Thermal Pad's vs. Thermal grease?

Since I'll be replacing my motherboard I know I have to regrease/repad the heatsink/proc. I'm unsure though if I should find a thermal pad or use Artic Silver 5(I've never used grease before) I'd also like everyones opinion on Anti-Static workmats? Someone suggested that I replace the stock heatsink/fan on my Athlon64 3700+(San Diego) with a better one but i'm not sure if I should bother though, my main goal overall is stability I don't overclock anything.

Processor: Athlon64 3700+(San Diego)
Motherboard: Asus A8n-Sli premium

AMD do not recommend the use of arctic silver. If you want to keep your warranty you should note this but note that "Caution: Do not use a thermal pad for AMD Athlon 64 or AMD Opteron processors! " on page 13

Where you get the recommended "phase change material" from, I have no clue...

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by NooNoo

AMD do not recommend the use of arctic silver. If you want to keep your warranty you should note this but note that "Caution: Do not use a thermal pad for AMD Athlon 64 or AMD Opteron processors! " on page 13

Where you get the recommended "phase change material" from, I have no clue...

---

I should use Ceramique? then(it's made by the same company that makes Artic silver)

Is it true that cardboard works as well as an anti-static mat?

I don't know about the Ceramique, I suggest you talk to your local AMD vendor.

As for the static good reading here

Noo Noo, Now I am worried, I have been using arctic silver on my AMD bozxes, No problem so far
I can not open the link since Firefox 2.0 and foxit reader wont work
Adobe is too slow
Do they want us to use a ceramic based compound ?

well google it and view as html

2.2.2Thermal Grease Thermal grease normally is packaged in a syringe, a tube, or a small plastic sachet (pouch or package). The correct amount of material must be applied to the designated area. The most important point to remember is that because heat transfer is inversely proportional to the thicknessof the interface material layer, better heat transfer is achieved with a thinner TIM layer. It is important to ensure that the proper amount of paste or grease is dispensed only to the top of the die or the lid prior to the installation of the heatsink. Too little material may leave gaps between the heatsink and processor; too much material may cause some of the material to leak outside the designated area, causing a mess and possibly contaminating other components on the processor. High-performance thermal greases and pastes are the recommended solution for lidded processors, such as the AMD Athlon 64 and AMD Opteron™ processors. For a list of recommended greases for lidded parts, see the AMD Athlon 64 and AMD Opteron Processors Thermal Design Guide, order# 26633. These greases are also suitable for lab testing or short-term use on lidless processors, such as the AMD Athlon MP, AMD Athlon XP, AMD Duron, and Mobile AMD Athlon 64 processors. For long-term use on lidless processors, AMD recommends phase-change materials as a thermal solution

Table 6. Suggested Thermal Interface Materials[code]
Manfufacturer
Bergquist TIC-3000
Shin Etsu G751
Shin Etsu X23-7762
Shin Etsu X23-7783D
Thermoset, Lord CPD TC-350
from http://www.amd.com/us-en/assets/cont...26633_5649.pdf


this one is for XP and MP processors. http://vip.amd.com/us-en/assets/cont...list_ENG-S.pdf

And here is advice to the vendor about accepting RMAs

http://www.amd.com/us-en/assets/cont...ation_UK-S.pdf

Which then begs the question - 'At what point in the Lunar Cycle does the appropriate phase change time occur to install the thermal pad?'

Sorry - the term asked for it.

:)

I just did some updating to get foxit to work , I will research this later, When I put the arctic silver on I put it on thin
So far no issues, I do see the concern about it being conductive

Loopy, most of the time I would say you should follow AMD guidelines, but this is one of those times I disagree. AMD cautions against thermal greases because the cheaper ones just don't perform well enough, and may have serious long term stability problems.

Artic Silver most definitely does not fall into this category. Extremely stable and performs better than anything else I know of. Better than their Ceramique compound. It is also non-conductive, though it is capacitive and should still be kept off other components.

If you want to use an AMD approved interface, get Akasa Shin-Etsu thermal pads. These are the same gray stuff that comes on AMD's stock retail CPU coolers. http://www.sidewindercomputers.com/shpc.html Also available from many other sources.

I saw found this linkLink to another discussion