i didn't use a "rice size" amount...i used enough to cover the entire surface of the p4 heatspreader with a very thin layer...btw, i did spread it...you won't notice immediate temperature drops...i think the stuff needs to be burned in for a while...after that, my temps dropped about an average of 5 deg C as compared to the intel themal pad...
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ya.. there is a "break in" time for arctic silver stuff.. you can either spread it real thin like ohyeahar said.. or do what arctic silver says to do..
the reasoning behind arctic silvers way (i think it's explained on their site) is that one you turn you computer on.. the compression by the heatsink and heat from the CPU cause the paste to spread itself over the surface of the heatspreader rather then you doing it.. this should eliminate any possible bubbles sometimes created when covering such a large surface.. this is why there's that "break in" time.. usually a couple of days..
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Originally posted by ohyeahar i didn't use a "rice size" amount...i used enough to cover the entire surface of the p4 heatspreader with a very thin layer...btw, i did spread it...you won't notice immediate temperature drops...i think the stuff needs to be burned in for a while...after that, my temps dropped about an average of 5 deg C as compared to the intel themal pad...
OK - I'll give it the rest of the week to "burn in"...
Out of interest, its horrible stuff to spread (AS 5), how did you do it? Plastic bag? Credit card?
Out of interest, its horrible stuff to spread (AS 5), how did you do it? Plastic bag? Credit card?
haha...the first time i used that stuff, i just used my fingers...bad idea...the stuff doesn't wash off easily...so i had that stuff on me for about a week....
ever since, i just kinda smush the stuff w/ the bottom of the heatsink...kind of like how you would spread ketchup w/ a bun...
P4C 2.8ghz o/c'ed to 3.36ghz
Asus P4C800 Deluxe mobo
2 x 512mb Kingston HyperX pc4000 DDR
nVidia GeForce 6800
Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS Gamer
160GB 7200rpm SATA Seagate
74GB 10000rpm Western Digital Raptor
ATI TV Wonder Pro
Latex gloves anyone? It sure makes it pretty easy to spread the thermal compound around. A box of latex gloves is pretty cheap; or if you're like me, you can just take an extra pair from the Chem Lab. You do have to be careful though, so that none of the powder coating the inside of the gloves contaminates the the thermal goo. I've also used a thin clear plastic sandwich bag before.
BTW, There is one more reason NOT to spread the stuff with your finger. Beside being messy, your finger contains many contaminates (dead skin cells, oil, etc) that will decrease the effectiveness of the paste.
Chances are it is your heatsink that is limiting your cooling. All aluminium heatsinks from CoolerMaster I have seen have been absolute PANTS! Not sure about the copper heat-pipe models though, but they always seem to get good reviews.
Good on ya for choosing a Zalman heatsink.
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Not sure about the copper heat-pipe models though, but they always seem to get good reviews.
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