artic silver setting period?

during this 200 hour set period am i able to use my laptop at all?

 

Of course. Just make sure to not keep it on 24/7. Every once and a while turn it off and let it cool to room temperature. Basically don't leave it on all night.

There are better pastes, by the way.

 

yup like ICD Diamond 7...

 

You mean like Shin-Etsu X23-7783D

 

You mean like MX-3 ?

 

To properly set up it HAS to be used. Like someone else mentioned it needs to be cycled between operating temp and ambient room temp at least once every 4 hours or so. Running more than 2 to 4 hours continuously increases the setup time beyond the 200 hours.

Add to that the need to remove the heatsink, clean it off, apply a new application of AS-5, and then going through the whole break-in period once a year AS-5 is a very poor choice for laptop use. Arctic Cooling MX-2 or MX-3 among others are much better choices for laptops due to their 3-5 year lifespan and no break-in period. AS-5 is HIGHLY over rated, although it does perform well. It just doesn't offer enough benefit to offset the weaknesses.

 

Well in all tests I've found the Shin-Etsu X23-7783D was always a bit better than MX-2/3. Didn't test it by myself though.

//Please don't take this talk too serious, I doubt there's really any difference in real World, I just like to discuss it

 

You forget to add that Arctic Colling MX-3 has a better thermal conductivity than AS5, it cost the same price, and doesn't require any curring time

I thought that the curring time for AS5 was 240 hours? I guess I was wrong

 

Would you mind referencing where AS5 must be re-applied once a year? Reading the AS5 documentation, there is nothing that indicates that AS5 must be re-applied yearly.

 

I've heard that is good but is it the best? So far does anyone know which is the best?

 

It isn't referenced there any longer. They used to have that information there as it was one of the selling points of Ceramique which has a longer install life. It's common knowledge that after 12 to 18 months it's effectiveness deteriorates dramatically as it dries out and Temps start rising. Go to any decent performance forum, especially OverClocking Forums and you see thread after thread about this. I can't point you directly to the information as I learned about it back in the early 2000's and haven't needed to look it up since. With AS5 you are mainly paying for the name.

 

AS5 was the best back in the day, but the company has basically rested on its laurels and allowed many other thermal pastes to surpass it in the intervening years.

 

Hard to say, everyone suits something else...some of them are easy to apply, some of them resist for longer time, some of them are cheaper than others and some of them need shorter curring time. Google a bit, there are various tests on the net.

I chose Shin-Etsu X23-7783D, because it seems to drop the temps more than IC7/AS5/MX-2/3, it resists for long time and doesn't need nearly any curring time. I also like the fact, that it's made by big old Japanese chemical company.

The bad thing is, that it's relatively expensive, hard to get and hard to apply.

 

I'm more than happy with Tuniq TX-2.. Great price and performance

 

I'm going to go against the tide and say that if you have AS5, it's going to be fine, and certainly an improvement over the manufacturer's pad. If you're buying thermal goop to apply, the go with IC7 or the shin-etsu, depending on what's available.

One warning I'd throw in if you haven't done this before is that you need to be very careful about the amount you apply to the proc/heatsink. TIM is meant to be a microscopic gap filler only. If you can't see the metal below, you've effectively added an insulation layer between the proc and the HS.