Thermal Paste Expired?

I like Arctic 5. Used it for years and still do.

Here are some instructions from Arctic 5.

http://www.arcticsilver.com/pdf/appm..._line_v1.1.pdf

As previous reply I use Artic 5 and I find the preparation solution a must - but that is me being pedantic.

Now I stated I use a vinyl glove and that is because then I know the compound is even though very thin is right to the edges of the CPU and the cooler plate/s. Some advocate just putting a dot of compound in the centre of the CPU and let it "bleed" out but I have pulled quite a few off where this has been done and the coverage is well pathetic to say the least.

The important things are that the plates are absolutely clean (old compound can be quite hardened so is why I use a citrus oil base solvent to clean first) / coverage is even / not too much applied (some of the older and AMD CPU's have pins and getting compound into them is a nightmare to clean out / and that the fixing of the cooler is done evenly. I have heads some say it takes so many hours for the compound to "bleed" evenly between the two surfaces and that may be true in some cases - again which is why I spread the compound thinly first.

But you must do whatever you think best - it's your machine eh?

Yep another good way of getting the temp is to get one of those infra red temperature "guns" just aim the red laser spot at the surface you need to test and it gives it immediately.

It may be a little over the top for some but I like it and they are reasonably cheap, and you can check the temp of anything really doesn't have to be in a computer. For example before I changed a light globe I check the temp to see how hot it is if it has been running, the temp of any surface I want to touch, food, my fish tank water etc .
The one in the pic gives a good idea of what it looks like and they range from $10 - $30.

see comments in bold:

charkzilla20 said:

I'm seeing some nice temps on 4.6ghz overclock (mid 60s) running prime95 blend test after a half hour, except when the test switches to "test 2, 3200000 Lucas-Lehmer iterations of m163839 using FMA3 FFT length 8k, pass1=128, pass2=64" the whole cpu ramps up to high 80s for a minute. Then after it's finished that section, it goes back down to 60s...
Is that bad?

Hmmm......... I'm wondering about the 1 minute in the 80s. I've never noticed anything like that, but I'm not expert on Prime 95.

I ran Prime 95, blend, in place large, and small ffts a month or so ago. In my case, all 3 tests peaked at 67 for the hottest of the 4 cores. I ran all 3 tests for 20 minutes, not a half hour. I've heard it said that small ffts normally results in the highest temps, but it did not for me.

I wouldn't worry about a minute in the 80s. I assume you saw no throttling.

I've also heard that recent versions of Prime 95 put an unrealistic stress on the CPU and that something like Intel Extreme Tuning Utility (aka XTU) or OCCT are more realistic of what you might encounter in real world use.


Here's the quote:

"The latest Intel CPUs feature the AVX instruction. Prime 95 27.7 and newer versions supports the AVX instruction which results in a higher load and core temperature. This will result in a lower overclockability, but a higher stability. However, almost no program or game can handle the AVX instruction. If you’re not using anything which features AVX, you can use Prime 95 26.6 without AVX so you might reach higher clocks."

Maybe the 80 plus temps were caused by the AVX instruction?



In comparison, stock 3.6ghz (3.4 with 3.8 boost = 3.6 for all four) on the old air cooler averaged mid 70s for the same test. So I'm gaining a full 1.0ghz and dropping 10c with the water :)

Did you see a similar 1 minute jump to a much higher temp with the air cooler, just as you did on the new cooler? Did you use the same version of Prime 95?

I notice the cooler keeps a temperature of 33 degrees or less, and so when I stop p95, the core temp jumps back to 30 instantly. I think that's good, no?

Back to 30 instantly? That's not seen on air cooling, but you're on liquid. May be normal for liquid; I've never used it. Air coolers will drop back to normal in a few minutes, but will drop SOME near instantly.

I've got a temp-gun similar to that but not in that gaudy yellow. :) It can be powered by USB (to save batteries) and locked on to record High, Low and Average over a long period. It will attach to a standard camera tripod so you don't have to hold it.

I've been using it for plating and automotive engine or A/C work. Never dawned on me to use it on a PC. Great idea!

Yep carwiz mate I use it all the time like I said for the fish tank especially and yep my one is yellow like the pic only cos it was the first one I came across that I could afford at the time