m15x thermal paste (temp) problem

Hi, I know this may sound like a nub question but I cannot seem to properly apply AS5 onto my m15x gpu. I have tried all the methods, applying a pea size blob to the center and then tighten the heatsink on top of it, spreading the paste with my finger wrapped in plastics / plastic gloves. I even used a business card/credit card approach. The only technique that appears to work is applying a blog onto the center and hoping that it properly transfers the heat away from my GPU.

Everytime I do the two spread techniques, it doesnt work. The gpu would rise in temperature all the way up to 108C !!!! At that point I quickly hit the stealth mode and it drops right away. Upon inspecting the heatsink and chip I notice that all of the thermal paste stay on the chip and near zero is transferd to the heatsink. This is for both a apply with finger and the business card method. For both methods I would use a really small amount.

When I use the blob method I apply a grain of rice size amount of paste. But the results are not waht I would expect. The gpu maxes out at 96C when benchmarked with Dawn of war 2 on high settings.

I have also tried the 5 dot method where i apply a really small amount to all 4 corners and then one dot in the center. This maxes the gpu out at 92c, I want to achieve 88c max. Hopefully less =( but it is looking bleak.

I dont know waht I am doing wrong. I know that if i apply a thin amount with the spread technique I would achieve better results, but it appears that the heatsink never bonds with the chip!!! I tightened the screws all the way also!! Please help, you guys are my only hope =P

 

First of all AS5 has a cure time to it, so if you're benching it right away you won't see decreased temps for a few days. You could try OCZ Freeze instead, it has no cure time, but from everything you've said you've applied it right except that when you put the grain of rice sized portion on it, you should spread it with a piece of hard plastic and then gently scoop off the top until its a very thin layer.

Again AS5 has a cure time. OCZ Freeze does not. Same application, but OCZ Freeze is a bit more forgiving on the quantity you use, so it might be worth a shot.

TBH 92DegC max temp after a harsh benchmark is not unrealistic and still well within specifications.

 

As Marvie said, AS5 has a cure time. Specifically, a cure time of 200 hours. You won't be seeing the best temperatures until after that.

 

hmmm okay, but I stil have this strange problem where whenever I apply as5 and spread it, it does not bind with the heatsink. The gpu would idle at near 90-108c with the fan at full blast. Upon inspecting the heatsink and gpu chipset surface, I notice that all the as5 spread did not transfer over to the heatsink. Meaning the heatsink was completely clean of AS5, thus causing no thermal transfer and the heating issues.

I was wondering if anyone else had the same problem? I came to the conclusion that maybe my heatsink was off by a few mm and was the main cause of the heat issues that I have been having with my 8800m gpu? If this is the case it explains why whenver I use the grain size in the middle technique it would work. Because it can bond with the heatsink, but its not tight enough to properly spread it out enough leaving a big enough gap in the middle that allows for improper heat transfer. Thus causing us m15x owners high temperatures for our 8800m gpu ?

Has anyone tried the AS5 spreading with finger technique and had it worked on your m15x 8800mgtx?

 

maybe I will call up alienware tech support to order up a new heatsink =\ I am out of warranty =\

 

if you spread it and its not making contact then the heatsink is not sitting flush against the die. the proper way to apply as5 to a exposed die is to spread it. and do not use to much as5. as5 can be very thick and to much will make your temps worse instead of actually better. also on a gpu die where there is stuff around the actual die be very careful applying to much as5. while its not technically "electrically conductive" it is a bit capacitive and i have actually seen it bridge electrical connections before that people got to much on or dropped some on the mobo and wondered why it would not start. so in other words if its oozing over the sides of the die itself you are using to much.

when you spread as5 it should be about the thickness of 1-2 sheets of paper and no more.. even though some say it works the pea size thing number one is WAY to much as5 for the die the size of the gpu. if anything it should be about half the size of a grain of rice. if you are applying a pea sized dot its to much. also when spread due to its "thick" nature as5 needs to be smooth and not have any holes and high and low spots it needs to be as flat as possible.

i personally no longer use as5 on anything. imo its not the king anymore and while it is good is again imo overhyped. if you want a good easy to work with paste the best is mx-2 or mx-3 and then ocz freeze. i use both and both are very nice and very much easier than as5 to work with..

 

seconded on the mx 2 and ocz freeze


also a new heat sink won't work ...what bios are you running?

 

Hi, Moo

Thanks for replying, I am running x36. When I spread the AS5 onto the CPU heatsink, I get pretty awesome temperatures of 28-30c idle and 54-46c max temp under load. The x32 would get my CPU to near +60C which is still good but not as good as x36 bios.

I thought a new heatsink would work because I think I am pretty certain my GPU heatsink is not flush =( Pea size drops work cause it is being mushed a little, while the spread is too thin to make a good contact =(

 

How long have you had the machine ?

You could try a copper mod .. If you think it's uneven or sand the heatsink surface

 

so thermal paste effects temps??? hmm i wonder if thats the reason my gpu overheats.

 

Erm, yea, you get crap thermal paste (i.e. the crap Alienware uses) and then you get good thermal paste (e.g. AS5, ICD7, OCZ Freeze...)

Good thermal paste actually makes quite a big difference to temps.

 

Actually his laptop is prone to overheating

 

I know it is but it wouldn't overheat as much/burn out as quickly if he had good thermal paste on it.

 

GENTLY bend down the heatpipes where the gpu die is so they make better contact if thats the case. do it SLOW and gently otherwise you may kink them. just nudge the pipe a bit and then check again they can bend pretty far you would be surprised