PCFormat Forum Archive

Hi guys

I bought me some Arctic silver 5 thermal paste (on its way) and since there will be quite a bit left after I apply some to my CPU it got me thinking.

Can I use the Artic silver 5 paste on other component on my pc like the north bridge, south bridge and GPU? I seems like a stupid question to ask but from what I read somewhere is the certain motherboards use thermal pads on the chipsets ect.

I have a MSI P45T-C51 motherboard and a MSI N260GTX OC V3.

Seeing that the Arctic silver 5 stuff has such good cooling properties it can help to keep all the other componets cooler as well.

Is it safe to do it or should I rather just save the paste for another day?

Yes you can use it I actually replace the thermal paste on my CPU/chipset/GPU every now and then to "refresh" it, and it works well...

That's good to hear!

Thanks

just be careful with that stuff - Arctic silver 5 has bits and pieces in it that can land up being conductive - so if you put it onto chips or stuff that have legs at the sides the odds are you will ZAP something or the other - its only for chips where the pins are all underneath and tucked away

naughty wrote:just be careful with that stuff - Arctic silver 5 has bits and pieces in it that can land up being conductive - so if you put it onto chips or stuff that have legs at the sides the odds are you will ZAP something or the other - its only for chips where the pins are all underneath and tucked away

Hi naughty

Thanks for the tip!

Ill keep that in mind and make sure I clean up if I mess.

I'm really looking forward to it. I like to fiddle...

MK4 GTI 20VT wrote:I like to fiddle...

Me too, but that's how stuff breaks

garp wrote:

MK4 GTI 20VT wrote:I like to fiddle...

Me too, but that's how stuff breaks

Hahaha true! Let's hope nothing does...

Well, if something breaks, then its upgrade time

Ill keep that in mind and make sure I clean up if I mess.

idea with arctic silver5 is not to mess

try to put a drop in the centre and spread it outwards carefully from there - use a surgical rubber glove since you dont want to add the oils from your unprotected fingers onto the paste cos that kills its effectiveness

Arctic Silver Ceramique is not as conductive - and neither are those silicone based pastes but those are not as effective as AS5 - best though would be to use something that you need to use a paintbrush to spread like Coollaboratory Liquid Pro but dont use a lot of that stuff ie enough to drip

http://www.frozencpu.com/products/3784/ ... g8c127s451

Anybody know where I can find some AS5 in the Pretoria area, preferably form a walk in store? I don't really want to order online for delivery. Will be up in PTA visiting the folks for the weekend so hoping to pick some up while I'm there...

AFAIK Landmark Computers is the only place in SA that stocks AS5. Ordered a big 12g tube from Andy late last year.

My personal favourite is the Noctua thermal compound.

KillerByte wrote:AFAIK Landmark Computers is the only place in SA that stocks AS5. Ordered a big 12g tube from Andy late last year.

My personal favourite is the Noctua thermal compound.

Hmmm, I normally order from Sybaritic but was hoping to just pick up a tube from somewhere. Doesn't even have to be AS5, any good thermal compound will do...

Bloody hell, after reading some reviews I think I'll try some of this Antec Formula 7, it looks excellent, and it's cheaper than AS5 by 10 bucks...

Here's one good comparison a guy did. Antec Formula 7 TIM

That test is not exactly accurate. AS5 takes a while to cure. I am not sure if The Antec stuff needs to cure or not. Once the AS5 has cured the temperatures drop.

KillerByte wrote:That test is not exactly accurate. AS5 takes a while to cure. I am not sure if The Antec stuff needs to cure or not. Once the AS5 has cured the temperatures drop.

12 degrees?! I've only ever used AS5 and have never seen it drop so much after "curing".

Never the less, I'll report back on the Antec stuff, but I'm pretty confident it will match the AS5, if not provide better results.

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I used coollaboratory Liquid pro and Pad on my CPU.
1) The pad took amazing lengths to melt. I mean 20mins with no fan on and no case fans. It was scary but it did eventually melt.
2) Liquid pro was by far the hardest thermal past I have ever used. It is like mercury. Beads up into balls and runs around on your motherboard like crazy.

I need to get AS5 again.

I use the zalman stuff you paint on - works nicely and is mess free.