Wolf K wrote:
On 2019-01-27 11:57, wrote:
[...]
Turns out the thermal paste had given up and needed replacing... So I
did that.. Then I broke the pin holding the sink to the motherboard so
That's getting fixed
I use SETI to run the CPU hot.. seems to work well at that

More as I know more

Thanks for the feedback heads up. :-)

Thermal paste giving up? Never thought that could happen, will have to
open this box and do a thorough inspection and clean. Haven't opened it
in 5 years, and CPU temp is in the 50 to 60C range, on the high side of
acceptable.

Best,


Generally, you take note of the temperature performance about
three days after installation ("bedding in time"), then
check over the years. If the temps under the same conditions
have risen by 10C, you might re-apply the paste.

Thermal pastes with particulate in them, tend to "settle" a
bit after installation. Whether they have silver particles
or boron nitride ("ceramic").

The only time you'll be in real trouble, is when the
clamp on your cooler, snaps off the tab holding it down,
and the cooler is "just hanging there". Throttling and
THERMTRIP on modern systems, protect in that case. It's
on systems that have no thermal monitoring whatsoever, that
CPUs get fried (Athlon before AthlonXP).

On the Intel systems with the push pins, sometimes one of
those will come loose. Especially after the push pin has
been "cycled" a number of times and it no longer fits right.
The push pins involve a 90 degree rotation, between
locked and unlocked. Plus they use a "spreading" notion,
that makes the plastic bit behind the motherboard, too
thick to fit through the mobo hole. Intel has some
install videos, if you want to see how to operate
their fasteners properly. The Intel cooler is perfectly
good... on their lower TDP products (65W CPU that only
draws 36 watts max).

*******

One way for thermal pastes to fail, is by migration.
Zinc Oxide in silicone oil is fairly motile. Some
other preparations are specifically constructed to prevent
that. The Intel "screened" material which is "hard" and
"melts" when heated, then cools and solidifies afterwards,
that stuff usually stays put. If you need to change that
out (the stuff is "too rough" for the CPU to seat again),
then the material has to be scrupulously removed, with
some chance of damage to the metal underneath. I mention
that, just so you have some idea of what you're headed for :-(
I've cleaned one of those off before, and it wasn't all
that much fun.

Some new pastes have a "crumble" consistency and don't
"spread" like butter on a cracker. If I read a description
that a product is "too thick to spread" and "crumbles", I
just don't buy it. I'd sooner have a toothpaste-like
consistency and have to change it every five years, than
have a miserable-to-work-with material.

If you want "novelty materials" there is gallium liquid metal.

https://www.gamersnexus.net/guides/3...corrosion-test

Paul