How to apply artic silver 5 paste?

[F1FAN]

Yeah,, you always want to clean the two surfaces with Rubbing Alcohol and something soft, not abrasive, to clean them really good, then let it dry or blow on it till it evaporates, to get any oils from fingers, or old paste, etc off. Then put the amount of Arctic Silver 5 you need (small amount will due) and don't touch it. When you place the heat sink on, you give a slight twist in both directions without pressing too hard, let the weight of the sink due the work. Then secure it down.
The heat from the processor and the pressure from the heatsink will spread it out evenly.

Yes, people are over doing it and over thinking it. Plus keep in mind that the paste will cure over time and spread where it needs to to fill in all the gaps. I have been doing it for decades and never had a single problem. There is no need, nor do you want to touch it and/or spread it out, you do not want foreign matter of any kind, including oils from your fingers interfering with the paste's properties.

Also,, you do not want to put too little, nor too much. The pea size people mention is about the size of a green pea. or well roughly that size.

Also read the link provided above from Arctic Silver for correct amounts. You can't go wrong with their suggestions.

OK i should be all set now, i know somebody with some alcohol solution. I'll use that to get of the bit that was used in the factroy.
I'm gonna go for the blob method and let the heat sink do the work, seems the best and easiest way.
So after i put the paste on, do i just use the computer as normal or do i need to leave it on for a certain amount of time?

 

[Tepid]

Nope,, just use it as normal. The heat from the CPU will work out the rest...

Arctic Silver Incorporated - Arctic Silver 5

"

Arctic Silver 5 does not contain any silicone. The suspension fluid is a proprietary mixture of advanced polysynthetic oils that work together to provide three distinctive functional phases. As it comes from the tube, Arctic Silver 5's consistency is engineered for easy application. During the CPU's initial use, the compound thins out to enhance the filling of the microscopic valleys and ensure the best physical contact between the heatsink and the CPU core. Then the compound thickens slightly over the next 50 to 200 hours of use to its final consistency designed for long-term stability.
(This should not be confused with conventional phase change pads that are pre-attached to many heatsinks. Those pads melt each time they get hot then re-solidify when they cool. The viscosity changes that Arctic Silver 5 goes through are much more subtle and ultimately much more effective.)

Also keep in mind that again,, you do not want to use too little or too much...

The 3.5 gram tube contains enough compound to cover at least 15 to 25 small CPU cores, or 6 to 10 large CPU cores, or 2 to 5 heat plates. At a layer 0.003" thick, the 3.5 gram tube will cover approximately 16 square inches.

That is why, you should read the following,,,,,

http://www.arcticsilver.com/arctic_silver_instructions.htm

 

[F1FAN]

just to let you know i now have the artic silver on the cpu and its all back to normal. fan speeds have stayed constant and temp has dropped around 4-5 C. Thanks people

 

[FZ21Z]

I just put a big blob in the middle of the chip, smear it around with my finger tip and then tap it out into a smooth, gooey layer, and put on the heatsink.

That's kind of how I did it, as the other methods seemed a bit fidgety, and AS5 imo is too gooey to use the card method. So after getting what I believed to be enough on, put the heat sink on and moved it about whilst applying pressure to flatten it out, and been more than happy with my temps so far.

 

[neo101]

To clean up CPU chip paste (of all types) I use cotton buds sprayed with Electronic Cleaning Solvent. One 400ml can lasts ages(Years for an average punter)! eg from Maplins/Radio Shack etc. REF:ECSP400D
http://cpc.farnell.com/1/1/31344-ecs-400ml-ecsp400d-electrolube.html

I also use a magnifying glass to clear up any Paste that has liquified/leaked around the chip (on older-type CPU's.) which might short circuit various nearby bits etc

Usually spread the Arctic silver(Rice grain size on older cpu's, Pea size newer!) with tip of small screwdriver which is easily wiped clean!
(If the bottom of the heatsink is rough/badly finished I usually add a tiny bit more paste)

 

[Duke of Alinor]

Pea wins, spreading with a finger can cause air pockets.
Thin line on one side works as well if you really want your finger in there.

Thermal Paste aplication guide and explanation - techPowerUp! Forums

has the lowdown

 

[jasin]

Everyone who said a very small pea shaped blob in the center of the cpu is right. The reason is because heat sink will spread it out evenly when the heat sink is applied. Over time, around 200 hours give or take, it will thicken and become stable, so it does not need to be spread out by hand for that reason too.

Arctic Silver Incorporated - Arctic Silver 5.

Arctic Silver, Inc. - Instructions

 

[jasin]

Has anyone used artic silver 5 on the chipset? A lot of chipsets now a days have heatsinks on them as well.

