CPU Cooling and pasting upgrade recommendations

[Israar]

Hey guys and gals!

Hell of a long time no see/speak to a lot of you from here! Hope you're all doing fine and enjoying life!

I've got a lot of catching up and researching to do to get back on par, finally updated my outdated system specs too!

Anyway, on to the main part of my topic (got a few things I want to address), I am looking to upgrade the stock cooling on my CPU (i7 4770k) which sits at just under 3.9Ghz for the most part due to self overclocking, temps are stable and decent, nothing over the top though I've not checked when gaming but I've not had any issues with gaming. Again I am quite rusty when it comes to most of the stuff now as I kinda dropped my time for keeping up due to issues I've had at hand, but I wish to get my head in gear and back in to this lot!

Right, I could literally write a massive essay but I don't think most of you would want to sit and read me waffling on haha! I've missed TPU in all honesty though!

Now, to make it a little easier to hit the topics I want to address, I'll list down and hopefully we can go from there!

#1: Cooling solution -- New Air Heatsink/Fan combi or Water cooled AIO/Custom loop?
#2: Thermal Paste -- I've always stood by Arctic Silver 5 as it's always done me proud (I no longer have any but see a lot of back and forth about it online) as to which I've also seen Noctua NT-H1 crop up as a solid replacement?
#3: System Cleaning -- I used to brush all my PC internals to clean, the system really needs a massive clean it's horrendous coming from me, I like a clean system but laziness hit me in the sack!
#4: Needed/Recommended Applications for my system to benchmark and monitor

For now I'll keep it to 4 as I'm relighting my WIP as it eventually needs to be finished, if you have more things to ask please by all means ask anything you need and I'll put up what I can, this project was started a fair while ago and I do understand that the 4770k chips are hot runners and for the most part hit and miss when it comes to overclocking, which in time I want to address too as I'm looking to hit hopefully a stable 4-4.2Ghz~ upon hitting that I'd like to push further but that will come once I've got other things out of the way first!

Thanks in advance and sorry if it's too much but for those who remember me, I'm kind of a waffler hahaha!

--Lee

 

[MrGenius]

#1: Whatever works.
#2: I was recommending Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut(12.5 W/mK). Until I discovered, the hard way(pardon the pun), that it's a diamond-filled paste. Which is what it is. Works great. But I don't like scratching and pitting on my IHS and cooler mating surfaces(especially those that I've painstakingly lapped to a mirror polish). So I'm not going to be using it anymore on lapped surfaces, or even on non-lapped surfaces, until my tube of diamond-filled Phobya NanoGrease Extreme(16 W/mK) runs out(as it's worked better than Kryonaut for me). I'm going back to silver-filled AIT COOL-SILVER G4(>12 W/mK) for high performance use(specifically on lapped surfaces). Which has worked great for me in the past. But is also slightly conductive(so use appropriate caution).

Even though COOL-SILVER G4 is not conductive in bulk, individual particles may be conductive. Spreading to exposed circuit traces should be avoided.

#3: Whatever works.
#4. Intel Burn Test v2.54, Linpack Xtreme, RealTemp TI.

 

[blobster21]

#2 : I gave a try to this popular Thermal grizzly conductonaut (weirdest name ever) and i must say i'm positively impressed.

An old Samsung NP-R720 laptop, upgraded from its former core2 duo P7450 to a T9600, was unstable after only a couples minutes and would BSOD on me all the time.

I have repasted the CPU/NB/GPU with the aformentioned TIM and never looked back again, even under prolonged heavy load. Temperatures decreased from 5 to 10°C

You quickly get used with the proper way to spread the liquid metal over the integrated heatspreader(s). Don't spill any droplets over the nearby surface mounted devices, as it would kill them once powered on. Also, don't put too much strength on the syringe's piston, as the metal liquid can spread all around the targeted area, and becomes a nightmare to clean.

Also, aluminium HS are strictly forbidden with this TIM.

 

[Israar]

#1: Whatever works.
#2: I was recommending Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut(12.5 W/mK). Until I discovered, the hard way(pardon the pun), that it's a diamond-filled paste. Which is what it is. Works great. But I don't like scratching and pitting on my IHS and cooler mating surfaces(especially those that I've painstakingly lapped to a mirror polish). So I'm not going to be using it anymore on lapped surfaces, or even on non-lapped surfaces, until my tube of diamond-filled Phobya NanoGrease Extreme(16 W/mK) runs out(as it's worked better than Kryonaut for me). I'm going back to silver-filled AIT COOL-SILVER G4(>12 W/mK) for high performance use(specifically on lapped surfaces). Which has worked great for me in the past. But is also slightly conductive(so use appropriate caution).

#3: Whatever works.
#4. Intel Burn Test v2.54, Linpack Xtreme, RealTemp TI.

Thanks for the reply MrGenius, I'll go download those applications after posting this message to you two, with you saying you was recommending Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut I'm guessing you're retracting that in the comment from the way I'm reading it and suggesting to go with AIT Cool-Silver G4? I'm not much up on the W/mK bit but guessing the higher the number the better with them?

I've never personally lapped or de-lidded a CPU before so that's new grounds for me, always interested me but I wouldn't know where to start truthfully!

