About P4 and thermal compound

[Freedom]

I am a happy owner of a brand new P4 1.8A. To be honest, it’s the first P4 of mine.

Being used to have P3s and Athlons I have a question about applying the thermal compound to my P4: like all the P4s there is a little hole at the lower left. So, what happens if a small quantity of arctic silver goes inside this little hole? I’ve heard that this could cause a serious damage to the cpu. Is this true?

Wouldn’t be better if I didn’t apply a thermal compound at all?

Not to say that I am planning to OCed to “death” and that I have a Volcano 7+.

[The Spyder]

Warning those V7+ are known to have a VERY uneven base! And who told you that if thermal compound go into that hole it would fry???? Thats a damn lie! It has done nothing to the p4 1.8 @2.4 clients computer i built! Good luck!

[Freedom]

Who told me about this? Don't ask!!!!

So, are you absolutelly sure that even the arctic silver won't hurt my precious P4 if it goes through the hole???

What is that hole for anyway, mate?

Oh, and Volcano 7+ seems ok to me. I am testing it right now with my P3.

[The Spyder]

I have been asking myself the same question- i think ill have to call my friends at intel for an answer, but for 2-3weeks it has been on a P4 1.8 and 2.2 with retail heatsyncs and they have run fine- NEVER, please never have a heatsync mounted with no thermal paste or atleast a TIM!!!
sPDYER

[mookydooky]

The hole is to let water vapor escape in the event of condensation. Getting AS in the hole probably won't harm it unless you live in a South American jungle where the normal temperature is 40C with 80% humidity.

[Freedom]

Thanks mates!

[drow_elf]

wouldnt the AS help w/ cooling it too? AS is non-conductive (right?), the little hole has to be sealed (dont want dust getting in there!) so since AS has a lower thermal resistance than air (thats why you use it!) it should "pull" heat from the little hole to your heatsink...

I always thought AS was conductive, it was AA that isn't.

[mookydooky]

Hmm, I guess I wasn't specific enough in my post. The original Arctic Silver WAS conductive. I believe it was made of micronized silver. The recent editions of ASII and ASIII are made of a polysynthetic compound and are NOT electrically conductive.

[mookydooky]

Originally posted by drow_elf
wouldnt the AS help w/ cooling it too? AS is non-conductive (right?), the little hole has to be sealed (dont want dust getting in there!) so since AS has a lower thermal resistance than air (thats why you use it!) it should "pull" heat from the little hole to your heatsink...

The point of the hole was to let water vapor escape. It's highly unlikely though, that you would get enough water vapor in there for it to condense unless you go from a really hot humid environment to a dry cold. Just leave it alone. The CPU will runner hotter than ambient and if you happen to put it infront of a humidifier or a pot of boiling water or something, who knows, when you shut the machine off and the temperature drops, you may get some condensation.

[The Spyder]

Good having it for peltiers..............

[Allan]

The little hole in the IHS is needed in the process of making the CPU. It is there to allow gas to escape as the newly-made chip cures. Who would have thought of a farting CPU? lol

Anyway, once the chip is made you should fill it with paste, as you certainly don't want an air pocket of that size so close to the core. It will get VERY hot...

I know I would fill it out if I had a chip with an Integrated Heat Spreader (IHS).

[Allan]

Oh yeah, I nearly forgot... don't EVER run a chip WITHOUT using thermal compound!

[Freedom]

Ok, lets clarify this issue then:

Is Arctic Silver 3 conductive at all?

Should i prefer Arctic Alumina instead?

[Uncle Bob]

Originally posted by Freedom
Ok, lets clarify this issue then:

Is Arctic Silver 3 conductive at all?

Should i prefer Arctic Alumina instead?

From the Arctic Silver III Homepage:
Arctic Silver 3 was formulated to conduct heat, not electricity. It is only electrically conductive in a thin layer under extreme compression.
(While much safer than electrically conductive silver and copper greases, Arctic Silver 3 should be kept away from electrical traces, pins, and leads. The compound is slightly capacitive and could potentially cause problems if it bridged two close-proximity electrical paths.)

From Arctic Alumina Homepage:
Arctic Alumina Compound is a pure electrical insulator, neither electrically conductive nor capacitive.

I think I'd trust the manufacturer.

[The Spyder]

I use artic alumina personly and it gives me fine temps :-D

[Freedom]

All riiiiiiight!!!!!!!!


Its Arctic Alumina, then!!!