Are there real benefits to getting IC Diamond for your thermal compound?

Anywhere that shows it helps speed or temperature?

 

Supposedly it'll provide you with 1-2C lower temp compared to Arctic Silver 5. I doubt it'll provide performance gains unless you're overclocking and you squeeze out a couple more MHz using it. I've never used it though, gonna stick with my 5 year old tube of AS5 when my 8150 arrives.

 

at start when i bought laptop i have AS5.when i repaste with ICD7 my temps dropped 8-10 degrees!!!also if u elevate the back of ur laptop expect 3-4 degrees down!!!

 

the option was only $25 from my reseller at the time (GentechPC), so I went with it.

My AMD 6970m idles at about 43 degrees C and hits about 80 degrees C on full load

 

Compared to stock paste, IC Diamond tends to lower temps somewhere between 4-8C, depending on your ambient temps. It slightly edges out other premium thermal pastes.

You can always add it yourself as well

 

i've never seen my CPU go higher than 68*c under hours of load, so i have no complaints here.

 

Are there benefits - yes. Will having lower temperatures make much difference to you - depends on whether you are overclocking, or pushing the system to the limit. I wouldn't expect it to really impact the longevity of the processor at all. It might make you 'feel' better to know everything is nice and cool.

The question is, are the benefits enough to warrant the cost given your use of the machine? If you're paying $5 for a tube on Amazon and doing it yourself - probably. If you're paying $25 or $40 for a vendor...that depends on you.

 

Hubris's last statement is important. They seem to charge an excessive amount for the inclusion of IC7.

I paid maybe $10 on amazon with shipping, and I have a TON left over. If you are too nervous to install it yourself, I still actually think the $25-40 bux is a worthwhile investment. The temp drops are meaningful.

 

Yea its even cheaper in quantity, thats why we just do it for free with all the builds, its like .50 worth of ICD I mean really, it takes more labor to scrape off the old junk and clean everything with alcohol then it does to put the ICD on.

 

Agreed the cost is why I didn't have reseller apply the TIM, however I do not think the cost is unjustified because someone has got to perform the labor. If it were $15 instead of $40, I would have had it applied during build. I also plan to use the stock compound for a year, and after that reapply some Shin-Etsu X23-7783D that I have 4 tubes of just laying around here.

Does anybody know what stock TIM Malibal uses?

 

$40 for ICD7 from reseller or $40 for a tube of ICD24 and apply yourself. You make the call.

 

Arctic Cooling MX-4 also works as well and costs like 8 shipped..

Dunno, getting it from a reseller doesn't really seem like a good deal, because as far as I know, it isn't XoticPC or MALIBAL or LPC-digital's kind representatives applying it with love and care,

it is the factory which applies the paste, as all machines ship from factories in california..

*I may be wrong, if so, resellers can clarify for me..*

 

So I got a quarter tube of 5-6 yr old tube of Arctic Silver 5 lying around. Is it still safe to use? I check its consistency and didn't find any separation of the liquids.

 

If it hasn't separated and the consistency is still correct, then it should be good to use

 

I got a tube of IC7 from frozenpc for like $6.

here's a couple round up comparisons:

Thermal Compound Roundup - September 2011 | Hardware Secrets

80-way Thermal Interface Material Performance Test | Thermal Interface Material,Thermal Paste,Heatsink Compound,80-Way Thermal Interface Material Best Thermal Paste Heatsink Compound Cooling Performance Comparison Benchmark Tests

 

I didn't get it on my 8150 w/ 6990M and I haven't missed it yet.

 

Yes of course it is less expensive to do it yourself. Many are selling a tube of ICD for less than $10.00 shipped.

What you are paying for is the labor involved. These GPU heat sinks from Clevo already have the stock paste on the sink. One has to remove this stock paste thoroughly then apply the ICD.

If one feels comfortable in doing this yourself then yes, go for it!
_

 

Back @ OP / One of the benefits of applying better TIM, or have reseller apply better TIM would be reduction in temps on the GPU, resulting in a better chance of reducing fan spin/noise.

 

I recently applied AS5 to my 485M and i couldn't be happier, no temps above 80 deg even at full load, Deus Ex HR now runs at 68-72 deg, with the stock paste it was 14-18 deg higher. Although i think this was mainly to do with the extremely unitidy job that PCSPECIALIST - Custom PCs, Custom Computers, Custom PC, Desktop PC, Custom Built Computers, Gaming PC did, when i took the heatsink/pipe off the paste was very thick and way over the edge of the GPU die. Also repasted the CPU and found the same mess inside.