#2 : I gave a try to this popular Thermal grizzly conductonaut (weirdest name ever) and i must say i'm positively impressed.

An old Samsung NP-R720 laptop, upgraded from its former core2 duo P7450 to a T9600, was unstable after only a couples minutes and would BSOD on me all the time.

I have repasted the CPU/NB/GPU with the aformentioned TIM and never looked back again, even under prolonged heavy load. Temperatures decreased from 5 to 10°C

You quickly get used with the proper way to spread the liquid metal over the integrated heatspreader(s). Don't spill any droplets over the nearby surface mounted devices, as it would kill them once powered on. Also, don't put too much strength on the syringe's piston, as the metal liquid can spread all around the targeted area, and becomes a nightmare to clean.

Also, aluminium HS are strictly forbidden with this TIM.

Thanks you blobster21, I've checked out that video and damn it sent a bad chill down my spine As soon as it hit the point "It was at this moment that he knew..." I just had a bad vibe and then bam, ship sunk! :O

I'm not sure I'm overly confident in wanting to use liquid metal right now to be quite honest, at least in the respect of not having a little test rig to get used to using it haha! I'd rather stick to the usual although I do have a very old board with an AMD chip and aftermarket HS/Fan combi lying around somewhere that still works although I don't have all the parts to use on the board

I generally do the pea/rice way to put thermal paste on the CPU, first time I ever put thermal paste on I spread it and ended up having to clean it off and start again as the ratio was always off (poor spreading by me ) Again thank you both for the comments I really appreciate both inputs!

See, long story short I ultimately plan on doing a custom W/C loop for the rig, although still undecided on whether to do 2 single custom loops or a dual loop (CPU | GPU /// CPU & GPU), I just want for the time being to replace the stock cooler for the CPU and replace the paste when I strip the tower to clean it completely to have it spotless again!

For the time being would either of you or others recommend a decent to high end air cooler over an AIO W/C? Due to me having the HAF 932 case the air flow is pretty good (stock fans still but could probably eventually replace for better ones maybe?)

Again thank you both for your time in replying to my post, much appreciated!

--Lee

 

[eidairaman1]

MX4 is a mainstay like AS5 was.

 

[Israar]

MX4 is a mainstay like AS5 was.

Thanks eidairaman1

I've seen MX4 before, never used it though as always went with AS5 haha! I might give this a whirl this time and see how it goes

I've also been browsing a few of the threads here and some I've seen floating about are the Cryorig H7 series, they look pretty decent, I quite like the look of the Cryorig H7 R1 Universal (which was suggested on one thread due to tall ram) though comparing that to the likes of the H7 and H7 Plus, is there much of a difference between these besides price, 120mm fans on H7 and Plus and 140mm on R1? Also seen a couple of others suggested too though this caught my attention

Anything even just the standard H7 would be better than the stock intel cooler right or would I be wrong on that one?

--Lee

 

[Gorstak]

1) Basically, having a clean system looks very good, and it should be done from time to time. Like, when you have guests arriving. If nobody likes you and comes to visit you, then you can clean your system and post pictures of it so people hate you even more.

2) Look at number of heatpipes when purchasing an air cooler. The more the merrier. If they are made of copper that's a plus, and if they cover the whole surface, that's another plus. You possibly don't want any kind of air pockets which will cause additional heat. Also, if you can see your face on the surface of the cooler, that's....uhm...a good thing. Yeah, a good thing.

3) I personally like Zalman nail polish, but unfortunatelly, the store sellers I buy it from also seem to like it, as I always get it half full. It's a neat solution. Other then that, each mentioned so far in this thread is very good. I usually put about 3 rice pieces size on the middle of the cpu, and put cooler on it, and let the heat buildup when I turn on my pc spread it where it's needed by itself. Not sure if this is the recommended way to do it, but I don't really care.

4) Water AIO solutions are nice to look at, but I wouldn't use them for 24/7 machine. You know what happens to cars when you leave them running?

5) I use warm breath to clean dust off my components, and sometimes cleanex aswell. Works for me.

 

[FreedomEclipse]

Surprised no one has mentioned coolermaster MasterGel Maker

 

[John Naylor]

1. A good air cooler will outperofrm almost any 2 x 120mm CLC thermally and do it with a lot less noise. The longtime coolers of note for last few years have nee Noctua NH-D15, Cryorig R1, Phanteks PH-TC14PE and Thermalright Silver Arrow.... But Today, the Syther Mugen Max and Scythe Fuma beat those guys ... As for as all-in-oine water cooling, look at the Swiftech and EK units and the rest is a waste of time , effort and money with aluminum rads and copper blocks they create a galvanic corrosion cell.. Note you can't compare absolute temps from test to test because different test beds were used. I'm using a custom loop, for 5 years as of Nov 13 .... no downtime to date. It was a dual pump so if one fails.... no problem. Have not had a unit failure in any water component yet in any custom build nor any non CLC type AIO build (Swiftech / EK) . Normally, pumps are very durable and water system are very reliable .... how many times have you turned on ya faucet and nothing came out ? But cheap CLCs with copper blocks and aluminum rads ? ... they start failing the day they are turned on. The corrosion inhibitors will hold it off for 18-24 months.... after that will take 3 -4 years before block channels are totally blocked.

https://martinsliquidlab.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/copperaluminumcorrosion.jpeg


https://tpucdn.com/reviews/Scythe/Fuma/images/temp_oc_wprime.png
https://tpucdn.com/reviews/Swiftech/Swiftech_H360X3_Drive_X3_AIO/images/temp_oc_aida64.png

2. TIM - Two important links that I was unable to grab today

80 WayTIM test - Benchmarkreviewsarchives
TIM installation methods - Benchmarkreviewsarchives

Not sure if it's temporary or not... and yes, method does vary by cooler type.

