News TikToker Improves CPU Cooling by Adding Salt to Thermal Paste

[Doom187]

Among the many comments, no one bothers to say how poorly this article is written. Is this just the norm for Tom's Hardware?

 

[InvalidError]

Again agree with everything you said, and yes, people in colder regions place their radiators outside. Like I said “certain use cases and environmental conditions”. I do appreciate the refresher course on HVAC science though 😉

IMO, if it is cold enough outdoors that you have to worry about your outdoors radiator lowering the water block temperature enough for condensation to be an issue, you are likely better off bringing the radiator indoors to reduce your heating bill

 

[bit_user]

You basically cannot have condensation on a heat source, only a heat sink. Since practically everything inside a PC is releasing heat, everything will be warmer than ambient and condensation will be impossible.

Yeah, the only scenario I can imagine where you'd have condensation in a PC case is if it somehow had poor external ventillation (maybe vents clogged with dust?) and a leak from your water cooling loop. Then, the place where you'd have condensation would be the coolest parts of the case, and maybe some corners of the motherboard.

Otherwise, the air inside the case will always be warmer than ambient, and therefore even if the PC is operating where the air is at dew temp, it won't condense inside of the case (which will be the above dew temp).

if it is cold enough outdoors that you have to worry about your outdoors radiator lowering the water block temperature enough for condensation to be an issue, you are likely better off bringing the radiator indoors to reduce your heating bill

Not only that, but you might also be worried about the water in your radiator freezing up, if/when your PC is turned off or you lose power.

 

[Mr. Smith]

Do not believe everything you see on the internet.

 

[chalabam]

Salt is corrosive to many metals, and may generate electric currents

 

[Deleted member 14196]

I detest freak shows like tiktock and all social media apps

the endless parade of human debris

 

[edzieba]

If you want to go DIYing particulate additions to your thermal paste, you want to use a graduated series of particle sizes:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8RJ-vLLwDPU

 

[The Historical Fidelity]

Yeah, the only scenario I can imagine where you'd have condensation in a PC case is if it somehow had poor external ventillation (maybe vents clogged with dust?) and a leak from your water cooling loop. Then, the place where you'd have condensation would be the coolest parts of the case, and maybe some corners of the motherboard.

Otherwise, the air inside the case will always be warmer than ambient, and therefore even if the PC is operating where the air is at dew temp, it won't condense inside of the case (which will be the above dew temp).


Not only that, but you might also be worried about the water in your radiator freezing up, if/when your PC is turned off or you lose power.

Don’t worry, our Canadian friends use propylene glycol/water mixes in their water loops.

 

[bit_user]

Don’t worry, our Canadian friends use propylene glycol/water mixes in their water loops.

You know that "anti-freeze" reduces the efficiency of radiators, right? So, putting your radiator outside is awesome for the sake of chilled water in the cool months, but then you should exchange the water twice/year or your water cooler is going to be under-performing in the warmer months.

I'm with @InvalidError on this one. Better to save the heat and keep it inside, during the cold months. It's really the warm months where I'd rather send the heat directly outside. But, that's definitely about me wanting to optimize my utility bill and comfort, than about optimizing CPU temps.

 

[-Fran-]

So, what I get from reading everyone in here is that I have to mix toothpaste and mud to get the best thermal performance possible out of my heatsink.

Time to test!

Regards 🤣

 

[PlaneInTheSky]

temps dropped by 2 to 3 degrees C

it's in the margin of error

I don't see how salt would improve heat conduction.

 

[PlaneInTheSky]

I detest freak shows like tiktock and all social media apps

the endless parade of human debris

They're honestly not as bad as Reddit. You can't really push a narrative on TikTok, you can say falsehoods and make fake videos, but you can't do this in concert with others. You're an individual on TikTok with very limited power over the platform.

On Reddit the millions of self-appointed moderators and alt-accounts can easily push narratives, since many users and moderators know each other. Self-appointed groups and special interests control the Reddit platform, which makes it so incredibly vulnerable to manipulation. It's the same reason why you never want to use Wikipedia when it comes to a source regarding politics, it's way too tainted.

The least trustworthy and most tainted sources of news are consistently those where users themselves control the moderation and narrative of the platform.

