[Amps] Arctic Silver

Sun Apr 12 23:01:35 EDT 2015

I have no interest in NewEgg other than the money I spend there, nor do 
I know which products RS carries and in what quantities.  So far it's a 
race between HRO and NewEgg.  NewEgg wins on the number of orders, but I 
think HRO is well ahead on dollars<:-))

There are a number of thermal transfer compounds sold by Arctic Silver,
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Order=BESTMATCH&Description=Arctic+Silver&N=-1&isNodeId=1

  From the silver, Arctic Silver to the Thermal Adhesive, to the 
Ceramique 2 Trilinear Ceramic thermal compounds.  Temperature ranges 
(long term) vary a bit between compounds as does the thickness of the 
application.  Some list the thermal resistivity, or conductance and with 
some, you have to go to their site to get the specs.  They have 
conductive compounds and a non conductive (the Ceramique 2 ) compound 
that they say will not alter capacitance.

As far as cleaning, good old denatured Alcohol, which I normally use, 
with cotton balls and/or Q-Tips works well, but do not let it wash any 
of the compounds into the socket, or circuit.

At $4.45 a gram for the Silicone grease, that 10 oz tube I paid a buck 
for was "theoretically" worth (28 grams per oz = 280 grams * $4.45 per 
gram) $1246  It was really expensive back then, but not that expensive.<LOL>

73

Roger (K8RI)

On 4/12/2015 8:10 AM, Larry wrote:
> FWIW, my local RadioShack carries Artic Silver. I don't know what they 
> charge for the stuff. There was also a cleaning solution to take off 
> old compound before applying the Arctic Silver.
>
> 73, Larry  W6NWS
>
> -----Original Message----- From: Roger (K8RI)
> Sent: Sunday, April 12, 2015 4:38 AM
> To: amps at contesting.com
> Subject: Re: [Amps] Arctic Silver
>
> It's not rocket science although there is a bit of a learning curve.
> Done properly, there is no excuse for air bubbles.
> Put a pile of heat sink compound in the center of the metallic cover on
> the CPU.  Apply the heat sink straight down onto the compound with a bit
> of a back and fourth twisting motion. You may have to do this several
> times to get the proper amount. When done correctly the two surfaces
> will hold on to each other with out excess flowing over the side.
> Be willing to sacrifice some compound if you've not done this before.
> Note, too thick a layer will greatly reduce the compounds ability to
> transfer heat!
>
> Cost?  The best only costs a few cents more per application than the
> cheap stuff and is substantially cheaper than the old Silicone thermal
> grease of the early days. I had a 10 oz tube of that stuff (I worked for
> a company that made it) that cost me a buck.  I still have most of it,
> but the tube is getting pretty beat up.  I haven't used any of that
> since we quit using those little "screaming" 90 mm fans.  They were
> worse than the air noise from a 10 KW amp.
>
> BTW, I actually did find "Silicone grease" offered.  It was an
> unbelievable $4.99 for a 1 gram pack. 11 or more dropped it to $4.45.  A
> 2.7g applicator of  Arctic Silver Ceramique sells for $4.99  A 20 gram
> applicator is $8.99.  The same amount silicone grease would be $89.  Get
> any of these in bulk and you have handling and application issues.
>
> Price depends highly on packaging. Having worked in the industry, as a
> SWAG I's say the packaging cost several time the cost of the silicone
> grease inside.
>
> Go to www.newegg.com and search on "Heat transfer compounds". It's by no
> means the comprehensive list of what they carry, but give an idea as to
> what's available and costs.  You can find a lot more with detailed 
> searches.
>
> Viscosity?  Forget it and don't worry about it unless you make your ow,
> or purchase large lots.  Virtually ALL commercial compounds are of the
> correct viscosity that let you get a "uniform" layer measured in
> microns, "without air bubbles.  The mor common compounds do cover a
> variety of viscosity as do OEM bulk shipments, meaning the average user
> has a lot more knowledge of metal to metal and metal to ceramic
> interfaces that the typical ham or computer enthusiast.
> How many know the difference between 10 Cs and 6000 Cs?.  10Cs is for
> dry fly treatment while 6000 is like Taffy.  What's 6000 used for.  I
> saw it in the labs but I retired in 97 and have no recollection as to
> its use.
>
> Why use the good stuff for less demanding applications when there is
> little, if any difference in cost?  I'd say, ease of installation with
> the knowledge you used good stuff.  When using the "good stuff" you
> simply put "enough" on the surfaces and stick the together, knowing they
> will work.  Less efficient compounds may require more care when used.
> The less efficient is likely to become difficult to find as the primary
> use dries up.  However, when it comes to price, it is to their advantage
> to use the "cheapest" that "should" do the job, often relying on
> manufacturers claims as to the product's characteristics.
>
> Industry generally abandons a product before it reaches the point of
> negative return.
>
> BTW, if you lap a pair of steel (or any other metal surfaces) optically
> flat and put them together (dry), they will be extremely difficult to
> get apart.  They stick so well that you may not be able to align the
> edges.  Left in this state, some metals will weld themselves together.
> These compounds allow for small irregularities to exist in that metal to
> metal interface and still transfer in areas that would have not been in
> intimate contact.
>
> Getting heat sink and CPU surfaces optically flat is labor intensive and
> impractical.  Keeping them in that state through time, handling, and
> temperature changes would require special handling as well as training
> of anyone who handled them, making the cost much higher than today's
> mass produced CPUs, GPUs, and cooling devices.
>
> 73
>
> Roger (K8RI)
>
>
> On 4/11/2015 1:54 PM, Mike Waters wrote:
>> This is generally good advice. However, as Manfred nicely pointed out,
>> "...applying an ultra thin, even layer is almost a guarantee for 
>> entrapping
>> air bubbles. And that's definitely worse than a thick grease layer!".
>>
>> I fully agree with Manfred. It depends on the viscosity of the grease,
>> whether it's thin enough to be easily squeezed out by applying pressure.
>>
>> 73, Mike
>> www.w0btu.com
>>
>> On Sat, Apr 11, 2015 at 9:21 AM, Kevin Stover 
>> <kevin.stover at mediacombb.net>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> If after securing the transistor to the heat sink or heat sink to a
>>> processor you see heatsink compound oozing out the sides you've used 
>>> waaay
>>> to much.
>>>
>>> The layer of heatsink compound needs to be an even layer almost thin
>>> enough to see through, with NO air bubbles.
>>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Amps mailing list
>> Amps at contesting.com
>> http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/amps
>>
>
>
> ---
> This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software.
> http://www.avast.com
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Amps mailing list
> Amps at contesting.com
> http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/amps
> _______________________________________________
> Amps mailing list
> Amps at contesting.com
> http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/amps
>

---
This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software.
http://www.avast.com