But the long and short of it is..... AS5 and ShinEtsu tied for best thermal perofrmance ... but there were to asterisks for AS5 ...

http://www.arcticsilver.com/as5.htm

Arctic Silver 5 was formulated to conduct heat, not electricivcity. (While much safer than electrically conductive silver and copper greases, Arctic Silver 5 should be kept away from electrical traces, pins, and leads. While it is not electrically conductive, the compound is very slightly capacitive and could potentially cause problems if it bridges two close-proximity electrical paths.)

Due to the unique shape and sizes of the particles in Arctic Silver 5's conductive matrix, it will take a up to 200 hours and several thermal cycles to achieve maximum particle to particle thermal conduction and for the heatsink to CPU interface to reach maximum conductivity. (This period will be longer in a system without a fan on the heatsink or with a low speed fan on the heatsink.) On systems measuring actual internal core temperatures via the CPU's internal diode, the measured temperature will often drop 2C to 5C over this "break-in" period. This break-in will occur during the normal use of the computer as long as the computer is turned off from time to time and the interface is allowed to cool to room temperature. Once the break-in is complete, the computer can be left on if desired.

It comes with a risk of damage and tho small, I don't know how you argue that any number > 0 is better than an alternative project that is 0. To take that risk, it would have to be cheaper, perform better and have no other deficiencies. But Shin Etsu (<$4) , costs less, has same thermal conductivity and I don't have to wait 6 weeks 200 hours / 8 hours per day) to dial in my OCs's and set my Temp baselines. Grizzly Kryonaut is a better performer and had no downsides other than price and limited availability . But price is getting reasonable and now Newegg is carrying it.

Avoud the Liquid Metal stuff if you haven't mounted 2 dozen CPUs or so

3. Cleaning - We do routine cleaning every 3 months (wash filters, air compressor and wipe down). Every 18 we remove components clean contacts flush cooling system

4. Unless your goal is to get on web site leader boards, I see no value to synthetic type benchmarks . If you built your PC to run applications and games, then that is the logical test method. You PC will never see a greater load than it will using a multi-tasking application benchmark like RoG Real Bench. Id note thet 24 hour stable P95 OCs have failed in 45 minutes under RB ... but the system will get no where near as hot. CPU heat is dependent upon the size of the block and the temperature of the coolant. OTOH GPU blocks (at least real full cover water blocks) are HUGE and performance depends more on the capacity of the radiator and coolant temperture, in which case a synthetic test has some value when creating a base line. The Unigine and 3D mark benchies are good for performance baseline. HWiFO for monitoring.

CPU Stability / Temps - RoG Real Bench - http://dlcdnmkt.asus.com/rog/RealBench_v2.56.zip
GPU Stability / Temps - https://geeks3d.com/furmark/downloads/
Unigine GFX Benchmarks - https://benchmark.unigine.com/
3D Mark GFX Benchmarks - https://www.3dmark.com/
HWiNFO - https://www.hwinfo.com/download/

 

[Israar]

1) Basically, having a clean system looks very good, and it should be done from time to time. Like, when you have guests arriving. If nobody likes you and comes to visit you, then you can clean your system and post pictures of it so people hate you even more.

2) Look at number of heatpipes when purchasing an air cooler. The more the merrier. If they are made of copper that's a plus, and if they cover the whole surface, that's another plus. You possibly don't want any kind of air pockets which will cause additional heat. Also, if you can see your face on the surface of the cooler, that's....uhm...a good thing. Yeah, a good thing.

3) I personally like Zalman nail polish, but unfortunatelly, the store sellers I buy it from also seem to like it, as I always get it half full. It's a neat solution. Other then that, each mentioned so far in this thread is very good. I usually put about 3 rice pieces size on the middle of the cpu, and put cooler on it, and let the heat buildup when I turn on my pc spread it where it's needed by itself. Not sure if this is the recommended way to do it, but I don't really care.

4) Water AIO solutions are nice to look at, but I wouldn't use them for 24/7 machine. You know what happens to cars when you leave them running?

5) I use warm breath to clean dust off my components, and sometimes cleanex aswell. Works for me.

