Why is AS5 on the northbridge bad?

madman2003 · Post by **madman2003** » Tue Jun 14, 2005 2:36 am

I remember (don't know who anymore) someone saying that as5 on the northbridge is bad, i can't find anything to back that up. Anyone know why?

ckolivas · Post by **ckolivas** » Tue Jun 14, 2005 2:44 am

Gee it worked fine for me, I must have missed that post.

madman2003 · Post by **madman2003** » Tue Jun 14, 2005 2:55 am

It was only one person, so he/she might have been wrong. That's why i'm asking

ckolivas · Post by **ckolivas** » Tue Jun 14, 2005 2:56 am

Probably concerned that you can short the pins out if you get it on the side. I think AS5 is conductive.

m0002a · Post by **m0002a** » Tue Jun 14, 2005 5:20 am

madman2003 wrote:I remember (don't know who anymore) someone saying that as5 on the northbridge is bad, i can't find anything to back that up. Anyone know why?

I think that I said that once. The person who I responded to was having some overheating problems with their chipset cooler installed with AS5, so I suggested they try another, more forgiving paste. I don't know for sure if AS5 was the cause of the problem. I was just guessing that it could have been a contributing factor.

I didn't exactly say AS5 was bad, but it is a bit less forgiving of an incorrect installation technique than most thermal pastes, primarily because it is so dense and does not spread as easily as other pastes. This is often exacerbated by the fact that many people use too much AS5. Some CPU manufacturers will not provide a warranty to people who use AS5, because it is so often applied incorrectly.

The fact that AS5 is so dense and typically chipset coolers are installed with fairly weak springs which exert much less pressure than CPU HS clips, makes AS5 even more prone to problems if too much or uneven application of paste is used.

One thing I noticed about all the SPCR reviews on this site is that they use AS Ceramique because they say it is easier to use and less prone to problems with improper installation. That applies to CPU’s, GPU’s, and chipsets.

lucienrau · Post by **lucienrau** » Tue Jun 14, 2005 7:13 am

Don't forget that Ceramique is non-conductive. So it really just comes down to an ease of use issue. I'll sacrifice the degree or two I'd get with AS5 for not having to worry about shorting something out and easy application. YMMV

madman2003 · Post by **madman2003** » Tue Jun 14, 2005 8:06 am

I was under the impression that i couldn't get ceramique from the shops i was buying from, i was wrong. I have e-mailed them to add two (small) tubes of ceramique to my order. (one for later, because i can't buy ceramique locally)

tempeteduson · Post by **tempeteduson** » Tue Jun 14, 2005 8:43 am

BTW (sorry if this is off topic) does anyone know how long AS5 and Ceramique can be stored on the shelf (without hurting their effectiveness)?

Slidax · Post by **Slidax** » Thu Jun 16, 2005 5:27 am

tempeteduson wrote:BTW (sorry if this is off topic) does anyone know how long AS5 and Ceramique can be stored on the shelf (without hurting their effectiveness)?

should be ok, my AS-5 has been in storage for about a year and it stll seems ok. I dont know about the ceramique as those zalman products always provide me with a shiny new tube.

I used ceramique on my A8N-sli northbridge, figured those things have an exposed core and some components around it so not worth the risk for a negligible temp difference.

madman2003 · Post by **madman2003** » Thu Jun 16, 2005 5:57 am

Does zalman make ceramique? (i thought only arctic made that)

Slidax · Post by **Slidax** » Thu Jun 16, 2005 3:19 pm

my bad, i dont mean ceramique, just that normal thermal compound that comes with zalman products.

wicked · Post by **wicked** » Sat Jun 18, 2005 12:16 pm

m0002a wrote:
madman2003 wrote:I remember (don't know who anymore) someone saying that as5 on the northbridge is bad, i can't find anything to back that up. Anyone know why?
I think that I said that once. The person who I responded to was having some overheating problems with their chipset cooler installed with AS5, so I suggested they try another, more forgiving paste. I don't know for sure if AS5 was the cause of the problem. I was just guessing that it could have been a contributing factor.

I didn't exactly say AS5 was bad, but it is a bit less forgiving of an incorrect installation technique than most thermal pastes, primarily because it is so dense and does not spread as easily as other pastes. This is often exacerbated by the fact that many people use too much AS5. Some CPU manufacturers will not provide a warranty to people who use AS5, because it is so often applied incorrectly.

The fact that AS5 is so dense and typically chipset coolers are installed with fairly weak springs which exert much less pressure than CPU HS clips, makes AS5 even more prone to problems if too much or uneven application of paste is used.

One thing I noticed about all the SPCR reviews on this site is that they use AS Ceramique because they say it is easier to use and less prone to problems with improper installation. That applies to CPU’s, GPU’s, and chipsets.

Well you are straight up making things up on most of those points (go look at Arctic Silver's site for the amount of surface area AS5 covers vs Ceramique), but I do agree with your end point. I have lost a good number of motherboards, shortly (<- shortly! :lol ) after applying AS5 to the northbridge. Maybe the traces are closer to the surface and it seeps in? (well that sounds like a load of crap, too, but I can't explain it!) On the other hand, I have applied AS5/AS3, many, many times to multiple GPUs, ramsinks and CPUs and never had any problems.

It could just be possible that to remove the northbridge, it's hard to do it without touching a lot of pins and traces on the motherboard. ESD does not necessarily kill electronics immediately. It can cause enough damage that voltage will erode the rest, so it could take a few days to kill something.

m0002a · Post by **m0002a** » Sat Jun 18, 2005 12:36 pm

wicked wrote:Well you are straight up making things up on most of those points (go look at Arctic Silver's site for the amount of surface area AS5 covers vs Ceramique), but I do agree with your end point.

I didn’t say anything about the amount of surface area that AS5 covers vs. Ceramique. I said that Ceramique seems to flow better and be less sensitive to improper installation (using too much thermal paste is a common mistake). Given that the Northbridge heatsinks (small spiral springs) are attached with much less force than most CPU HS's (heavy duty clips), proper installation of thermal paste on Northbridge chips is probably more critical than CPUs. For those who install AS5 correctly, there should be no problem.

Regarding the amount of surface area that each covers, I checked the AS website and I do not understand your point. Maybe you can elaborate.