 

^^^Yes AS5 is very good! Nice temps!
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How difficult is it to do it yourself, or are there online instructions on how to do it?

 

Application

 

Judging by the responses if I am not intending on overclocking my Sager there is not as much of an impetus to get this?

 

Correct, most of the time I suggest it to those who plan on running games or processor-intensive programs for extended hours at a time. I'll just help to keep that max temp under control a little better

 

If you don't overclock and you have relatively low ambient temps, then it probably doesn't matter. It's particularly useful in keeping down temps for the above two conditions, and it may extend the lifetime of the parts, though it's hard to say how much of a difference it may make there.

 

If you are not a hard core gamer or bencher, the standard thermal compound will do the job.

 

Just out of curiosity how do you clean IC diamond off, I have never worked with it in the past. I have worked with artic silver and use arcticlean to clean off cpus, will articlean work with IC diamond.

 

We have used even the below for cleaning this. Works well...


BDAlcohol Swabs | Walgreens

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Arctic Clean will work fine, but so will 95% rubbing alcohol and a microfiber cloth

It really doesn't require anything too specialized.

 

I've used citrus oil to loosen up all the dried grease then follow up with alcohol.

 

I like an extra virgin olive oil with a bit of balsamic....for a salad to prepare for working on the computer.

Then I use regular 95% alcohol on the processor.

(Then 40% alcohol (ethyl) for me once it's all done)

 

I tested some ICD7 on an old circuit board CPU DIE and after removal, I observed tiny scratches all over the DIE. Those same scratches did not occur from removing other pastes such as MX3.

 

I noticed that too when I used ICD7 last time,

I now use AC MX-4, which is as good as ICD is.

 

I think there aren't any cons when getting the IC Diamond? But the good thing is, lower temps make the fan's to be less noisy. There are some more reasons for me (gaming) for getting the IC Diamond.. but having a chance that the fan's will work less is already worth the 40$ in my opinion

 

This is something almost everybody seems to ignore, but is the most important in my opinion. You can run harder and hotter for longer before the fans ramp up, and wait less time before they ramp back down. No-brainer.

 

How often should you expect to repaste?

 

Stock applications tend to start wearing out at about 6-9 months. After a year or so you will see a noticeable difference in performance due to the higher temps. Good thermal compounds such as the IC Diamond can generally go up to about 2 years before needing a repaste, although some do it sooner to be safe.

 

Realistically, probably never. (at least during the span of time you'll probably own and use it).The only real way to know is by monitoring your temps. If you notice that your temps are running higher than when you applied the paste, you may need to re-do it.

If you remove the heatsink for any reason, you will need to repaste then or temps may go up due to getting air in between the heatsink and core.

 

I use 91% rubbing alcohol which you can get a a pharmacy for $3 or less and some coffee filters (or anything lint free).

I'd recommend watching some how-to videos in youtube, it helps a lot seeing how easy it is to apply.

 

^^^^Yes properly applied, ICD should last the life of the machine or at least the time period of a normal ownership.
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Yes, I would say if you can afford it, then it would be a nice way to keep the laptop cool. After a re-application it's helped me keep my old laptop from overheating when its overclocked.

 

but why ic diamond? it's not the best.
imho Coollaboratory Liquid Ultra ftw.

 

whats the proper method to repaste cpu with icd 7??for the gpu is the pea method for the cpu???thx.

 

Yep, pea method is recommended:

Application

 

i ask cuz cpu die is smaller and more long from gpu die..maybe this method is better???

Innovation Cooling – Diamond 24 Review | Tech|Inferno

 

If I'm understanding this all correctly, dissassemble laptop. remove heatsinks, remove stock compound using alcohol, apply a pea sized bead (5ish mm), then put heatsinks and other such back on using heatsink compression to spread the bead.

 

You understand correctly. As long as it was clean when you put the bead on, it will squish out to an appropriate thickness and should cover the entire die.

 

That is correct. Also be sure you remove the heatsink screws in the correct order (in reverse numerical to take them off, in regular numerical putting them back on). If you repaste the GPU, you don't need to take out all the screws- just the four holding down the heatsink on the GPU die itself. The rest of the screws hold down the heatsink on the video memory, but those use thermal pads instead of grease.

 

Yes this is VERY important...to thoroughly clean all the old paste off. Taking an extra minute is worth it.
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I've done the process countless times building desktops in the past, never on a notebook though. I can't imagine it being too much more difficult as long as it's easy to access.