Haha I like your thoughts on a clean system to make haters hate more, in truth I used to always regularly clean my rig, these past few years, I've not done much in terms of keeping up to date with the stuff coming out or keeping on top of my systems health and cleanliness. I really dropped a brick when it came to that, as I do love a spotless rig. I've currently got my last few bits to sort for Christmas for the kids and then I'm free to save for my desk that I've wanted for ages, this will allow a lot more ease for cleaning and keeping on top of the rig for more TLC -- I really don't like having to have my PC on the floor

Haha, a smooth reflection is always good, although a face to be attracted to other than mine would be a blessing, hmm... I can think of quite a few haha! -- Thermal cleaning I've always used ArctiClean always left me a nice clean surface

I've always done the blob in the middle rice/pea size since my first failed attempt with spreading, never done the line method though from reading the thread about application for AS5 turns out that should be line method applied :O (Never had any issues though truthfully with AS5 from past to now )

Yeah, I understand, was thinking about how an AIO would work with how often my system is on and running when it is on, so probably would be wise to stay away from maybe, plus I do prefer custom loops over AIOs when it comes to cooling, this time when I do manage to fund the loop when it comes to it I'll be going with thinner tube and more of a piped look (This is a bit of a way off for now so won't go in to this much! )

Warm breath as in blowing, I've done that before but never used cleanex, everyone has their own little bits and tricks, I really am looking forward to stripping this rig completely and cleaning it fully then rebuilding it, pictures before and after will be done so those who're interested can have a gander

Thanks for the reply too matey

Surprised no one has mentioned coolermaster MasterGel Maker

This is a name I've not forgotten but the picture changed since haha! How've you been keeping? Well and good hopefully! I've never heard of this before, will have to have a look in to it =)

1. A good air cooler will outperofrm almost any 2 x 120mm CLC thermally and do it with a lot less noise. The longtime coolers of note for last few years have nee Noctua NH-D15, Cryorig R1, Phanteks PH-TC14PE and Thermalright Silver Arrow.... But Today, the Syther Mugen Max and Scythe Fuma beat those guys ... As for as all-in-oine water cooling, look at the Swiftech and EK units and the rest is a waste of time , effort and money with aluminum rads and copper blocks they create a galvanic corrosion cell.. Note you can't compare absolute temps from test to test because different test beds were used. I'm using a custom loop, for 5 years as of Nov 13 .... no downtime to date. It was a dual pump so if one fails.... no problem. Have not had a unit failure in any water component yet in any custom build nor any non CLC type AIO build (Swiftech / EK) . Normally, pumps are very durable and water system are very reliable .... how many times have you turned on ya faucet and nothing came out ? But cheap CLCs with copper blocks and aluminum rads ? ... they start failing the day they are turned on. The corrosion inhibitors will hold it off for 18-24 months.... after that will take 3 -4 years before block channels are totally blocked.

https://martinsliquidlab.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/copperaluminumcorrosion.jpeg


https://tpucdn.com/reviews/Scythe/Fuma/images/temp_oc_wprime.png
https://tpucdn.com/reviews/Swiftech/Swiftech_H360X3_Drive_X3_AIO/images/temp_oc_aida64.png

2. TIM - Two important links that I was unable to grab today

80 WayTIM test - Benchmarkreviewsarchives
TIM installation methods - Benchmarkreviewsarchives

Not sure if it's temporary or not... and yes, method does vary by cooler type.

But the long and short of it is..... AS5 and ShinEtsu tied for best thermal perofrmance ... but there were to asterisks for AS5 ...

http://www.arcticsilver.com/as5.htm

It comes with a risk of damage and tho small, I don't know how you argue that any number > 0 is better than an alternative project that is 0. To take that risk, it would have to be cheaper, perform better and have no other deficiencies. But Shin Etsu (<$4) , costs less, has same thermal conductivity and I don't have to wait 6 weeks 200 hours / 8 hours per day) to dial in my OCs's and set my Temp baselines. Grizzly Kryonaut is a better performer and had no downsides other than price and limited availability . But price is getting reasonable and now Newegg is carrying it.

Avoud the Liquid Metal stuff if you haven't mounted 2 dozen CPUs or so

3. Cleaning - We do routine cleaning every 3 months (wash filters, air compressor and wipe down). Every 18 we remove components clean contacts flush cooling system

4. Unless your goal is to get on web site leader boards, I see no value to synthetic type benchmarks . If you built your PC to run applications and games, then that is the logical test method. You PC will never see a greater load than it will using a multi-tasking application benchmark like RoG Real Bench. Id note thet 24 hour stable P95 OCs have failed in 45 minutes under RB ... but the system will get no where near as hot. CPU heat is dependent upon the size of the block and the temperature of the coolant. OTOH GPU blocks (at least real full cover water blocks) are HUGE and performance depends more on the capacity of the radiator and coolant temperture, in which case a synthetic test has some value when creating a base line. The Unigine and 3D mark benchies are good for performance baseline. HWiFO for monitoring.

CPU Stability / Temps - RoG Real Bench - http://dlcdnmkt.asus.com/rog/RealBench_v2.56.zip
GPU Stability / Temps - https://geeks3d.com/furmark/downloads/
Unigine GFX Benchmarks - https://benchmark.unigine.com/
3D Mark GFX Benchmarks - https://www.3dmark.com/
HWiNFO - https://www.hwinfo.com/download/

Yeah, I had the belief about a good air cooler out performing some AIOs same with a lot of things with the right pairings I had a quick gander at the Scythe Mugen Max and it looks alright, though on one site I saw it said it was replaced by the Scythe Mugen 5 Rev.B? Is this true? I'm just curious as I only really briefly checked it up. If I was to go for this (it ships with 1 fan but is bundled with a second set of fan clips) it would probably be best to get a second fan for push/pull setup right? Would it be better to pair with the same fan that's on or replace the fan supplied and go with 2 other fans instead? As mentioned slightly above I'm going to skip AIOs but in the past for parts I did go with Swiftech and EK for water cooling, I really do like EK and my custom loop will most likely be heavily influenced by their parts too I had read about corrosion too a long time ago when starting up, though wasn't fully clued up on it (nor am I now) though I'll keep in mind with the aluminium and copper corrosive pairings, I did in the past go for copper blocks though can't remember what my radiators was made of, been a while! :O

