Is Arctic Silver Worthwhile?

I keep seeing arctic silver thermal paste and other high quality thermal pastes for sale with laptops, usually for about $50 or $20 extra (Powernotebooks.com or agearnotebooks.com). Arctic silver goes for about $5 a tube on newegg.com. Two questions: is it worth the extra money? Can I just use it myself on my notebook and how should I manage it?

Thanks,

Dan

:decision:

 

Arctic Silver is worth the money you pay for it. However, its effect is less on lower powered CPUs.

So it depends on you particular notebook, as to if you would benefit from it.

 

Yes, it is definately worth it. I have an 2.13GHz Pentium M that runs about 3 degrees C cooler, which is decent. However my ATI X300 runs about 8 degrees C cooler after AS5 was applied. And yes you can do it yourself. It is really easy to do actually. But as RogueMonk said, it does depend on what you computers specs are. I actually wrote a guide about applying AS5 to my Dell i6000, it has more detailed performance results. Here is the link. Hope that helps.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=55084&highlight=arctic+silver+5+guide

 

Interesting thread, and very useful guide, lmark84l! $50 for AS5 when I can do it myself for $6 is insane. Will it void my warranty, though?

C.

 

Many companies do charge crazy prices for AS5. If you get the vendor to put it on for you, its covered under there warranty. But if you do it yourself, I believe the warranty is then voided.

 

Thanks! You know, I am not sure if it would void your warranty. I think it would if whoever was repairing it knew that you did it, but it is only obvious if you remove the heatsinks. If you are at all concerned about voiding you warranty, I would not reccomend doing it, or wait until it expires!

 

Worth the money? Sure. Especially because one tube contains enough for quite a few cpu's.
Just keep it around for the next time you have to fix/assemble/whatever a computer.

 

bah, it's certainly worth the money. I had to buy some last night for the E1705 that I ordered because I couldn't find my old tube.

 

I paid $7 shipped for a tube and I have used it on may installs, and there is plenty left. Worth ever penny as it does dramtically(for a thermal paste) reduce cpu and chipset temps. when I upgrade my cpu I will be using it, and I may do it for the gpu as well. But you have to install the paste correctly or it will actually hurt your temps. But you cant beat a correct as5 job

 

I've seen a rather signifigant 3*-5* C drop in temperature with my Pentium M 1.86GHz - normally, it runs near 50*C idle, however with the AS5, it is ~45*. The temperature under load used to be around 63*; after applying AS5, 59*.
So, as stated, worth the money - just buy the small tube - and follow the directions on their website exactly.

 

Make sure you know how to disassemble and reassemble your notebook, though.

 

Well I believe that AS needs a lot of time to cure - presumably, that is what you are paying for (50$ vs 6$ DIY). I used to use thermal compound in my desktop overclocking days, but since I never read instructions...

 

When my notebook gets here I'll have to do some benchmarking heat wise and post my before and after. I realize the real after would have to be done some many hours of use later, but the numbers could be helpful none the less.

Also, yes it takes a while to cure, but based on some of the 'thermal pads' some makers use, you'll see lower temps right off the bat.

 

yes it requires approx. 200 hours of good use to cure, and thats not just idling. When I oc a pc I usually apply as5 and run cpu burn in for a day or so. The pc will tell me the stability as it will either be fine when I shut down or it will shut itself off. But yeah Id be carefull as my old prescott needed only a 1/2 rice size application, while my turion needed 1/3 of a BB ammount. I did apply too much on my prescott once and it was about 10 degrees warmer with the newer better hs/f then with the stock aluminum and thermal pad(yuck I hate these things).

FOr a lappy it may be slightly less as they heat up alot more then a well setup desktop. But expect a slight decrease when the grease is fully cured.

 

Wait, so with AS5, you have to apply it yourself and stuff. So, my 9750 came with it, but will it "run out" in a certain amount of time where I have to go buy another tube or whatever and reapply it? I thought it was just a constant cooler that I wouldn't have to worry about reapplying any actual paste or anything.

How long does it last?

 

It doen't go away or anything. It is a thermal grease, just like any grease you would find in a car. It just needs a long time to set to obtain optimal performance. You will see temperature drops when you first apply it, but they should get better as time progresses.

 

It does have a life span, longer then most people keep their pc's. I believe it lasts like 5 years or so. But that is all dependent on how hot your cpu runs and the use it gets. But even if you use the pc that long you can always just re-apply.

 

What's the rationale for charging $50 for an application of AS5? The AS5, as already mentioned, is no more than $5-7 for an entire tube of the stuff (Multiple applications). Maybe it's for the labor??????

As far as I am concerned, it's a total rip-off and unless I hear from one of the vendors involved, I will boycott these vendors on this issue alone.

C'mon guys -- tell me it's the cost of the labor. I want to believe!

 

Yeah, it's the labor costs. As Donald from powernotebooks said: "Our technicians don't work for free"

 

It is the cost of labor. We include arctic silver on all of our systems it does help keep systems cooler for sure-well worth having done or doing.

 

the extra 45 dollars is the price you pay for being too afraid of laptop guts to apply it yourself. Essentially, 45 dollars to protect $1500 from ESD and clumsiness.

 

$50 doesn't sound like a particularly unfair price, at least assuming it also includes the cost of "having it done *properly*"
The latter part can be a bit messy, and there's a huge difference between properly applied thermal paste with a properly fitted heatsink, and then your average quick & dirty job a lot of manufacturers get away with.

 

yeah Like I said there was a 10c difference when I put too much on in a hurry for a lan party. I came back and did it right (directions per cpu can be had at thier website) and was much impressed.

Manufactures use thermal pads which are really hossible. Basically a one size fits all approach to ever pc no matter what brand and cpu it has. It is a think hunk of junk they stick on there in a hurry for production. Thats why using as5 in a notebook makes a difference.

 

My previous experience is almost exclusively w/ desktops that I build, so applying Arctic Silver is just one of the steps one normally does during the installation.

W/ lappies, if one had to remove all the case screws to get to the processor, I can see the additional labor cost. However, if the CPU needs to be installed already, a lttle dab'll do ya -- that shouldn't cost $50.

Just my $.02 .....

D

 

I've a T42p (NEW) that freezes when I play intensive 3D games. IBM told me that my model came with the short fan and it needs to be replaced by the long M10 fan with GPU heatsink cooling.

This will be done on about 4 days from now.
Now, I've my doubts:

1. If I apply AS5, do I need to get
the the Arctic Silver Thermal material Remover & Surface Purifier Kit ???

I use to apply Isopropilic Alcohol instead of the AS Thermal material purifier, but I don't know if it works that fine, any ideas?

2. How much of AS5 should I apply to the core?? Also, Should i apply to the core of the CPU and the GPU, or also in the heatsinks??

3. Where can I found a software that lets me monitor the temperatures of the motherboard, hard drive and specially the CPU and the GPU??

I wait your responses.