# Thermo Gel how much will it help the CPU temp?



## ii lucky charm i (Jul 26, 2009)

How much of a difference (temperature wise) would it make if I were to run my computer without any thermo gels in between the processor and the heatsink compare to running the processor with the gel in between the processor and the heat sink?

Would the gel decrease the temperature significantly?


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## Bodaggit23 (Jul 26, 2009)

Do not run your cpu without thermal paste.

Period.


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## ii lucky charm i (Jul 26, 2009)

I have been using this old thermo paste the processor company gave me when I purchased the processor from them for the past 1 year. It's dried now and my brother doesn't want to buy me a new thermo paste because he doesn't think that it makes such a big difference in the temperature of the CPU. Since copper has a relatively high conductivity he insisted on using the heatsink without any gels. Can any of you enlighten me on how much of a difference it would make to have the thermo gel? link me to any sites so I could tell my brother. Thank you!


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## Yeti (Jul 26, 2009)

http://www.computerforum.com/124251-thermal-grease-vital-not-2.html#post1012678


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## bomberboysk (Jul 26, 2009)

ii lucky charm i said:


> I have been using this old thermo paste the processor company gave me when I purchased the processor from them for the past 1 year. It's dried now and my brother doesn't want to buy me a new thermo paste because he doesn't think that it makes such a big difference in the temperature of the CPU. Since copper has a relatively high conductivity he insisted on using the heatsink without any gels. Can any of you enlighten me on how much of a difference it would make to have the thermo gel? link me to any sites so I could tell my brother. Thank you!


The heatsink and cpu can contact in as little as 1% in microscopic valleys and ridges. If you have a radioshack in your area, arctic silver ceramique can be had for $5-6 there, while better stuff like arctic silver 5 is around $9.


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## ScottALot (Jul 26, 2009)

There is silver in the paste too (kinda obvious), and that increases the thermal conductivity along with the paste matchups.


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## ii lucky charm i (Jul 26, 2009)

What would be a good quality thermo gel for an AMD X4 Phenom II 940?


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## gamerman4 (Jul 26, 2009)

ii lucky charm i said:


> What would be a good quality thermo gel for an AMD X4 Phenom II 940?



I always use Arctic Silver 5, you can get some at Radioshack (assuming you live in the States.)


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## ScottALot (Jul 26, 2009)

Arctic Silver 5 is cheap, effective, easy-to use, and has 99.9% silver in it...just to reassure you.


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## ii lucky charm i (Jul 27, 2009)

So far, I only see people who use intel processors, use the AS5. Could someone out there tell me about their experience with this product with an AMD processor? Specifically the AMD phenom family? Thanks guys


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## gamerman4 (Jul 27, 2009)

ii lucky charm i said:


> So far, I only see people who use intel processors, use the AS5. Could someone out there tell me about their experience with this product with an AMD processor? Specifically the AMD phenom family? Thanks guys



thermal paste is thermal paste. AS5 is silver, silver conducts better than copper. Putting silver between copper and nickel/copper (The CPU cores are covered by a metal peice that is made of copper and has a nickel coating) will aid heat transfer. CPU brand has nothing to do with it.


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## StrangleHold (Jul 27, 2009)

ii lucky charm i said:


> So far, I only see people who use intel processors, use the AS5. Could someone out there tell me about their experience with this product with an AMD processor? Specifically the AMD phenom family? Thanks guys


 
Doesnt really matter, Intel or AMD. I use TX-2 or TX-3


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## bomberboysk (Jul 27, 2009)

ii lucky charm i said:


> So far, I only see people who use intel processors, use the AS5. Could someone out there tell me about their experience with this product with an AMD processor? Specifically the AMD phenom family? Thanks guys


Both amd and intel cpu's work the same way for heat transfer:

[Heatsink Base]
[Thermal Interface Material(Thermal compound)]
[CPU Heatspreader]
[Solder]
[CPU Core]


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## D@RKSID3 (Jul 27, 2009)

Don't the processor's come with thermal paste? When i recently bought my AMD Phenom II 955, it already had some on it. At least i thought it did, was this not thermal paste?


