How Much ASIII to apply?

[bob_dole_nz]

Well, I may as well open a n00b thread meself.

Now, I know the directions for applying ASIII, and a "thin" coat is all that you really want, but I am wondering, how thin is too thin. I want top thermal performance, but not to overdo it, and have a chip that looks like a roof in dunedin in august.

And also, if i slap some on my GF4, do i need to be extra speshul careful likes, so it don't go BZZT, or are they all fine and dandy, I don't really want to fork out for some Alumina also.

[fatsanchez]

depends on your heatsink, if its fairly smooth then i do the layer so thin i can still see the writing on the core. (this is for amd's). in reality, if you do put a bit much on, its nothing to really worry about.

dunno what you mean about the gf4, just make sure you only get it on the core. big smears of AS3 accross the card is probably a bad thing.

[Antallica]

Seeing as the grease only works at it's best for the first 72 hours I haven't seen much difference in using a bit too much. (NOTE: BIT too much... not ****loads)

But really all you want it a thin layer just so you cannot see the core.

But remember, you'll get mint temps for 72 hours then it'll set in and rise a bit.

[Ragnor]

http://www.arcticsilver.com/instructions.htm

[_N_]

/goes off to the offical arctic silver website, and looks up instructions on how to apply it, :rolleyes: :D ok, it's a newbie thread, but please use your common sense and maybe look up on google first, :)

http://www.arcticsilver.com/arctic_silver_instructions.htm

open the link, and it will show you how to do it properly,

basically, you should have it as thick as a piece of paper,

I find that putting a little dot in the middle of the cpu core, and then putting the heatsink on top of it, and pushing on it to see if it covers everything works the best,

as for the GF4, just cover it in a bit thicker layer,
the reason is cause unlike the CPU's, the VGA heatsink can't put out as much force onto the GPU, and if they were to put out that much force, the whole PCB would bend,

so since your contact won't be as good on a VGA as it is on a CPU, put more on the GPU,

Also another thing, if you put too much on your CPU, the first time you take the heatsink off, you will notice that some of it got pushed over the edge of the core, hence, this means you put too much,

/*edit, while I was ranting on, you bet me to it with the link :p

[bob_dole_nz]

just wanting to know what got you guys best results, as I can apply it ok, but you know, there is bound to be tweaking etc.

Interesting to learn that it is only super good for 72 hours or so, then it is just damn good. Remind me to OC more at the start.

[Deviant]

I've heard the opposite, that the paste doesn't set in for 72 hours, and then thats when you get your best temps.

[whetu]

for applying thermal grease of any sort, I throw on a latex glove (you can get bags of em from the $2 shop... my mum's a nurse so I get hundreds of them for free) and use my fingertip to spread the grease... you can get FAR more accurate results this way, and you can really get the layer as thin as you want it... its also a lot faster to work the grease into the micropits/grooves and to get an even layer...

just a tip that might help :)

[whetu]

heh.. just noticed that my way is quite similar to step7 here:
http://www.arcticsilver.com/arctic_silver_instructions.htm

[Ragnor]

Did everyone miss my post or was I just too fast for all of ya with the instructions.. :D

Anyway it's simple case of the old STFW and RTFM

[Method]

Originally posted by whetu
for applying thermal grease of any sort, I throw on a latex glove (you can get bags of em from the $2 shop... my mum's a nurse so I get hundreds of them for free) and use my fingertip to spread the grease... you can get FAR more accurate results this way, and you can really get the layer as thin as you want it... its also a lot faster to work the grease into the micropits/grooves and to get an even layer...

just a tip that might help :)

i just use my bare fingers...

[whetu]

Originally posted by Method
i just use my bare fingers...

has the disadvantage of all the crap from your fingertips getting into the grease :rolleyes: sure it'll still work but its generally regarded as not the best thing to be doing... also how long does it take you to clean up? half a minute or more? how long does it take me to clean up? under one second. ;)

[Solid Snake]

I put it on and then spread it with a knife or a folded piece of paper. I tend to rub the artic silver into the heat sink as well, so that the heatsink get a greasing as well.

[SecretSquirrel]

Originally posted by Ragnor
Did everyone miss my post or was I just too fast for all of ya with the instructions.. :D

Anyway it's simple case of the old STFW and RTFM

He didnt ask for instructions, please read the posts before posting.