 

[helper800]

They're honestly not as bad as Reddit. You can't really push a narrative on TikTok, you can say falsehoods and make fake videos, but you can't do this in concert with others. You're an individual on TikTok with very limited power over the platform.

On Reddit the millions of self-appointed moderators and alt-accounts can easily push narratives, since many users and moderators know each other. Self-appointed groups and special interests control the Reddit platform, which makes it so incredibly vulnerable to manipulation. It's the same reason why you never want to use Wikipedia when it comes to a source regarding politics, it's way too tainted.

The least trustworthy and most tainted sources of news are consistently those where users themselves control the moderation and narrative of the platform.

I do not deny what you are saying about reddit, however, I think you have it twisted somewhere. I would think that privately owned "news" institutions would be more likely to put up a narrative under the banner of tribalism than niche groups gathered on the internet for specified self interest. I also believe that no matter the bedrock to which an institution is built upon there will be methods to control and corrupt its information for the purpose of narrative pushing.

 

[The Historical Fidelity]

You know that "anti-freeze" reduces the efficiency of radiators, right? So, putting your radiator outside is awesome for the sake of chilled water in the cool months, but then you should exchange the water twice/year or your water cooler is going to be under-performing in the warmer months.

I'm with @InvalidError on this one. Better to save the heat and keep it inside, during the cold months. It's really the warm months where I'd rather send the heat directly outside. But, that's definitely about me wanting to optimize my utility bill and comfort, than about optimizing CPU temps.

50% propylene glycol-water mix is only 5-10% less efficient at heat transfer than 100% water due to nucleate boiling and greater response to turbulent bombardment interactions on the micro fin surface and radiator channels.

Anyway, I never said it was smart to do, just that people do it.

 

[etotheipi]

"A case can be made for outer edge...
... however, it would result in higher temps"
So, a case can't be made. Are these articles proofread?

 

[Crack'r]

Out of all the possible things to add to thermal paste, I can't imagine why anyone would head to the kitchen?! Salt is a terrible idea but maple syrup?

Those that are in a roundabout way justifying the use of NaCl, aka salt, have never lived by an ocean. Even if added to oil it will still eventually cause corrosion to many metals. It is also hygroscopic and will pull in water without the need for condensation to occur.

Off the top of my head, graphite and various powdered metals would be a reasonable material to try mixing into a thermal paste. Probably the first thing I would try, is to head to the garage instead of the kitchen, and grab the bottle of copper based anti-seize that wouldn't need to be mixed with anything. After that, I'd grab a tube of powdered graphite to mix in with thermal paste.

And to the person that was unsure of powdered sugar, as opposed to granulated sugar, it's the white powdery stuff that is on... powdered sugar donuts. And is the main ingredient in cake icing. And for some reason it takes on a different flavor once ground up and powdered,

 

[etotheipi]

Out of all the possible things to add to thermal paste, I can't imagine why anyone would head to the kitchen?! Salt is a terrible idea but maple syrup?

Those that are in a roundabout way justifying the use of NaCl, aka salt, have never lived by an ocean. Even if added to oil it will still eventually cause corrosion to many metals. It is also hygroscopic and will pull in water without the need for condensation to occur.

Off the top of my head, graphite and various powdered metals would be a reasonable material to try mixing into a thermal paste. Probably the first thing I would try, is to head to the garage instead of the kitchen, and grab the bottle of copper based anti-seize that wouldn't need to be mixed with anything. After that, I'd grab a tube of powdered graphite to mix in with thermal paste.

And to the person that was unsure of powdered sugar, as opposed to granulated sugar, it's the white powdery stuff that is on... powdered sugar donuts. And is the main ingredient in cake icing. And for some reason it takes on a different flavor once ground up and powdered,

Ground up and powdered and mixed with starch. That's probably why it tastes so different

 

[Phaaze88]

UGH, just let the thread die. There's no need to draw more attention to that guy's channel...

 

[TormentRiddenband]

I don't see how this is possible. Thermal conductivity of salt compounds is already known and documented. The compounds don't come near the conductivity of good thermal paste.
He probably didn't have good contact between the CPU and heatsink, originally.

He knows way more about thermal paste application than most people here

 

[helper800]

He knows way more about thermal paste application than most people here

I seriously doubt he knows more about TIM and its application than a site formed by some of the most experienced enthusiast PC hobbyists and tech professionals from around the world.