I've been using Arctic Silver since it came out. With over 20 builds
under my belt, I've never had a problem with shorts. There is a
learning curve on just how much to use with out "run over". You put a
small "pile" in the center of the object to be cooled. Using a mild
pressure (learning curve here too) you press down on the cooler, or
heat spreader with a small rotating (oscillating) motion. Yes, it
wastes a bit of expensive compound, but you could practice with some of
the cheaper stuff. Just remember, they may not spread exactly the same.
BUT BE NEAT! The current 5 builds run 4 GHz to 5 GHz. That 5 GHz chip
(4.7 stock), dumps an easy 240 watts of heat through a surface area just
under 1.5 X 1.5" an inch square (3.8 X 3.8 cm sq) or 14.44 sq cm. Just
think of the dimensions involved for circuits running 4 to 5 GHz.
Some of those old chips ran close to 90 C. Today, even over clockers try
to maintain close to 40 C, but not always.
BTW that 5 GHz chip uses a closed circuit water cooling system with
push/pull fans on the radiator.
All heat sink compounds I've used since the little, ultra noisy 90 mm
fans with the heat spreader right on top of the exposed Silicon die,
cure and gain conductivity. I think some support chip coolers are
positioned where you will break the bond while working in there.
We can hope the SS power modules for ham amps will mature as fast as the
computer technology has.
When I did my first build, all choices were made by jumper position.
Now, it's rare not to be able to do the few remaining manual choices,
usually reserved for the over clockers in software. For most of us
mortals, the selections are automated. Install the OS, then before
anything else, run the motherboard support and driver disk. Then the
driver(s) for the video card (if it has one.)
BTW I had an 8 oz tube of the white silicone thermal grease. Cost me a
buck! <:-))
73
Roger (K8RI)
On 2/5/2015 1:15 PM, Gary Smith wrote:
One of the issues that brought Arctic Silver 5 out of favor with
overclockers is it's ability to conduct electricity; sloppy
application can result in shorts to the chips being cooled. Ceramique
by Arctic Silver became the go-to choice for many as it was not
conductive. Ceramique took longer to cure and became increasingly
conductive as it cured, there is now a Ceramique 2. Hopefully groups
such as we are, are not sloppy with applications.
Here's a search in Newegg which gives the more favored thermal
compounds listed. There's a decent spec sheet with each and plenty of
comments to read through.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Order
=BESTMATCH&Description=thermal+compound&N=-1&isNodeId=1
Here's a shorter URL to it:
http://tinyurl.com/mze6xec
I have both the Arctic 5 and Ceramique, both seem to work equally
well and far better than the older thermal pastes I've used.
73,
Gary KA1J
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