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Thermal Paste
stopgap
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
So, as a rather strong fan of gaming and technology, I have a decent understanding of the construction of a system. However, I have no idea about thermal paste. Can people give suggestions as to how much, and maybe let me know how long i need to have had the CPU before reapplying?
sorry if this is a stupid question, i know it helps with heat dispersal, but how crucial is it? and if my CPU is not getting full benefit from paste, am i likely to injure the CPU if I do not reapply quickly?
sorry if this is a stupid question, i know it helps with heat dispersal, but how crucial is it? and if my CPU is not getting full benefit from paste, am i likely to injure the CPU if I do not reapply quickly?
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You don't reapply it unless you take the heat sink off of the processor, in which case you need to remove all of the old paste.
Most people instead just use a slightly less than pea sized ball in the center and that is that.
However, thanks to cpu heatsinks getting more and more varied, definitely check out the instructions and follow them closely.
The generally used method is just a pea-sized dot of it spread around evenly with a credit card, but as Barrakketh said, it varies based on processor. It makes more sense to have the paste applied around the spots that generate the most heat, and those application guides tell you how to do that.
True but I wouldn't use their thermal paste.
It's actually a wax.
That doesn't sound good.
Nope. How much is it
Cheap. 2 pack for $26 Australian, probably just over US$20.
Same thing applies for any brand.
Yeah, it is wax. The two biggest fucking processor manufacturer's in the world use wax to thermodynamically bind their chips to the heatsink. Right, because processors don't get hot enough to, you know, melt wax and cause it to run right? Let me check the bottom of my case. Hmmm, no pool of wax at the bottom. Maybe it is magic wax then?
Intel and AMD both sell a metric fuckton of retail processor kits. You think they are gonna spend all that money on a processor and then skimp on $0.10 worth of heat sink compound? A huge number of manufactured computers use retail kits and they somehow all work fine.
But yeah, keep spreading the stupid.
edit: For further proof of how stupid it is to scrape off the compound on a retail HSF and replace it with some pricey shit. Click the link above and check out the chart. Their new super duper compound comparison against other brands. On an i7 920, overclocked from 2.66 to 4.2 MHz, all of the brands are within THREE freakin degrees of each other. Less than a 5% benefit in core temperature lowering ability. So yeah, feel free to throw money away at something that does practically nothing.
If you want to see how the different brands compare than read this:
http://enthusiast.hardocp.com/article/2009/04/07/thermal_paste_shootout_q209/
What CPU & cooler are you using?
I always buy OEM cpus that don't come with a fan so I have never scrapped off their shit and put artic silver.
I would say thermal paste is not your issue and you need to take a look at your case's ventilation. Tie your cables against the side/top/bottom of the case and free up all the space you can for air to flow. Make sure all your fans are working. Have a fan in the front? If not, buy one and make it face inward so it pushes air into the case (to be blown out by the rear and power supply fans). This will, at the least, help your hard drive heat issues, if not both.
This is also a great time for a can of compressed air, if you haven't done so recently. Open up the case and blow the fuck out of the heat sinks, fans, and vents (unplug the computer first).
Artifacing is generally the video card... it's evidence of the card either heating up, or having other issues rendering the game. Like I said, blow the hell out of the heat sink and fan on it with compressed air. If your hard drive is fucked, it's fucked... get the data off of it and onto a new drive ASAP. And yes, I always recommend a case fan in the front blowing air in. It creates more flow, and gets more cool air moving over the hard drive (and everything else). A 120mm fan for the rear is great too, if you have a space for it. Just make sure the front is blowing in, and the rear is blowing out. Doing either in the opposite way is a bad day.
Maybe you should post a picture of your chassis or provide the make/model for more tailored information.
Basically, if you don't overclock, don't worry about it.
Would you be able to tell us what case you have?
And yes a fan blowing in from the side is better than nothing. Do you know what size fan is uses? Because those are usually 80mm.
Plus, if this message board is any indication, you run the risk of destroying shit.
Those thermal pads are great.
I was thinking to get the ram and HD first, see if it fixes the graphics issue, then get either a new card or win7. I am going to ask a friend for assistance, maybe he can help with the computer cooling issue?
HD
Vidcard
Win7
RAM
If you and your friend can work some magic on the vidcard for the time being, grab Win7 Home. Basically, make sure you can get yourself to a stable setup before you look to upgrade.
Luckily for you, Vidcards and HDs are dropping in price lately. Some examples:
WD Caviar Green 750GB for $70 + Free Shipping [Newegg]
Radeon HD 5670 for $100 + Free Shipping [Newegg]
Obviously, you can play around with your options and ideas. Everyone has their favorite site. I've built a half dozen computers from Newegg parts and all of them are still working great. Newegg also has superb customer service.
Poke around their cases as well. You may find something you like for a good price. You can post links here if you want help.
A few things:
-- If you and your friend feel confident enough in your abilities or don't mind a little risk, you can add an aftermarket heatsink to the video card (assuming it isn't fried already). When you check the card, look for blown capacitors or any areas of possible overheating. Check the heat on the VRAM chips as well.
-- Letting fans spin while you blow them down will not burn out the bearings.
-- Arctic Silver used to recommend using a rice-sized glob in the middle of the proc, smoothed with a razor blade across the heat spreader. Recently (the last 2 years or so), they changed their recommendation to just "grain of rice sized glob in the middle, plunk down the heatsink, go."
-- I recommend you read through a few tutorials on "Build Your Own PC" to give some general knowledge on how to put a computer together and how all the components work with each other. Most of those guides will also discuss airflow. Tom's Hardware and MaximumPC both have very good tutorials.
-- Also, please visit the computer section on www.howstuffworks.com and look to educate yourself as much as possible. The more you know about how computer components work (you don't have to get into the weeds), the better consumer and computer user you will become.