I just got a PIII 800 mhz OEM (133mhz fsb) and a generic SECCII heat sink (it says CYBER COOLER on the box)... I also got a tube of $2 thermal compound.
My question is, is it really necessary to apply thermal compound to disipate more heat for this particular processor? Or is the thermal pad on the heatsink sufficient? I do not plan to overclock.
Also, what is the best way to apply the compound to get best results?
Thanks.
bleech
X2 4200+ AM2 Processor
Gigabyte GA-M61-S3 GF6100 Motherboard
1GBx2 Patriot 240P DDR2 RAM
EVGA 256-P2-N751-TR 8600GT 256M video
160GB WD SATA Hard Drive
If you don't plan to overclock, why are you wasting your money on thermal grease and pads ? Give away your pads and grease to me :-) Really....you don't need anything other than the fan that came with your CPU if you are not going to Overclock. Be careful with the pads, because if you don't know what you are doing with it, you could fry your CPU over extended use - especially with cheap pads that are likely to fail.
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the thermal compound will help in most cases and it brings the temps down quite a bit, ihave seen o'ced processors REFUSE to boot without thermal compound, but run 100% reliable at same vcore which it refused to even load windows at before without thermal compound
Thank you both for the advice. I think I will take the time to scrape off the pad and use the grease instead (since I DID pay for it ) I also heard somewhere else that the pad eventually sticks to the cache and can't be removed without destroying the cpu, so I will just avoid it.
Thanks again.
bleech
X2 4200+ AM2 Processor
Gigabyte GA-M61-S3 GF6100 Motherboard
1GBx2 Patriot 240P DDR2 RAM
EVGA 256-P2-N751-TR 8600GT 256M video
160GB WD SATA Hard Drive
Which is the second and third best thermal compound in market ? So far, my research shows that Arctic silver is the favourite thermal grease, but it costs about $13, which is too much for me considering my CPU was $30 on sale. So, what are the next few best things in the world today ?
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Please note that I don't check my email much at above address.
In my opinion Arctic Silver is crap(and expensive too). The electrical conductivity of this crap makes it dangerous if you spill it off the core and on to any traces on the chip. I personally prefer basic silicon-base compound which you can buy at Radio Shack for $1.99. Heat dissipation is just as good as Silver I believe, although some may disagree.
What do you mean by its "electrically conductive".. Hvae you tried it? It is absolutely not electrically conductive except under extreme compression(much more than cpu clips can exert).
Also, problems with RS grease include:
Drying out on AMD setups(Due to high heat/high clip pressure)
poor performance when ACTUALLY measuring core temp. Socket-A setups do not measure core temp. they measure a portion of core temp change, and use a "compensation" to add a baseline. So when you see a 2C drop with AS versus Rs grease on a socket A cpu, don't be surprised if actual core temp drop is around 4-8 C or higher.(See sig for details).
Also, some quick results with a celeron 2 @ 937/1.8V(roughly 34W of heat)...
You get a 5C drop from RS to Arctic Silver with a 34W processor. I can imagine this change going up on a processor that puts out 60+W(aka socket A chips).
Bleech, If you aren't overclocking AS is not necessary. The pad will be okay, but since your'e using a P3, RS grease should also be fine for you.
I have no doubt, after reading tons of articles, that Arctic Silver is the best in market now....But it is also prohibitively expensive for the average home user or overclocker - the medium range price would be much more justifiable for average person on the market, IMHO - so I go back to my original question - which is the second and 3rd best product on market ? I am hoping to see a price range below $10. Actually, Arctic Silver can make a bundle, by selling smaller tubes for half the price.
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Please note that I don't check my email much at above address.
What if you replace the heatsink and there is some of the pad stuck to the cpu. Can it be removed? Leave it alone and use thermal grease or what would someone suggest?
Would radioshack have isopropanol spray? Or who would? I've seen some type of electronic sprays (don't remember the names). Not sure if the pad is stuck to it. Haven't take it apart yet. Just trying to get everything together ahead of time.
Basically, that is what USSVoyager is referring to. The rubbing alcohol usually found at the drug stores on displays are not 100% though.
Usually, the isopropyl rubbing alcohol is 70%.
Cheers
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) I also heard somewhere else that the pad eventually sticks to the cache and can't be removed without destroying the cpu, so I will just avoid it.
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