That's some nasty corrosion, damn! :O (Yeah on my old rig when it was in the custom loop I never had anything like that happen)

I'll have to dig out those 2 suggested links you was unable to find and have a read, I know about the break in period for AS5 and it's never really been an issue as I work with it (or have done until now ) I've never even heard at all until now about ShinEtsu I might buy a tube of MX4 and a tube of this ShinEtsu then see how it goes over time trying both out personally. Aye I will be staying clear of liquid metal, I really don't want to test that unless I have a test bed build to mess with that I don't care about to practice with it, mounted a fair few CPUs in the past both for myself and others but it's the fact of not yet trying and not wanting to risk failing application then cost to replace parts that's putting me off right now

Sounds a good routine that, when you say air compressor to what extent do you mean? I've used compressed air before but I have doubts at times due to them spitting out so I'm reluctant to use them on my PC, though I'm not against using them

I'm not after leader board status though I would like to see where my rig stands once it's up and running from stock to OC'd and see how much of a difference it's made for itself, the rig is built mostly for my use which is browsing, gaming and applications. I generally multitask so have music, games up, discord, browse in between games and I used to stream but I've not streamed in a while due to not having the chance to with current life situations but will be going back to doing it when I get the time to

When it comes to water cooling the GPU I will be going full block as personal preference I haven't ever used RoG Real Bench though in past used Unigine and 3D Mark (FutureMark) benchmarks but not the later stuff, been a long time since using HWiFO, thank you for all the links I'll grab a few and try them and will do a testing of all on a weekend when I'm not in work so I can sit and pay attention to it all

To all, thank you for your time and suggestions I really appreciate it and sorry for the absence been a little busy but working around it

--Lee

 

[FreedomEclipse]

This is a name I've not forgotten but the picture changed since haha! How've you been keeping? Well and good hopefully! I've never heard of this before, will have to have a look in to it =)

--Lee

Where have you been? MasterGel Maker is really kinda low key popular atm. Not many people know of it, not many people trust it because of CoolerMaster's past thermal pastes but its actually really good.

 

[Israar]

Where have you been? MasterGel Maker is really kinda low key popular atm. Not many people know of it, not many people trust it because of CoolerMaster's past thermal pastes but its actually really good.

I've been here and there, long story short had to move, still around the same area but in my own little place, had a lot of family issues that needed to be addressed and for the most part I went in to a recluse mode as I needed a break from all the drama that was lingering around haha! So to cut out all the drama and shut my mind off I've been massively binge watching anime and keeping up on some manga. Still binge watching anime though kind of hooked on it!

Besides that I've been the usual going on seeing mates and what have you (not a full on recluse! ) but I've been missing the TPU scene and the people I befriended though I picked up a really bad habit I'm struggling to kick in which is I'm thinking plenty about the people who made a good impact on me but not actually making contact to see how they are doing, if that makes sense? I'm making progress on it but still a long way off what I'd want! (Hahaha just thought about this and this might not be what you initially asked )

I honestly haven't ever seen anything about MasterGel, I don't recall ever seeing anything from Cooler Master concerning TIM :O I'll definitely take a look in to it though, but think I'm going to settle for a tube of MX-4 and ShinEtsu (as well as a tube of AS5 for the fact of really loving the product but will have it as a back up) this all paired with most likely grabbing myself a Scythe Mugen 5 Rev.B (given that is the replacement for the Scythe Mugen Max)

--Lee

 

[FreedomEclipse]

Coolermaster have been making thermal pastes for a while... Its just that theyve never really been great at it. MasterGel is like a home run. I got a tube of the stuff arriving tomorrow. But i already got bored and repasted my own CPU with Noctua NT-H1. VS the dried out PK-3 that i had been using.

 

[dgianstefani]

Any noctua cooler based on your case size available + conductonaut/kryonaut + delid if you can.

 

[John Naylor]

Yeah, I had the belief about a good air cooler out performing some AIOs same with a lot of things with the right pairings I had a quick gander at the Scythe Mugen Max and it looks alright, though on one site I saw it said it was replaced by the Scythe Mugen 5 Rev.B? Is this true? I'm just curious as I only really briefly checked it up. If I was to go for this (it ships with 1 fan but is bundled with a second set of fan clips) it would probably be best to get a second fan for push/pull setup right? Would it be better to pair with the same fan that's on or replace the fan supplied and go with 2 other fans instead? As mentioned slightly above I'm going to skip AIOs but in the past for parts I did go with Swiftech and EK for water cooling, I really do like EK and my custom loop will most likely be heavily influenced by their parts too I had read about corrosion too a long time ago when starting up, though wasn't fully clued up on it (nor am I now) though I'll keep in mind with the aluminium and copper corrosive pairings, I did in the past go for copper blocks though can't remember what my radiators was made of, been a while! :O

