Tips for applying AS5 to an A64?

[grey_]

Does anyone have tips or recommendations for applying arctic silver 5 compound to an A64 processor, beyond the instructions at the AS website (http://arcticsilver.com/arctic_silver_instructions_big2.htm)? I'm about to apply it and I've never used a thermal grease before. The processor and heatsink are still in the retail box unopened.

What should I use to wipe the original thermal glop off the heatsink? I was going to clean it off with alcohol. In the picture on the instructions page, it looks like they're using a paper towel !?

[winston64]

I rub off my old thermal interface with alcohol and a q-tip... or u can buy the arctic silver thermal interface remover :p

[grey_]

Do you still apply a drip of the grease and spread it over the surface of the CPU with a credit card? Or are you supposed to apply the drip and place the heatsink on top of it to flatten it out? It looks like they just twisted the heatsink a few degrees to the left and right to spread the grease out.

[EnJoY]

With AS5, you spread it thinly and evenly over the chip.

[TMM]

Yeah, AS5 is like thickened bird poop so its hard to get it smooth - even with a credit card. The best way is to apply it as thinly as possible (paper thickness) but so you can still see it. Then mount the HSF. Then take off the HSF again to see if it made a good bond. If there are areas where the as5 didn't come in contact with the HSF, apply a tiny bit more in those areas and attach the HSF again.

[Disposibleteen]

Instructions (http://www.arcticsilver.com/arctic_silver_instructions_big2.htm) Go directly to the horses mouth they say not to spread it out so thats what you should do.

[ozzimark]

Do you still apply a drip of the grease and spread it over the surface of the CPU with a credit card?
it appears that you should read the directions again my friend ;)
(hint: no, leave it as a small drop in the center)

[Daveb2012]

i use my finger clean it with alcohol first to remove oils from your skin as5 is just too thick to use anything else you dont want any ridges or lines when you smooth it out, some say use a razor, card or magazine page I have tried credit card and magazine page and it made it much worse it was too sticky. I also tried plastic bag over my finger and it didnt work good. i havent even hit 35* yet on my cpu with an xp-90 and over clocked almost an extra 1000mhz.

[Major]

I strech either a thin plastic sandwich bag or plastic wrap around my index finger and then dab it on, you can get it as thick or thin as you want. Works very well and makes it easy to get an even application. Better yet use Ceramiqe, its much more forgiving in application than AS5 and offers pretty much the same temps.

[cartmanea]

I've never had luck getting a good application with the baggie over the finger trick. I use either a razor blade or credit card to spread AS5 on small cores like AthlonXP. On chips with heatspreaders like P4's and A64's you should just place a BB-sized dot of paste in the middle and let the heatsink spread it out. Those heatspreaders aren't nearly as flat as people assume, I had a p4 chip that the heatspreader only made contact with the heatsink at the 4 corners. Spread a thin layer on something like that and you'll have a nice air pocket over the center of the chip and some really poor temperatures.

Also, I agree with the previous poster, AS5 and Ceramique yield very similar results. I've actually found Ceramique to get better temps with good contact surfaces like if the heatsink is lapped to 2000 grit with a Athlon XP chip or a chip with a lapped IHS. Reason for this is the particle sizes in Ceramique is smaller than in AS5, so for thinner gaps Ceramique transfers heat better. They are very close though, biggest difference I've ever seen between the two is 1-1.5 degrees, and that is well within error tolerances of most temperature probes.

[mcbarnet007]

just put a small drop on the center of the IHS and move the heatsink around after it is mounted

[harpyboy]

just put a small drop on the center of the IHS and move the heatsink around after it is mounted

yeah... u don't really have to worry about covering the whole thing... since the die is at the center...... if u cover 100% with AS5 u might have problem removing the heatsink later on... just like some people in this forum... results in yanking out the CPU together with the slot level locked (ouch)

[quijonsith]

If you remove the heatsink after applying the AS5, or any other thermal compound, you will ruin the thermal bond between the heatsink and the cpu. You are supposed to apply a drop in the center of the cpu and put on the heatsink and let it spread out that way. Then the compund fills in the tiny air gaps and ridges on the heatsink and cpu surfaces. Removing the heatsink creates air gaps, which is exactly what thermal compound is designed to fill in.

I deal with this everyday working on UHF and VHF radios in an avionics backshop. I've seen radios go bad because the thermal compound was not reapplyed correctly or because the powersupply was removed and reinstalled with out reapplying the thermal compund.

Edit:typo

[cartmanea]

just put a small drop on the center of the IHS and move the heatsink around after it is mounted

WRONG, do not move the heatsink around after installing it, just let the pressure from the heatsink spread the compound out. Forcing it to move around with a thick compound like AS5 will create air pockets and poor contact. Letting the pressure of the heatsink spread the compound ensures even coverage with no air pockets.