First post : Now, I know the directions for applying ASIII, and a "thin" coat is all that you really want, but I am wondering, how thin is too thin.

[princexxx]

yer i believe (and i think its on as website) that yr meant to put sum on the heatsink then rub it in nd take extra stuff away, this makes sure the heatsink has a ultra-mega flat base for maximum heat transfer

[.weasel.]

the way i do it is put a dot of as3 onto the cpu core, then get a business card / bank card and spread it evenly over the core. that way i get a good, even layer.

I also remove the oxide off the copper / aluminium base of the heatsink with a scrubbing pad (not the steel wool variety, but the nylon ones...) and rub some as3 into it to fill in any gaps done in the making of the cpu cooler. this way i get copper making contact with the as3, rather than oxide making contact.

or if i feel like being lazy i just sandwich a bigger dollop of as3 between the core and the hsf ;)

[Solid Snake]

I also remove the oxide off the copper / aluminium base of the heatsink with a scrubbing pad (not the steel wool variety, but the nylon ones...) and rub some as3 into it to fill in any gaps done in the making of the cpu cooler. this way i get copper making contact with the as3, rather than oxide making contact.
Uhm, not good. Your not actually doing anything. When copper oxidises it goes green. I don't see many heatsinks that have a green discolouring also, you need a pretty dang powerful oxidant to make the copper oxidise. With the aluminium heatsink, that is an alloy, so it isn't pure aluminium. With that said, aluminium oxidises so quickly with air that you can't actually get rid of it unless you put in a oxygen free environment. Therefore with all the scrubbing that you have just done, you haven't done anything at all! KJ will know more about the inorganic chemistry side of things, my main field is organic chemistry...

Also as a note, you don't want Artic Silver III as your main heat transfer component. You want metal from the heatsink to touch the metal of the core. That is the best transfer. However we use compound to remove minuscle gaps between our imperfect technology ... well to remove those microscopic dips and ditches. If you make horrible scratches on your heatsink that are more than 1 mm deep or so, filling that up with Artic Silver 3 will not be as good since heat has to be transferred so many times!!!

With all that said the differences in all that are quite neglible by 2-3 degrees, even a 1 degree difference but for those who are into overclocking heaps ... that difference is all that is needed.

Now with the actual question, I put quite a thin layer on. Thin enough to still get some of the colouration of the core (mine is purple I think). An even layer isn't essential but try to keep it constant I reackon. Thickness of paper is probably the best.

[.weasel.]

Fingerprints on the bottom of the copper will TARNISH the copper, leaving it dull. that is why i scrub them with the nylon pad first - to remove those fingerprints.

I shouldent have said oxidising as its not really oxidising. thanks for correcting me james.

*edit*
and you should already know this, but as silver is a better conductor than copper, so it doesent matter if we use it on the copper to fill in gaps, as those gaps will be filled with a better heat transferring material.

if silver cpu coolers where cheap and readily available, we would be using them over copper coolers.

[dustyslapper]

Don't get any AS3 on your pcb. I shorted out my modem for an afternoon when I left some random smears on it. Damn thing wouldn't connect and was making all kinds of weird **** noises.

As for your graphics card - do it, but be VERY VERY careful if putting it on the ram chips. If it gets between the pins havoc can result. I have heard of a case where a 32mb card was turned into a 16mb card because of an unlucky Arctic Silver (original recipe) smear. To be honest AS3 compared to well applied white paste will probably make dick all difference on graphics ram. We aren't talking about a heck of a lot of heat here - unlike a cpu/gpu.

I'm actually going to buy a tube of white paste for future use - I get a bit nervous about AS3ing my ram chips on my 4200. So make sure you don't get any on your pcb. My ****ty modem was lucky enough that I could clean it off and it worked good as new. I wouldn't like to risk it on a < $300 graphics card though.

As for how thick - I did some testing and I believe that the nearly non-existant smear I was putting on was a little too thin. With a wee bit more (about the thickness of paper) I reckon that I dropped one and a half degrees or so.

Mind you at my end of the cooling spectrum it's an intellectual enterprise anyway. I'm looking at load temps of 42.5 and idle temps of 37-38. Palomino with 1.775V on an Epox 8kha+ - diode figures, but damn low diode figures all the same.