That's some nasty corrosion, damn! :O (Yeah on my old rig when it was in the custom loop I never had anything like that happen)

I'll have to dig out those 2 suggested links you was unable to find and have a read, I know about the break in period for AS5 and it's never really been an issue as I work with it (or have done until now ) I've never even heard at all until now about ShinEtsu I might buy a tube of MX4 and a tube of this ShinEtsu then see how it goes over time trying both out personally. Aye I will be staying clear of liquid metal, I really don't want to test that unless I have a test bed build to mess with that I don't care about to practice with it, mounted a fair few CPUs in the past both for myself and others but it's the fact of not yet trying and not wanting to risk failing application then cost to replace parts that's putting me off right now

Sounds a good routine that, when you say air compressor to what extent do you mean? I've used compressed air before but I have doubts at times due to them spitting out so I'm reluctant to use them on my PC, though I'm not against using them

I'm not after leader board status though I would like to see where my rig stands once it's up and running from stock to OC'd and see how much of a difference it's made for itself, the rig is built mostly for my use which is browsing, gaming and applications. I generally multitask so have music, games up, discord, browse in between games and I used to stream but I've not streamed in a while due to not having the chance to with current life situations but will be going back to doing it when I get the time to

When it comes to water cooling the GPU I will be going full block as personal preference I haven't ever used RoG Real Bench though in past used Unigine and 3D Mark (FutureMark) benchmarks but not the later stuff, been a long time since using HWiFO, thank you for all the links I'll grab a few and try them and will do a testing of all on a weekend when I'm not in work so I can sit and pay attention to it all

To all, thank you for your time and suggestions I really appreciate it and sorry for the absence been a little busy but working around it

--Lee

1. The equivalent would be the Fuma....it beats all the $90 flagships from Noctua and Cryorig for half the price.
https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/product/ffKhP6/scythe-fuma-revb-790-cfm-cpu-cooler-scfm-1100

Try this, ya may get a warning about unprotected site and it will send you here

https://web.archive.org/web/2015052...k=view&id=150&Itemid=62&limit=1&limitstart=13

Name / Type / Viscosity / Temp / Rating
Gelid GC-Extreme / Aluminum Oxide / Low / Thin / 37.65°C / A+
Thermaltake Grease A2150 / Polysynthetic Silver / Low / Thin / 37.65°C / A+
Arctic Silver 5 Polysynthetic Thermal Compound (4) / Polysynthetic Silver / Low / Thin / 37.55°C / A+
Shin-Etsu MicroSi G751 (0) / Aluminum Oxide / Moderate3 / 37.55°C / A+

https://www.directron.com/g751.html

2. Air Compressor ... comes with all necessary attachments

https://www.techpowerup.com/forums/...-upgrade-recommendations.249352/#post-3940356

3. RoG RB is structly a CPU thing ... it uses various real applications in a multitasking environment and with "nerd porn" .... get to watch room full of nerds doing LN2 cooling and shriekeing in delight ... I only shriek when I'm alone in room while testing ..... movie running in final multitasking test


I use Furmark for cooling adequacy test on GPUs... Unigibe / 3D mark for artifact check

 

[Vario]

I still use Arctic Silver 5, I prefer it to NTH1, if you look at the benchmarks NTH1 has at best a 1 degree advantage, which is irrelevant.
https://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Noctua/NT-H1/4.html

The reason I prefer Arctic Silver 5 is that NTH1 seems to pump out. It initially has good results and after a month the paste has thinned out and temperatures go up. AS5 pretty much stays the same, you can run it for several years without any change at all. Some claim AS5 has some cure time but it doesn't seem any different from any other paste. Its the least hassle paste I have used. I had a number of tubes of NTH1 and ended up giving them away with some eBay parts I sold. I've also tried Coollaboratory Liquid Pro, Liquid Ultra, Shin Etsu X23, Arctic Silver Ceramique, Phanteks PHNDC, Prolimatech PK1, and a couple others.

I use the AS5 on my videocard as well without any issues.

 

[FreedomEclipse]

The reason I prefer Arctic Silver 5 is that NTH1 seems to pump out. It initially has good results and after a month the paste has thinned out and temperatures go up.

Dont tell me that. I already have NT-H1 on my GPU and CPU

 

[Vario]

Dont tell me that. I already have NT-H1 on my GPU and CPU

Might work for you, a lot of people like it. Just didn't seem to work well for me, might be how I apply it or my environment or something who knows.

 

[Israar]

Coolermaster have been making thermal pastes for a while... Its just that theyve never really been great at it. MasterGel is like a home run. I got a tube of the stuff arriving tomorrow. But i already got bored and repasted my own CPU with Noctua NT-H1. VS the dried out PK-3 that i had been using.

Haha no way, I was more than out the loop for sure and I'm shocked I've never once even considered that they would attempt to make any thermal pastes too! Haha, the wait got too long?

I'm going to be ordering myself some Shin Etsu and AS5 tonight, quite possibly going to order a Scythe too depends on which works out better from clarifying first

Any noctua cooler based on your case size available + conductonaut/kryonaut + delid if you can.

I'm quite settled with the Scythe over the rest so far matey, thank you for the suggestion I highly appreciated it Going to stay clear of the liquid metal thermal compounds too for now, will play with them in the future as I'm hoping to set up a little open air rig to play with technology in a sense haha! Though need to actually get myself a few other things done before venturing down that line!

