch of TIM's and they all benefited from curing.

 

[thrule01]

not to thread jack but how long does the silver normally take?

dad is going to be using it on his work computer that he uses like 8 hours a day doing fiance type work on it...

thanks for asking i was about to post up the same thing..

 

[Conumdrum]

It's not that critical. Some pastes need a while to settle in and it 'might' help your temps a few C. Many newer pastes have no cure time.

So don't fret too much about it unless your a super OC'er who is needing the lowest temps to do thermal tests etc.

Thrule01, in your case it's not important, sounds like a basic system your dad will have.

Try Goggling "Thermal paste review".

 

[Superhal]

Artic silver recommends a 50-200 hour cure time, but this translates to around 40 thermal cycles.

imho, the only reason to do this at an accelerated pace (rather than normally through use) is if you need to find your minimum temps.