Arctic Silver TIM on GPU core

Zorander · Post by **Zorander** » Sat Jul 14, 2007 3:07 am

Now that Iâ€™ve got my Radeon 9800Pro out of the case (upgraded to a x1950Pro), Iâ€™m thinking of reapplying the thermal grease on the AC VGA Silencer Iâ€™ve installed on the card. Iâ€™ve got some Arctic Silver paste; is it alright to use that on the 9800Pro core?

Cheers!

Das_Saunamies · Post by **Das_Saunamies** » Sat Jul 14, 2007 3:34 am

It's a thermal interface like any other. I use my original Arctic Silver on every thermal interface in my PC, works just fine.

Edit: typo corrected.

Max Slowik · Post by **Max Slowik** » Sat Jul 14, 2007 1:24 pm

Keep in mind that if you're using liquid metal gallium or mercury thermal interface materials, like Coolaboratory Liquid Metal, that you can't use it near aluminum and some solders, because it will cause the metals to oxidize and powder.

Arctic Silver is, as its name indicates, made with powdered silver. Don't fret it.

Zorander · Post by **Zorander** » Sat Jul 14, 2007 3:08 pm

Cool, thanks. Any suggestion on how much to use?

Das_Saunamies · Post by **Das_Saunamies** » Sat Jul 14, 2007 3:21 pm

As the contact surfaces should already be as smooth as possible, all the TIM needs to do is fill the microscopic gaps. An even layer is the most important thing, second comes the layer being just thick enough to cover the grooves, but no more. Third is the care taken to avoid spills over the chip's edges.

So, apply evenly with a sharp-edged tool(voided credit card, knife), spread only as much as you have to to cover the laser-etched markings, and don't go over the edges. That's about it: even contact is priority #1, and you don't need a lot of it. My tube has lasted me four PCs, and is still running strong.

I usually start mine with a line across the chip, then spreading towards opposing corners, filling in the spots that don't have enough afterwards, then smoothing the whole thing out. It'll come to you as you do it, as long as you keep your brain thinking.

cmthomson · Post by **cmthomson** » Sat Jul 14, 2007 8:26 pm

No no no.

AS5 spreads under pressure, and GPU chips are very flat. Put the smallest possible dab on the center of the chip, then apply the heat sink, The TIM will spread uniformly across the chip.

The only time you should ever spread a layer of AS5 is when you're using it with on a ceramic chip package such as a south bridge.

Das_Saunamies · Post by **Das_Saunamies** » Sun Jul 15, 2007 1:48 am

Who said anything about 5? I said original.

If it's 5 you have, go by the book for that. My method works fine with what I've got.