[RESOLVED] Does thermal paste go bad with age?

[lgbpop]

I bought an Athlon X2 5000 Black Edition (unlocked multiplier) this week at MWave for $70 to replace an X2 5200 that I'm giving to one of the kids to upgrade their X2 4000. Both the 5200 and now the 5000 run warmer than I expected for 65 nm CPUs - in the high 40s-mid 50s ºC range. I tried the stock AMD cooler as well as an ArcticCooling Alpine 7 HSF, no difference. (I expected these to run in the mid 30s or thereabouts.) Both HSFs make firm contact with the CPU, the thermal paste isn't under- or over-applied and the smart cooling is disabled in BIOS to allow the fan to run full-speed.

I'm still using what's left of a tube of ArcticSilver 5 that I bought three years ago. Can that have any bearing on this little puzzle? Other question: has anyone tried mounting the heatsink fan backwards, drawing air from the CPU upward rather than blowing downward onto it?

[Sarrkazztic]

The compound can separate over time, however if you shook the tube up really well and did not notice liquid coming out then that should not be a worry.


While I do not as yet have any experience with the X2 processors...I would think those 50c temps would be great but I am still using an Athlon XP 2600+ so I have not really dealt with that particular line of processors yet.

How many other fans are in this puzzle? Do you have one down low in the front drawing cool air in and 2 or more up high pulling the warm air out of the case to create the positive airflow we have discussed around here for ages?

[lgbpop]

How many other fans are in this puzzle? Do you have one down low in the front drawing cool air in and 2 or more up high pulling the warm air out of the case to create the positive airflow we have discussed around here for ages?

Oh heck yeah, a 120mm in front and another 120mm in the rear, and a 140mm fan in the PSU helping out as well. Same case as my original homebuild three years ago, good airflow and plenty of room. Dust cleaned out regularly. That includes wiping all the dust off the wall behind the tower where the fans blast it out.

I've never had an Athlon XP run higher than 38ºC (built several systems using them) and my first two X2s, a 4400 in the family room and this one's original 4000 both hover around 42º. It's just these two, and it's only with my office computer. They're running warm like Pentium4s. It's probably the slow-running HSFs.

[bistro]

As for the Arctic Silver, it'll last for quite a long time as long as it is stored in a fairly cool dry place and the cap is on tight.

In reference to CPU fan direction, I've seen other comparisons that pretty much determined that blowing on to the CPU didn't improve the temps; in a lot of cases it was not as effective as the standard configuration.

Three questions: How's the ambient temp in the room, what are the rpms of the HSF you are using, and did you allow for about 200 hours of cure time for the AS5?

[lgbpop]

Three questions: How's the ambient temp in the room, what are the rpms of the HSF you are using, and did you allow for about 200 hours of cure time for the AS5?

77ºF/25ºC room temp; presently the HSF fan is running at 2050 rpm. Only put in the 5000 last night, maybe two hours run time total. From my experience, the final running temp won't be too much lower than the initial temp at install. I checked it in the BIOS and in Everest a little while ago, the CPU was at 63ºC.

Think I'll try reversing the fan before I spend money for no reason.

[photolady]

Just my two cents, but I had that set up before and temps were higher. I mistakenly put the hs fan on with the air blowing towards the heatsink. Temps were lowered when I turned it over.

[lgbpop]

I'm definitely gonna try it reversed, then. (I just installed the Alpine7 straight from the box.) Just for laughs I connected the stock AMD HSF to an empty auxiliary fan port on the mobo and it's blowing downward as well. Hmmm...

[lgbpop]

I started getting that stupid feeling when i touched the HSF and it felt a HECK of a lot cooler than Everest indicated. Just for giggles, I checked the Abit download site and found out there were a number of BIOS updates (10!) over the sixteen months following the version on my mobo. Two of them addressed the CPU temp issue. Methinks I'll update that and see what shakes.

[bistro]

Just for comparison purposes, try downloading SpeedFan and Real Temp see what CPU temps they report. Both are fairly accurate.

[lgbpop]

Updated the BIOS, and the temps are more realistic now. 41º CPU under a 20-minute moderate load, 32º on all three hard drives and the system board, and 46º on the video card. More better, you betcha. SpeedFan showed the same temps, RealTemp is only for Intel.

Kinda weird, owning a mobo that wasn't discontinued by the time I bought it - not used to checking for updates more than once!

[lgbpop]

After three days, the temps are virtually the same so I guess things are OK. Thanks for the tips, everybody. This is one sweet CPU - not a quad-core, but definitely the best I've owned to date. Set the multiplier and it's off to the races.

[crunchie]

Oooh, BE model = unlocked multiplier . Have fun.

[bistro]

...RealTemp is only for Intel.

And that's why they call it RealTemp...it's only for real CPUs.