 

[The Apathetic]

Put a pea sized blob on the middle and spread it around with a business card..

 

[Tepid]

I'm sorry, but honestly,, I have to reiterate, that there is absolutely not one single solitary reason in the entire universe's of all that have existed or will ever exist to use your fingers or a card or anything else of any imagination when applying Arctic Silver 5.

However, one can apply it any way they like, it's really a waste of time and effort though.
And this may not be true for all pastes, cause there is a lot of pastes out there that just plain suck.

They are not all equal, and AS5 beats them all.

 

[CommonTater]

They are not all equal, and AS5 beats them all.

Here you go... Arctic Silver beat by .... toothpaste... yep... toothpaste.

Thermal transfer compound comparison

 

[CarlTR6]

That is a really good article. Hilarious about the toothpaste! I certainly agree about the misuse of statistics. Figures don't lie; but liars figure.

 

[CommonTater]

That is a really good article. Hilarious about the toothpaste! I certainly agree about the misuse of statistics. Figures don't lie; but liars figure.

Yeah, one of my all time favorites, that one... Of course it's just because of the moisture in the toothpaste, once that evaporates -- different story.

Actually my favorite thermal compound is one you don't often see outside of production environments...

Loctite TC-175-125 ThermstrateTC Phase-Change Thermal Compound - Stanley Supply & Services

It has a consistency like bar soap. Swipe a patch onto the heatsink, drop it in place and you're good to go. It's a phase-change compound so each time the chip gets over about 60c it re-seats itself. A friend put me onto the stuff, been using the same applicator now for a couple of years (one bar does about 200 chips)... not bad at under $20 per applicator.

 

[CarlTR6]

Now that is a good tip! I will have to buy a bar of that. Thanks much. I am a big user of other Loctite products, especially with my vintage bikes and their vibration.

 

[CommonTater]

Now that is a good tip! I will have to buy a bar of that. Thanks much. I am a big user of other Loctite products, especially with my vintage bikes and their vibration.

Well, just don't grab the wrong tube... I'm thinking you don't want to phase change your brake pads or threadlock your cpu...

 

[CarlTR6]

Now that is a good tip! I will have to buy a bar of that. Thanks much. I am a big user of other Loctite products, especially with my vintage bikes and their vibration.

Well, just don't grab the wrong tube... I'm thinking you don't want to phase change your brake pads or threadlock your cpu...

You are right about that!

 

[MadMaxData]

Man, maybe I should take the OCZ Arctic Silver out of my system specs, seeing as how it got ousted by toothpaste! LOL

Actually, I've conducted my own tests on thermal paste, and there is a bigger difference in brands than what this guy came up with. My CPU core temp dropped 8 degrees celsius switching to the OCZ from the thermal paste that came with the CPU.

So, does it really matter? Yep!

 

[Lomai]

Thanks all for the information shared here.

 

[CommonTater]

Man, maybe I should take the OCZ Arctic Silver out of my system specs, seeing as how it got ousted by toothpaste! LOL

Actually, I've conducted my own tests on thermal paste, and there is a bigger difference in brands than what this guy came up with. My CPU core temp dropped 8 degrees celsius switching to the OCZ from the thermal paste that came with the CPU.

So, does it really matter? Yep!

It certainly does. 8 degrees is a fairly significant difference. BUT (and you had to know that was coming)... a large part of that could boil down to application. Getting a smooth gap free layer vs one with air bubbles or blobs is going to make a huge difference as well... perhaps even bigger than what you noted.

Another thing to take into consideration is that AS pastes go through a cycle not unlike that of Zinc Oxide pastes... The work miracles at first, then a few days later the temperatures begin to rise as the paste's carrier dries out... but if you wait for it, a few days after that the temperatures will begin to come back down, eventually landing at about half of the initial difference. -8 degrees, rising to 0, settling to -4 is very common with paste type thermal compounds.

Phase change compounds like Thermstrate tend to work a little differently. At first they may seem to run hotter but over the course of a week or two the temperatures will come down, often lower than those initially seen with Arctic Silver... +5 settling slowly to -5 is quite common.

The real problem with tests and benchmarks like thos in the article (and most other tech sites) is that they do not test these compounds over time, reporting only the initial state of the compound. It can take up to 6 months to correctly assess a thermal compound. Then when technicians see the temperatures changing they panic and keep redoing it, only to find the same thing happening again without ever realizing it's perfectly normal. Or, they see the initial bad specs for phase change compounds and ignore them thinking they are not as good.

All good things come to those who wait, Grasshopper

 

[michaelst]

I've had a tube of AS5 sealed in a plastic bag, for over a year. I used a 'pea-sized' amount on my last build, and its been in that bag ever since.

How long will the AS5 be good to use?