Windows 7 - Using Ceramique On CPU HS/F?

I am in the process of installing some upgrades to my HTPC, and now need to grease the hs/f and reset it on the CPU, but even though I know that I have several tubes designed for this purpose somewhere, I haven't been able to locate anything except a tube of AS Ceramique. I don't think that it would do any harm using it, but would it do any good?

I'd definitely use thermal paste of some type.

Clean off the old with qtips and alcohol, carefully and thoroughly.

For Ceramique, go to arcticsilver.com and look for the specific instructions for your particular processor---it varies from type to type. In some cases, AS recommends a drop; in other cases a thin line, etc.

Yes, they say to just use the middle dot, but since I'm not using the stock hs/f, and the CoolerMaster Hyper TX3 that I have, has exposed tubes on the bottom, which leaves seams which I think need filling, I doubt that the middle dot is sufficient. Wouldn't it be better to spread it on the hs/f, instead of the CPU, so that the seams could be filled easily?

Unless pre-applied to the heatsink, you should apply thermal compound to the top of the processor only. A miniscule amount is all that is needed, as its sole function is to fill in the microscopic air pockets that exist between the 2 apparently smooth surfaces that form the top of the processor and the bottom of the heatsink assembly. Note that applying too much to the top of the processor, or applying it to the wrong section of the heatsink (which is why I don't recommend applying it to the heatsink) can result in system damage, either through short-circuiting (particularly if the compound involved is metal based), or overheating (which occurs when the compound forms too thick a layer, impeding rather assisting heat transfer).

In my experience, the app method is NOT critical, IF you don't use too much.

The tendency is to use too much. "if a little is good, then a little more is better", just like morons who think they need a 800 watt PSU in an ordinary PC.

The premise of the AS instructions is to make sure the area directly over the CPU cores is covered by AS. The location of the cores varies from CPU to CPU.

You can experiment as I once did:

Put on a drop of a certain size. Install the heatsink and run the CPU for a few hours, stressing it to get it hot.

Then pull the heatsink off and look at where the paste spread. It will leave a pattern, probably mostly circular.

In my experience---I got similar patterns whether I used a line or a drop.

When heated, the stuff will flow via gravity to the lowest points, like water would. All you need is a near-microscopic layer to fill in the inevitable variations in the surface. That thing is not absolutely flat.

The heat is highest at certain areas directly over the cores. If you follow AS instructions, you will cover that area for sure.

Beyond that, I wouldn't agonize over it, other than to be sure I did not use TOO MUCH.

But do the experiment and satisfy yourself if you want to.

For experimentation, I just spread the bottom of the hs/f with paste, filling the seams, then used a credit card to scrape off as much of any excess as I could. Despite this, the space between two of the heat pipes was scraped thin, but the other space wasn't, apparently because one of the heat pipes stuck out more than the others. In my mind, if I only put a drop on the CPU, that space probably wouldn't get any paste, sol I'm going to try it this way.

As it turned out, it seems that Ceramique did as good of a job cooling my HTPC as AS5 did. At least I'm happy.

I just mounted a different processor in my HTPC using Ceramique, and I found it interesting that it is now running cooler than it ever has. It is even running 1 degree cooler than my desktop, which has a much better HS/F on the processor. From what I had heard previously, I figured that it would run hotter than with AS5.

The gaps beteween the pipes don't matter that much, but here is how I last did my CMS Hyper 212:

1. Spread some pasted on the HS, then scrape it off with a credit card (or other flat utensil) leaving the paste in the gap.
2. Put rice grain sized dot on the CPU. Use wax paper and finger to spread it out in a thin, even, layer on across the CPU.
3. Join the two together and wiggle it around a very slight bit to assure uniform bonding,

That's very similar to the method that I used. Actually, I wiggled it around more than a bit, because I always have trouble mounting my HS/F. That is the worst part of a CoolerMaster Hyper TX3. It takes both hands and the mouth to hold everything, and even then it never seems to be easy.