This is my cpu tempt after typing this post:

[MoNk]

Originally posted by Antallica
Seeing as the grease only works at it's best for the first 72 hours I haven't seen much difference in using a bit too much.


Where did you read that? Generally is takes 48 hours to set and then you see better performance that when you first applied.

[Method]

Originally posted by whetu
has the disadvantage of all the crap from your fingertips getting into the grease :rolleyes: sure it'll still work but its generally regarded as not the best thing to be doing... also how long does it take you to clean up? half a minute or more? how long does it take me to clean up? under one second. ;)

well under 3 seconds if i have running water and soap. Comes off real fast..

[whetu]

Originally posted by Method
well under 3 seconds if i have running water and soap. Comes off real fast..

not completely mind you.. i've been there and done that, I know first hand ;).. but sure.. if you want to convince yourself that it all comes off in under 3 seconds be my guest.. you're more than welcome to get all the crap from your fingertip into your layer of grease, and then have to walk to a sink to wash it off your hand..

while i use a sterile latex glove, do the job and whip the glove off on the spot and biff it into a nearby rubbish bin

:rolleyes:

[Solid Snake]

and you should already know this, but as silver is a better conductor than copper, so it doesent matter if we use it on the copper to fill in gaps, as those gaps will be filled with a better heat transferring material.

if silver cpu coolers where cheap and readily available, we would be using them over copper coolers. Remember that Artic Silver III is not pure silver paste as you do not want electrically conductive behaviours to exist in a thermal compund. It is a mixture of oils & silver particles. The heat tranfers faster simply because it has silver in it, but it still will not beat a direct metal - metal conduct.

So when you take it into account that Artic Silver III is not a pure silver paste/compund, then what you said above is incorrect in this case. However if we did have pure silver heatsinks, then that would be great.

Well this is my current thinking anyways.

[bob_dole_nz]

Originally posted by whetu

while i use a sterile latex glove, do the job and whip the glove off on the spot and biff it into a nearby rubbish bin


:p :p :p :p :p

[Ragnor]

Originally posted by SecretSquirrel
He didnt ask for instructions, please read the posts before posting.

First post : Now, I know the directions for applying ASIII, and a "thin" coat is all that you really want, but I am wondering, how thin is too thin.

:rolleyes:

The point being if you actually read the instructions they tell you that a layer as thick as a piece of A4 paper is recommended..

They even show the best exact way to apply it with pictures and all...

[MoNk]

Originally posted by Ragnor
:rolleyes:

The point being if you actually read the instructions they tell you that a layer as thick as a piece of A4 paper is recommended..

They even show the best exact way to apply it with pictures and all...

hay hay hay, this is the newbie thread. These people can't read let alone follow pictures ;)

I always rub AS3 into the bottom of my HS. Wipe it ALL off with a paper towel.

For the Core I put a thin layer on so it's just about to be transparent but not.

If I have lapped my heatsink then I apply a VERY transparent layer.

[AcurA]

Then again what temp diff are we really talking bout in comparing a nice thinn layer and a 'on-the-sloppy' side application. U'd be lucky if their is a 1 degree delta IMO.

As far as cleaning the HSU - my 8045 never looked as clean after a trip through the diswasher LOL. Seriously not a sepc of dust.

[Antallica]

Dishwasher you say.....

*Takes waterblaster to V7+ HS*

Well it seems everyone has their own method of using the ASS3 eh... not surprising.

But if you guys are happy with your methods and you reckon they work well good on ya guys. As for me, I'm using crappy Titan grease cause my AS3 ran out.

*cries*

[SecretSquirrel]

ran out?
MATE what the ****?

i have made up about 30-40 computers (or 20 but redid a few of them with upgrades etc) and its still going strong

LESS IS MORE

[2 much thinking]

Yeah but the crappy syringes are so hopeless for getting exactly the right amount out. You give it a tiny squeeze and don't get enough and the next push far too much comes out!

[Antallica]

Originally posted by 2 much thinking
Yeah but the crappy syringes are so hopeless for getting exactly the right amount out. You give it a tiny squeeze and don't get enough and the next push far too much comes out!

Right on brother!