I've not ever done a delid before, it's always caught my interest and curiosity as I know these chips run stupidly hot due to the TIM used between the chip and spreader, I would like to actually delid at some point but I want to get an actual understanding on how to do it properly and how to seat a cooler to the chip without damaging it after it's had its head "popped off"

1. The equivalent would be the Fuma....it beats all the $90 flagships from Noctua and Cryorig for half the price.
https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/product/ffKhP6/scythe-fuma-revb-790-cfm-cpu-cooler-scfm-1100

Try this, ya may get a warning about unprotected site and it will send you here

https://web.archive.org/web/2015052...k=view&id=150&Itemid=62&limit=1&limitstart=13

Name / Type / Viscosity / Temp / Rating
Gelid GC-Extreme / Aluminum Oxide / Low / Thin / 37.65°C / A+
Thermaltake Grease A2150 / Polysynthetic Silver / Low / Thin / 37.65°C / A+
Arctic Silver 5 Polysynthetic Thermal Compound (4) / Polysynthetic Silver / Low / Thin / 37.55°C / A+
Shin-Etsu MicroSi G751 (0) / Aluminum Oxide / Moderate3 / 37.55°C / A+

https://www.directron.com/g751.html

2. Air Compressor ... comes with all necessary attachments

https://www.techpowerup.com/forums/...-upgrade-recommendations.249352/#post-3940356

3. RoG RB is structly a CPU thing ... it uses various real applications in a multitasking environment and with "nerd porn" .... get to watch room full of nerds doing LN2 cooling and shriekeing in delight ... I only shriek when I'm alone in room while testing ..... movie running in final multitasking test


I use Furmark for cooling adequacy test on GPUs... Unigibe / 3D mark for artifact check

Thanks John, as said in this just above I'm going to get some Shin Etsu (Shin-Etsu X23-7783D is this the right stuff?) tonight along with some AS5 as a spare, I'm contemplating now on which to go for though in terms of the Fuma or the Mugen Max... I'm really undecided so I'll request your opinion on an option shortly if that's OK?

I've got the link working for the 80-way Thermal Interface Performance Test but the directron website keeps failing, can't be reached apparently (for me)

With the air compressor you linked my post which I'm guessing indicates towards my quote of yours? I've only ever used compressed air cans aside from air compressors in a plastic injection moulding factory I worked at years ago so I'm not really up or aware on them as such when you mention that they come with all necessary attachments? Sorry for being clueless here mate

Haha, not seen that used for a long time, "nerd porn" I'd love to watch people in person testing LN2 would be so much fun! It's enjoyable watching it on YouTube from time to time but in person would be so much better! Haha, I think I'm with you on the shrieking bit, to do alone and in self company haha!

I grabbed all the files, not installed yet but going to get all my parts too before doing any proper tests, so tests as the system is now then tests as the system is cleaned and with new cooling

Right, on to the request!

I've been looking on PC Part Picker from the link you posted with the Fuma, the equivalent to this would be the Mugen Max (I think I believe you are telling me the Mugen Max is better than the Fuma) though not 100% settled on it yet!

So here are my choices, Scythe - FUMA Rev.B 79 CFM CPU Cooler or Scythe - Mugen MAX 97.18 CFM CPU Cooler, the Fuma is 120mm fans but capable of 3 whereas the Max has 140mm fans but only 2. If I had put the Fuma with 3 fans Vs the Max with 2 fans, ultimately which would be the better choice for keeping the temps down (bare in mind I'm not too bothered about sound as I used to run delta fans in a previous build )? Also, would it be better to keep the Scythe fans or change them for potentially better fans if any are available?

Again thank you and everyone else for all the time and effort put in to my thread so far, I am really grateful for it!

I still use Arctic Silver 5, I prefer it to NTH1, if you look at the benchmarks NTH1 has at best a 1 degree advantage, which is irrelevant.
https://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Noctua/NT-H1/4.html

The reason I prefer Arctic Silver 5 is that NTH1 seems to pump out. It initially has good results and after a month the paste has thinned out and temperatures go up. AS5 pretty much stays the same, you can run it for several years without any change at all. Some claim AS5 has some cure time but it doesn't seem any different from any other paste. Its the least hassle paste I have used. I had a number of tubes of NTH1 and ended up giving them away with some eBay parts I sold. I've also tried Coollaboratory Liquid Pro, Liquid Ultra, Shin Etsu X23, Arctic Silver Ceramique, Phanteks PHNDC, Prolimatech PK1, and a couple others.

I use the AS5 on my videocard as well without any issues.

Yeah I don't think that would make much of an impact to me the difference of 1 degree, I am comfortable with AS5 as I've used it for years and it's always done me proud Dang, that's definitely not a good thing, not that it could affect me as like you said in another post it might not affect others just you personally experienced it! I know my paste has been on this one for a couple of years now and temps are not too bad concerning some I've seen with this chip! (I wouldn't say it's brilliant but it will be improved )

I've yet to repaste my GPU, that as well as the CPU are stock (though CPU has AS5 on it aha! Thank you for responding too matey!

