The importance of proper thermal paste/heatsink installation...
I just wanted to reaffirm the absolute importance of proper heatsink installation. A few days ago I was running my Duron 600 at 757mhz --->http://www.angelfire.com/pa/socling/compstats.html <--- see towards the bottom of the page, the processor was running at 50C.
Today, after getting jealous at seeing so many people running their 600mhz durons at like 900mhz, I decided to up mine to 800, and see what happens. I also decided to remove the thermal tape and replace it with just thermal paste.
So, after removing the tape, and placing a thin film of paste on the bottom of the heatsink, and upping the multiplier, I was suprised to see the processor was running at 56C. I thought, ok, more thermal paste. I saw a picture of how much someone put on their heatsink, and thought geesh, I've been using just a film, maybe I should try more. So, I removed the heatsink, and added more thermal paste, till it was maybe .1mm or so thick. Now, I am pleased to see that the processor is running at 45C. Just with the standard heatsink, and I didn't even sand the heatsink, just added thermal paste.
So, I know lots of you are going, DUH!, but I had always read that you should only use a 'dab' or only a really small amount. It turns out a small amount is more than I thought it was, and it makes a really big difference.
So, scrape off all of your thermal tape under your heatsinks...
Apply approx .1mm (more than a film) of thermal paste.
Seat heatsink (try wiggling it very slightly to squish the paste around. !Slightly!.)
Boot computer, check temp.
If its not cooler, try less paste; or/then try more.
Repeat as necessary.
(for all you newbies like me!)
Garrett
Asus A7V
Duron 600 oc 800 (8x100)
128MB PC133
Voodoo3 3000 AGP oc 176
other less important stuff...
Well Duhh!!!
No i'm just kidding
Really you only enough paste to fill any air space between your heatsink and slug.
when that is acomplished you have no air insulating your heat in. With the Durons, T-birds and Celleys it's ok to and alittle more cause it will squash over the edges of the core
BTW it's cool to see someone so close to home posting. Muncy is home
That is why I usually tell people to just use the thermal pads that most heatsinks ship with. They are pretty thick and fill in any gaps. They also squish down quite a bit and after a couple of days they get thin enough to cool about the same as thermal grease (or at least close enough). I run a GlobalWin FOP32-1 (with the thermal pad). Now I dont know what heatsink you are using , but I run a Duron 600@950Mhz and 1.7v and I run 33-35'C (33 serfing and stuff and 35 under FULL load). I'm very happy with the performance (but I do need a new PS).
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having to use more paste means you dont have good contact between the heatsink and core.you put a very thin coat on the core and put the heatsink on then take it off and you should be able to see the numbers on the core if you cant then lap the heatsink and bend the clip to apply more pressure.i had my heatsink on and off about 10 times before i was happy with it.i run my duron at 1020 1.85 volts and after 2 hours of prime 95 my temps are 37C with a 6035 alpha and 68 cfm flowing thru it
I've always had better temps with grease than pads. And the way i see it if the pads worked correctly why would there be a market for the grease? But if they work for you why change it.
Yea, I was worried about using too much paste, thats why, before I locked down the heatsink. I don't think something is perfectly level, because when I did just use a thin film that I could see through, the heat wasn't transferred through to the heatsink right. Using more helped, in my case. I am using a standard generic heatsink. If I push my processor and higher, I am going to probably have to buy a new heatsink. I've seen lots of people using globalwin's, so I probably check them out first.
Something odd I noticed : When I took the thermal pad off, I noticed that the impression left on it was tilted, the depression was deeper on one end than the other. I am 99% sure I had the heatsink centered on the processor. Perhaps the reason it is so much cooler now is that I just happened to get the heatsink flat on the chip. So why does Duron just have that little glass top on it? that seems so dangerous...I am going to buy one of those copper sleeves that fit around it to ensure a flat connection (and I bet it will conduct a lot more heat like that too).
So, I guess that getting good heat transfer is just a lot of trial and error, hard and careful work, combined with some educated guesses as to what will work good.
1moreMHZ, it is a small world, especially on the internet!
Thanks everyone for the input!
Garrett
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