Cooling Mod: Indigo Xtreme vs. Shin Etsu X23?

I am about to do the Ultimate Cooling Mod, Cygoris recently has reported great success with Shin Etsu X 23 applied to both the GPU and RAM. 4-5 C cooler than AC5 and MX4 etc.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m17x/507962-m17x-r2-full-internal-cooling-mod-huge-improvement-61.html

While researching Shin Etsu, I came across Indigo Xtreme.

It appears that Indigo Extreme is a thermal pad?

YouTube - Indigo Xtreme Thermal Interface maxishine Video

Indigo Xtreme™ - How It Compares

Ashtefe, since you did the write up on the cooling mod, can you comment on these alternatives? I have the AS5 and MX-4 on hand but have decided to go with the best possible thermal interface as this mod appears to be a PITA.

 

Doing some more research, it appears that Indigo Xtreme is only for CPU's which see much lower temperatures and may melt if applied to GPU's.

Any comment on Shin Etsu X23? 4 degrees is a big difference compared to the the other thermal pastes.

 

Interesting. Thanks for posting this - first time I've heard of this brand and will have to look into it a bit more.

I've always went with Arctic Cooling's MX compound. Never tried Shin Etsu's offerings.

BTW, I've moved your thread here. Might have a larger response than if it was left in the M17x sub-forum.

 

ICD7 probably one of the best if not the best out there, not overpriced, and easy to apply.

I just bought a tube like 15 minutes ago to install my 2600K with.

 

Disclaimer: I'm not a professional and I'm not always right.

I tried the Indigo but it won't fit on the die nor the ram, it's too big.
It's not a pad, it's a pre formed compound with very precise instructions on to how to apply it, unfortunately it's only made for desktop CPUs.
It's very expensive and very hard to find.
Short answer: if you have a laptop DO NOT BUY IT.

The Shin Etsu is the best of the rest, and I tried many.
But it is blindingly difficult to apply, it's very important to pre heat the paste otherwise it will crumble... Yes it's that bad.
Now keep in mind that the paste does not stay warm forever, once it is warm you only have a short time to apply it properly.
My LED TV was the heater.

For the die the grain of paste won't do as the paste does not spread easily, the best way is the credit card.
For the RAM chips do not hesitate to place A LOT, you want volume.
For a full retention clip mod on a Xfire, 3g is enough.
And yes I got some problem with an Ebay sales man, he took my money and didn't ship the item, I made a paypal claim since.

 

3 g? Wow, I only ordered 1 G for both cards, damn thats a lot! Hmmmm, maybe I will just use MX-3 on the RAM and use the Shin Etsu on the GPU.

The credit card method? Is this like applying a dot or a line and then smearing it on the face of the GPU?

Im sorry for the confusion, I hope to figure it out as I go along.

 

Besides it being a good TIM, I think part of the reason why Shin Etsu works so well in some instances is precisely because it is thick. This makes it ideal as a TIM between surfaces that don't exactly match, or that don't get clamped down super tight.

 

Ive applied shin etsu X23D on the cpu and gpu dies and 0.5mm pads on the ddr5 chips.

The 1g syringe is sufficient for doing the CPU and both GPU's about 3 times. Theres more than enough. Make sure you heat it up though. I placed it in a cup with boiling water for about 10 minutes and it was much easier to work with. Don't use alot as it will increase your temps, just a thin layer will do. The heatsink method is fairly fool proof though.

Also I tried spreading, line and taped heatsink method. Best temps were achieved with the taped heatsink method. Heatsink Method

Once you've pasted leave the keyboard and touch/power strip connected but not installed so you have access to the CPU heatsink screws. Some minor adjustments will net you better temps as the heatsink is not perfectly flush with the CPU.

I repasted the CPU about 5 times and the temps were not drastically different from my previous AS5 application. I have managed to obtain about a 3 degree difference from AS5 through tweaking. Basically I'm trying to say is its all in the application of the paste. I'm not using any retention mods btw.

Good luck and have fun!

 

Disregard, Cygoris answered question in previous reply, with a little research today I found out that indigo xtreme may only work on Desktop CPU's.

 

Hey, thanks for that link. Looks like the guy who posted that guide reverse-engineered the results of how manufacturers have pre-applied TIM.

 

why really? it doesn't make any sense.
Actually I am using it since 2months ago on my notebook without problems.

 

Unless your notebook has a desktop processor like some of the clevo's it wont work without some serious modification. Mobile cpu's do not come with a heatspreader like desktop cpu's. Indigo needs that heatspreader to work and is designed around each chips heatspreader.

And if you think AS5 is "dangerous" cos its capacitive this is conductive, so youre really asking for trouble if you try this on a mobile chip. Desktop chip's contact surface is square, most mobile chips are rectangular. Indigo is designed for square. You stick it in there and it flows outside of the chips heatsink contact surface... best of luck, you're going to need it.

In short... DON'T DO IT.

 

Why would you need to tape your heatsink? Extra TIM on the heatsink won't hurt anything.

 

Too much of paste can act as an insulator. You wont damage your chip but you will have unnecessary higher temps. For optimal temps the least amount of paste spread evenly over the contact area is needed.

Remember TIM is only required to fill in the microscopic gaps between the cpu and the heatsink. The tape method allows you to achieve the least amount possible everytime together with consistant results.

 

Well, a tiny bit on the surface of a huge block of copper isn't going to make a difference. I understand if it's too thick, or if concerned that some might drip or fall off on to your mainboard, but just having it spread a little wide shouldn't make a difference.

 

Sorry I misunderstood you, I read extra as thick. Didnt realise you meant a wider area

Yeah it doesnt need to be exactly the same area as the cpu die contact on the heatsink, it could be in the shape of a star for that matter. It shouldnt make a difference at all.

The tape just acts as a guide when you press down and smooth the paste with a card to get it even and the same thickness as the tape.

 

Oh I gotcha. I see the tape is to ensure proper thickness. I misunderstood too! lol. Good idea.