lobsterboy

I'm starting this thread with the hopes of building up some advice on cooling down my Intel 3.2GHz 540 LGA775 processor by removing the stock heat sink + fan and using some Arctic Silver 5. I'm still not 100% sure I want to try this myself, but I'm about 85% sure anyway.

The gripping tale that leads me to this conclusion is in the thread

Temperature for an Intel 540 processor??

where I come to the conclusion that with a case temp. of 20-24c on average idle & under a load, & my cpu temp at 36-40c on average idle, but rising to 67-68c under a load, there must be a problem with the heat sink.

So far I've had some great advice from mark3567
( http://www.techsupportforum.com/show...0&postcount=26 )
and Sarkast
( http://www.techsupportforum.com/show...4&postcount=28 )
and lots of other tips. Essentially I've learned that I should read all the instructions carefully. And preferably at least twice.

So here is my first round of questions:

1) kranky advised that before I even take out the HSF, I should look carefully at how the posts are aligned, especially from below the mobo. I'm guessing this means I should be taking the mobo out of the case? I've tried to have a look at the posts under the mobo already, and can't see them with the right panel off my case.

2) Sarkast let me know that I shouldn't run into problems with accidentally ripping out the cpu when taking off the heat sink, as the 775s are locked in differently than the 478s were. This is good news. mark3567 warns that should I decide to take the cpu out to clean it, I should be very careful. So, should I take the cpu out when I clean it? Is it better to take it out, or to leave it on the mobo?

3) mark3567 suggests cleaning the mobo & heat sink with alcohol, but how should I apply the alcohol? I noticed the Arctic Silver site stresses a LINT FREE cloth or a coffee filter -- really? A coffee filter? Will this work?

4) The Arctic Silver instructions say the step for applying AS1, 2 or 3 involves rubbing the AS on the heat sink & then rubbing it off (with the coffee filter again). But they don't seem to want you to do this with AS5 -- do you skip that step with AS5, and head straight for the top of the processor?

5) The Intel site talks about this "thermal pad" -- what is that? Is this just the bottom of the heat sink, or is this something that I should be removing (or leaving on) when I clean the heat sink?

Sorry, the post got a little long. Any advice/comments/dire warnings are appreciated.

Sarkast

Nice to see "your back" with a new thread. ;-)

Again if you dont mind i'll contribute a little with my experience - especially connected with points 3, 4, 5 of your list.

When i cleaned my HS in the past i always used alcohol. (91% isopropyl from walmart) In one instance i had a hard time cleaning the leftovers from a factory pad off the bottom of a stock heatsink. After the alcohol treatment it still looked like all the grooves in the heatsink were filled with grey stuff. So i followed some advice and used acetone (home depot). That cleaned stuff up a lot better but had to be followed by an extra cleaning with alcohol because the acetone leaves a little film behind. In general i would say though that cleaning with alcohol is enough.... no need to go to the extreme.

I use cotton swabs - to "apply" the alcohol. In my eyes the advantage is that with the stick you can "scrub" a little. Everythings gently of course...

I always wear gloves when i do this. I smear a tiny little bit of AS5 on the bottom of the heatsink covering the area that will touch the CPU... very very thin - just to rub it into the microscopic grooves in the metal. Then i do the "credit card" application on top of the CPU heatsink - again a thin layer but thicker than on the bottom of the heatsink.
Thats it.

Last but not least. The thermal pad is what you need to remove and get rid of. It has this grey stuff on both sides that i think is some kind of parafin wax (dont know the chemical composition - just read that somewhere) and you need to clean off all of this stuff.

mark3567

Hi,

I have dealt with this issue so will be making a few comments on this post. Since lobsterboy said he had many questions, I closed the lengthy thread that was originally started and requested he open one simply to deal with this issue. I did not know which questions would be asked.

First, I think maybe there was a mis-understaning about cleaning the motherboard and heatink. One does not clean the motherboard and Heatsink, but the CPU and heatsink is what is cleaned since that is where the thermal paste is.

Second, I would not recommend that you take the motherboard out to simply look at the pins, because if you look at the CPU and motherboard, it is so obvious which pin goes where. If you look at the pins and the receptor, it is very obvious.

Third, I always take the CPU out to clean it, so that is my opinion.

Fourth, although I personally use alcohol, I pasted the link from Artic Silver for the user to read and I have to recommend that Lobsterboy follow the directions of the Artic Silver paste company that was provided. If they say a lint free cloth (which I use with the alcohol) or coffee filter, then I suggest he do just that.

