Questions on SilverArctic thermal compound & cleaner

Hi all,

I am looking at getting better thermal compound between the CPU & the fan heat sink. I've heard Sliver Arctic is a good brand, but they carry two different thermal compounds - one being electrically conductive & the other not. [Ceramic compound] / [Silver Paste]

I understand the electrically conductive silver thermal compound is better in terms of thermal conductivity and thus performance. But I'm concerned with possible shorts since it's electrically conductive. Will it gradually leak out the edge of the CPU and cause shorts?

In my case, a tech is coming in to replace my system board. I'll have him use the silver arctic paste - but he does need to clean off the 'default'/built-in thermal pad attached to the fan itself first. Should I be concerned about the skills that the tech has in applying this compound, especially the electrically conductive one?

SilverArctic has a cleaner too [LINK], which supposedly cleans off any residue thermal compound. Will you recommend that as well?

Your advice will be very appreciated. Thanks!

 

Never tried the Ceramic AS, but avoid the conductive one, the excess can result in a damage. Also avoid using bleeding compounds in general as they create a lot of mess when used wrong.
From my own experience : MX-3 is the best. OCZ-Freeze works fine too. IC-7/24 etc work great but are harder to apply and can scratch the HS/Crystal if re-applied often.
I bet on MX-3 as it's non-bleeding, non-conductive and easily applied.


The purifiers and thermal material removers are fine (I'm using the AS ones).

 

Ive been using AS5 for years and havent had an issue with it. If you follow the application instructions there shouldnt be an issue. Obviously if you put a ridiculous amount something will go wrong.

I suggest getting Innovative Cooling Diamond 7 (ICD7) over AS5

Arcti Clean products are good for removing paste. Alcohol and pure acetone works too.

 

I've put AS5 on my desktop and on my brother's laptop. It doesn't run or anything, as long as there's no excess after you put down the heatsink, then there will be no excess to cause a short

 

How can one be sure there's no excess after putting down the heatsink though? There seems no way to check. Wouldn't it leave a paranoia about if there's actually any excess that's gonna cause a short one day?

I am very tempted to go for the higher performance option, but very worried about shorts....

 

You put down the heatsink, put the screws in...and look at it

If some spilled over, q-tip+high % isopropyl alcohol does the trick

 

Would you recommend relying on the Lenovo tech to do the job or I, an amateur, to do it? Flip side is most probably I'd care abt my machine more.

Does using your own thermal compound void warranty though?

 

Just go with the safe route, there is no point to damage you laptop for a couple degree cooler.

 

Yup. Safe route. What about just using the Innovative Cooling Diamond 7 (ICD7) that flipfire mentioned above? The manufacturer claims it's not electrically conductive while possessing even better thermal properties than silver. Is there a particular reason to use the diamond paste over the silver paste, as flipfire suggested?

 

Its not that hard to do it but just let the tech do it while you watch.

Its not standard procedure for the client to supply the thermal compound but theres no reason for it to void the warranty.

Diamond is a much better heat conductor than silver because of its density.

I think you are way too worried about the whole electrically conductive issue, its really nothing to worry about. Ive applied and re-applied paste hundreds of times by now and never had an issue like it.

 

flipfire: Um...maybe I'm a little overly concerned, but it's a good idea to still let the tech do it in case something comes up.

Is there any particular reason that you use both SilverArctic + the diamond together? I was thinking if the diamond paste is better, it alone would suffice, or not?

EDIT: oh. never mind. I think you meant to use the diamond paste rather than SilverArctic.

 

Yes the earlier discussion was about AS5 which i used for years but i now use ICD7, which is like the new AS5 these days..

 

As I mentioned earlier IC-7/24 are very impressive but only if you don't use them often, as they have a "fake" diamond sand that can scratch the surfases of your Heats Sink and maybe even the crystal. Plus, they are much harder to apply and remove.
AS5 is ok as a few guys mentioned, if you're precise in amount. When using MX-3 you can put 5X more than needed and still be fine both in temps and bleeding.

<<< If you intend to do a lot of benching and CPU upgrades, I'd recommend the OCZ-Freeze. Fast to apply, clean and fast removal. Win-win.
BTW, using the AS-5 now on my M17X-R2 and it's fine as well.

@FlipFire:
Since you used both AS-5 and IC-7 , what's the impression? is the later the clear winner?

 

To be honest, with ICD7 i only initially saw a 1-2c cooler idle and 4c~ less on max temps. I never accurately measured after my burn-in/stress test. So it might yield much better results after its cured and settled properly (even though IC says theres no curing time).

I also have MX-3 but i only use them on work machines.

 

4C at max is still ok. Some benchers on this forum report even more cooling with IC24, but that's even more difficult to apply and clean.
I find the AS-5 and MX-3 pretty much the same level. With AS5 I get lower min but slightly (2-3c) higher max.

 

My temperature range (measured with coretemp) is about 60-72 (low-high) right after boot. With normal usage (browsing, emails etc.) and let the fan run a while, it'll be ~54-64. Is it a range that worth upgrading the thermal compound? How much gain in temp/reduction in fan action I'll most probably get?

@flipfire Do you mean IC7 is 1-2 idle and 4 loaded lower than AS5/MX-3 or the default compound that comes with the thinkpad?

Thanks a lot!

 

You should be able to lower the temps to 60-65C at load and staying around 40-45C when idle.
All mentioned here compounds can help reduce the temps dramatically compared to the stock paste.
On average I'm able to reduce up to 10c-idle and up to 20C -max/load with AS5/MX-3.
So definitely worth the shot.

 

-10c idle and -20c loaded is very impressive. The replacement mother board is in back order now; but I'm almost tempted to buy the thermal paste and apply it on the current board anyway. Guess I should wait.

I have another question about the motherboard. I should start a new thread for that.