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## gamerman4 (Jul 27, 2009)

D@RKSID3 said:


> Don't the processor's come with thermal paste? When i recently bought my AMD Phenom II 955, it already had some on it. At least i thought it did, was this not thermal paste?



A retail CPU that comes with a HSF will usually have a pre-applied thermal pad under the heatsink. It works fine but it isn't as good as the aftermarket stuff.


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## StrangleHold (Jul 27, 2009)

D@RKSID3 said:


> Don't the processor's come with thermal paste? When i recently bought my AMD Phenom II 955, it already had some on it. At least i thought it did, was this not thermal paste?


 
AMDs OEM paste is so so, not the best but works (ok) with a stock heatsink.


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## D@RKSID3 (Jul 27, 2009)

Is there a trick to taking the heat sink's off, so that i may apply some aftermarket stuff?


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## StrangleHold (Jul 27, 2009)

D@RKSID3 said:


> Is there a trick to taking the heat sink's off, so that i may apply some aftermarket stuff?


 

Just pop the lever over and the clamps on the side get loose and you can get then unhooked. There is a chance the CPU will want to be stuck to the bottom of the heatsink with a stock one. (Dont pull the CPU out with the heat sink)

 Its best to do it with the CPU/Compound warm. Just wiggle the heatsink a little when pulling it off. Clean the old stuff off both heatsink and CPU. Apply a small rice size amount to the center of the CPU. Smooth it out as even as possible on the shield and reapply the heatsink.


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## D@RKSID3 (Jul 27, 2009)

Cool, when i set up, i wondered, because i had planned to put in an aftermarket heatsink, but wasn't sure if i would be able to change once it was installed.


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## StrangleHold (Jul 27, 2009)

Yea sure you can put new compound on it. With a stock heatsink it wont be a amazing drop but you should get a few degrees drop with good compound.


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## ii lucky charm i (Jul 27, 2009)

Sorry for the curiosity, guys. It may have sounded stupid on my part to ask if there were any differences in gel-choice for the AMD vs. Intel processors. I have read online that AMD will void my warranty if I use any other heat gel other than the one they provided us.

http://www.xtremetek.com/info/index.php?id=14
"For permanent installation AMD only recommends using phase change material with the heatsink/fan. No thermal grease is recommended for anything other than temporary evaluation purposes. And the only thermal grease recommended for that is Shin Etsu G 749. Artic Silver is made up of a matrix with conductive particles. There is the possibility of creating electrical shorts on the package. Any failed processor used w/ Artic Silver or any other thermal grease other than Shin Estu G 749 would be subject to warranty voiding. The concerns with other thermal greases are due to thermal pumpout causing overheating with on off cycling of the PC over time. The above information assumes you are referring to use with Athlon. For Opteron Shin Etsu G 749 also is the only thermal grease recommended for permanent installation. Again the concern is due to pumpout with thermal cycling."

Anyhow, I don't care much about the warranty since I won't be overclocking my processor. One last question, between the TX-2 and the AS5. Which one is better, overall?


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## Bodaggit23 (Jul 27, 2009)

ii lucky charm i said:


> Which one is better, overall?



It doesn't really matter. They're all pretty much the same. One may get 
you a couple degrees less, but it doesn't really matter.

Just make sure you use something, and don't follow your brothers advice...


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## The_Other_One (Jul 27, 2009)

About a month ago I removed the fan assembly on my laptop, removed and cleaned the processor, the put it all back together.  The paste was much higher quality than what Dell originally used, but I can't say there's any noticeable difference.  Temps are still about the same, maybe a degree or two cooler.


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## konsole (Jul 28, 2009)

silver in the thermal compound has excellent heat conductivity so it transfers the heat between the face of the cpu to the heat sink really well.  There are other heat conductors that about as good but are either much more expensive or corrode too easily or loose there "goopiness" in extreme heat changes.  Theres a good chance you can run your setup without thermal paste but I wouldn't take the chance of there being a space between the heatsink and cpu or just a bad connection in general.  The "liquid-like" thermal compound also flattens out between the heatsink and cpu and fills in any roughness with the connection.


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