I will let others comment on the other items. Lobsterboy has been very easy to work with on this issue.

lobsterboy

(just quickly in my defense: that was a typo on my part regarding "cleaning the mobo with alcohol" -- I meant to say cpu. Don't worry, I wasn't planning on scrubbing down the whole mobo with alcohol & coffee filters...)

& thanks for the quick responses!

PDonahoe

PMFJI, but since I was a newbie like Lobsterboy in applying AS5 paste, may I share my experience with it? I followed Arctic Silver's directions exactly, using only a rice grain's worth of paste in the middle of the CPU, and then using a credit card to spread it out. I was unable to get a really smooooooth film of the paste no matter how hard I tried. It never looked like the pictures that I fund at various internet sites. However, I was careful not to put on too much, per directions. Anyway, I must have done something right, because I have no heating problems -- it idles at 38 degrees C, so I'm happy. I just wish there were some better photos/videos available someplace to show what it's supposed to look like. I was one very anxious newbie, I will tell you!

mark3567

Hi,

Hey lobsterboy, no need for a defense, just wanted to make sure that someone didn't think that I had said that. About the typo problems, I think Mark has made a few million of those in the past few months so no problem.

I was not criticizing (have enjoyed working with you on this), but wanting to answer some of the questions and make sure you didn't go out and buy coffee filters and start scrubbing. Ha Ha, gotcha on that one.

Seems like this is going along good. I use the credit card technique also, not only to help clean off the old stuff, but to put on the new stuff, so sarkast and I do about the same thing on that issue. I also agree about those junky thermal pads as I suggested in the previous thread that was closed.

Keep it going lobsterboy and sarkast and I shall make a computer tech out of you before this is done. Enjoy your evening.

I think you are on the way!

Sarkast

Good point PDonahoe. My CPU surface never really looks as smooth and evenly covered as the perfect world pics you find in their guide.
So if your coat of AS5 isnt perfectly even - dont let that cause you to panic.

lobsterboy

Thanks for all the tips...I'm off to the store to pick up the supplies now.

Just a couple more quick questions that I've been thinking about:

-If my first try doesn't work (i.e. the temps are still high) & I suspect that maybe I've put on too much or too little, should I try again? And if I do take the HSF off again, should I clean it off again and start fresh?

-Do I have to wait after reassembling for the AS5 to "dry" or anything? Or can I boot 'er up right away to see if it works?

Thanks again!

mark3567

Hi,

First of all, you will do fine and not have to do it two times. Second, any time you remove it, you must redo it if you want it to work correctly.

I put them on and fire them up. You do need to know that many say that it takes a week or so for the Artic Silver to work to the most advantage. Otherwise, you may not see the optimum benefit immediately. But, I would guess you will see some immediate improvement and later on a little more improvement.

Good luck, but I know you will do fine.

Sarkast

I look forward to hearing from you once your done.

What Mark told you is exactly what i experienced in the past. Usually the temperature drop i had after switching pad - AS5 was between 4-6 degrees. Over the course of the next 2-3 days temperatures dropped another 3-4 degrees. I think the AS5 page mentions this "cure time".

There are many "theories" out there how to cure your AS5. Some idle their PC for days - others let their PC idle for an hour - then run burn in tests for an hour - and so on...
I never did any of that - just put the AS5 on and back to using the PC as usual.

lobsterboy

We have success! Thanks to all your help, I'm now idling at 33-35c and running 51-52c under load.

A couple interesting observations on this: I think part of my problem before was that the heat sink wasn't properly seated on the cpu. Part of what makes me think this is that my case temp is up slightly now -- likely because the heat sink is throwing off more heat now that it's working. Also, my mobo is pretty bowed now (which is a similar situation to another thread on another forum I had been reading up on -- an ASUS s775 mobo with an overheating Prescott, which was resolved when the HSF was properly attached, but resulted in the mobo bowing) -- my mobo has bent so much that the I/O ports aren't perfectly straight in the back of the case anymore.

However, it's working well, nice & cool, and that's really what I was after all along.

mark3567

Hi,

So glad hearing from you. I knew all along you could do it and look at all the experience you got in the meantime. Those temps are super for that processor. Now, you have a job to do...that is, don't be a stranger on here and if you see something that you might help with (like your temp experience), jump right in and help. That is what makes our forum great. Enjoy your new computer and hope to see you in the future on here.

Mark

Sarkast

Mark said it all - cant add much to that. Glad it brought your temps down and like i said you can probably take a few more degrees off that over the next 2-3 days so you might end up just below 50 under load.

Pretty good results i'd say !