--Lee

EDIT here : Just realised concerning the Shin Etsu, I asked if Shin-Etsu MicroSi X-23 7783D was the right one to go for and looks like I was well off the mark from reading the link provided, John recommended Shin-Etsu MicroSi G751 which is under the brand name Masscool, what a tool I am haha!

 

[FreedomEclipse]

Sometimes its good to try something new. As for dust. Leafblowers also work. Just remember to taoe your fans down first otherwise you might risk damaging them

 

[jboydgolfer]

Dont put liquid metal on top of your HS. Yeah, we all know it can be done, still,but its a senseless risk. If your using AS5, & if your application is not the issue, nothing you replace it with will make much of a difference. I dont know exactly what the issue is, as im not gonna read all that , but if its just for the sake of changing it, then obviously do what u see fit. If your temps are high, clean & remount, if you do it right, & all is in order, temps will drop.

if dust cleaning is a issue, as mentioned something that blows medium speed air will suffice. I use a Shop/Wet Vac, running in reverse, so it blows air, and i hold a paint brush against the fan blased slightly, not so tight that the blades dont spin, but tight enough that they dont spin too fast, it makes cleaning out a PC of dust , a 3 minute task, including radiator clean out.

 

[Vario]

EDIT here : Just realised concerning the Shin Etsu, I asked if Shin-Etsu MicroSi X-23 7783D was the right one to go for and looks like I was well off the mark from reading the link provided, John recommended Shin-Etsu MicroSi G751 which is under the brand name Masscool, what a tool I am haha!

The X23 is a decent paste but the stuff is difficult to work with. You have to warm it up first to make it viscous enough to spread. It has good tack as well. Overall its like AS5 except much harder to apply. I don't remember if I used G751. The Shin Etsu are used for a lot of pre-applied thermal pastes by the big brands such as videocard companies, corsair AIO watercoolers, etc.

 

[Israar]

Sometimes its good to try something new. As for dust. Leafblowers also work. Just remember to taoe your fans down first otherwise you might risk damaging them

I agree 100% with that there, which is why I'm giving both Shin Etsu and MX-4 a try so I can see if I like them better than AS5 Although I'll get these 2 first then MX-4 after, trialling both Shin Etsu and MX-4 first

Haha that sounds daunting I've not personally got a leaf blower nor know anyone with one either, so that's out of the window for me

Dont put liquid metal on top of your HS. Yeah, we all know it can be done, still,but its a senseless risk. If your using AS5, & if your application is not the issue, nothing you replace it with will make much of a difference. I dont know exactly what the issue is, as im not gonna read all that , but if its just for the sake of changing it, then obviously do what u see fit. If your temps are high, clean & remount, if you do it right, & all is in order, temps will drop.

if dust cleaning is a issue, as mentioned something that blows medium speed air will suffice. I use a Shop/Wet Vac, running in reverse, so it blows air, and i hold a paint brush against the fan blased slightly, not so tight that the blades dont spin, but tight enough that they dont spin too fast, it makes cleaning out a PC of dust , a 3 minute task, including radiator clean out.

Hey and thanks for the response jboydgolfer

I won't be using Liquid Metal at all anytime soon haha as I know pretty much nothing about it

There's not really any major issues to be perfectly honest, it's just a small upgrade I'm looking at, I wish to replace my stock intel cooler for a better aftermarket one which in turn will need me to repaste the CPU Application has always been fine for me, only encountered issues first time around which in my opinion isn't bad Yeah, no worries for not reading all the way through, you don't have to but if you need anything specific I can always state it as that's not an issue either I don't mind

It is down just for the sake of wanting to replace stock cooler and I've had a nice set of suggestions, though I am hoping to find out which would work best between a Scythe Fuma with 3 fans or a Scythe Mugen Max with 2 as I'm settled on which thermal pastes to test with

It's not so much of an issue for cleaning either, I'm just looking for more options than I have so I can pretty much clean the system down to it being like brand new again I've not used any air compressors or blowers as such as I've no experience with them but they sound interesting and pretty convenient!

The X23 is a decent paste but the stuff is difficult to work with. You have to warm it up first to make it viscous enough to spread. It has good tack as well. Overall its like AS5 except much harder to apply. I don't remember if I used G751. The Shin Etsu are used for a lot of pre-applied thermal pastes by the big brands such as videocard companies, corsair AIO watercoolers, etc.

Thanks Vario, I read that someone heated their tube up in warm water to make application easier, though from the list of thermal pastes it's a few notches down, not sure by how much in terms of how well it is but I'll most likely try this at some point too just on a rig I'll use to test pastes for my own purposes

Thanks again to everyone who's helping, it's really nice of you all to take the time

--Lee

 

[FreedomEclipse]

How about a mini duster? Better than any cans of compressed air

 

[thebluebumblebee]

https://web.archive.org/web/2015011...lers/display/thermal-interface-roundup-1.html
This was my go to review for a long time. To me, the winner of that roundup was TG-1, which I used for a while and it was easier to use than AS-5. Seems like AS-5 starts off quite viscous and only gets more viscous as it gets older in the tube. MX-4 user here. To me, TG-1 and MX-4 are very similar to use. Never spent the time to benchmark - if the temps are satisfactory, I have more important things to do then try to get a degree or two.

Really sad to see that x-bit is no more.