So what if thermal compound spreads?

Paul Hopwood wrote:

"Queve Tientoo" wrote:

No matter how much you put on, the excess will get squeezed
out buy the pressure from the HS hold down clip, your layer will always
end up the same thickness. I have removed several and the "layer" looks
the same on both the carefully applied with no squizz-out and the sloppy
with heavy squizz.

If too much is applied the excess won't be squeezed out.

If the excess isn't squeezed out either the compound you're using is too
"thick" in vicosity (never used any of that expencive metalic/conducitive
stuff) or the clamp isn't strong enough for the application.

--

Stacey

Noozer wrote:



How can you have capacitive properties if a compound is not conductive?



You don't understand what a capacitor is do you?

--

Stacey

In article , says...

Yep. Years of taking heatsinks off 486/Pentium/socketed CPUs and seeing
a huge white square of heatsink compound on the top of it which is
quite thick. Wonder why that is because according to you it should've
been squeezed out yet it isn't.

Then the heatsink wasn't applied right (at an angle, not just plopped
straight down so that it might trap air bubbles), or the heatsink was not
clamped with much pressure. There should never be a "huge" gob of compound
that is "quite thick".

Just got an old IBM desktop in. Its a P166MMX with fanless cooling.
Took the hetsink off and there's a big square of thermal compound.
You'll find all old P1 IBM desktops were like that....


--
Conor

If you're not on somebody's **** list, you're not doing anything
worthwhile.

In article , says...

If the heatsink is applied properly, yes. It's a moot point. Which is more
dangerous for swimming - 100 feet of water or 1,000 feet of water? What
difference does it make?

Err...1000ft is more dangerous. At 100ft you stand a chance of coming
back up to the surface before you drown. At 1000 ft the pressure would
kill you.

And I wouldn`t think of using my finger to
apply the TP - I use a razor blade or credit card to scrape it as flat as
possible and as thin as possible before fitting the heat sink.

Oh really? Absolutely as flat and thin as can possibly be, huh? Ok, if you
say so.

So what do you use?


--
Conor

If you're not on somebody's **** list, you're not doing anything
worthwhile.

In article , says...

"Conor" wrote in message
. ..

Then I'd like to understand how it's possible to get a "thick" layer
when
the heatsink is applied properly, and with all the pressure from the
clamps.

Because it gets sandwiched inbetween.

And it promptly gets squeezed out, especially if you apply the heatsink
correctly - at an angle, so that no air bubbles are possible and force is
applied at an angle and changing point of contact.

Ah..that'd be the angle AMD recommend NOT TO DO because it cracks the
core?


--
Conor

If you're not on somebody's **** list, you're not doing anything
worthwhile.

In article ,
says...
Conor wrote:



Because it gets sandwiched inbetween.

BS, I've pulled dozens of chips and it's -always- smushed out leaving a
micro thin layer. If it gets "sandwiched between" the clamp isn't working
right.

So it does get sandwiched inbetween..thanks for agreeing with me.

You've not been building computers long have you? You should go back a
few generations of CPU.


--
Conor

If you're not on somebody's **** list, you're not doing anything
worthwhile.

"Conor" wrote in message
...
In article , says...

If the heatsink is applied properly, yes. It's a moot point. Which is
more
dangerous for swimming - 100 feet of water or 1,000 feet of water? What
difference does it make?

Err...1000ft is more dangerous. At 100ft you stand a chance of coming
back up to the surface before you drown. At 1000 ft the pressure would
kill you.

What are you talking about? You're not going to the bottom at 1,000 feet.
If you could come back up, you wouldn't drown. Use your head man. People
drown in 4 foot swimming pools.

And I wouldn`t think of using my finger to
apply the TP - I use a razor blade or credit card to scrape it as flat
as
possible and as thin as possible before fitting the heat sink.

Oh really? Absolutely as flat and thin as can possibly be, huh? Ok, if
you
say so.

So what do you use?

Usually my finger with a little plastic wrap over it. The pressure from the
heat sink clamp then makes the layer "as thin as possible". I use a small
amount to avoid a mess.

"Conor" wrote in message
...

Then the heatsink wasn't applied right (at an angle, not just plopped
straight down so that it might trap air bubbles), or the heatsink was
not
clamped with much pressure. There should never be a "huge" gob of
compound
that is "quite thick".

Just got an old IBM desktop in. Its a P166MMX with fanless cooling.
Took the hetsink off and there's a big square of thermal compound.
You'll find all old P1 IBM desktops were like that....

Sounds like a "pad". Now a pad is *not* going to be squished as thin as
paste. Which just goes to show, even if the high pressure from today's heat
sinks, and small "footprint" of the CPU core, weren't enough to make the
layer as thin as possible, it would still work with a (relatively) thick
pad.

"beav AT wn DoT com DoT au" "beav AT wn DoT com DoT au" wrote in message
...
jeffc wrote:

Those constraints make the whole exercise meaningless and futile,

I didn't say it doesn't. However, stepping outside the constraints
while still arguing about the conditions within the constraints is
equally as futile.

Well then, you've certainly accomplished a lot here beav.

"Conor" wrote in message
...
In article , says...

"Conor" wrote in message
. ..

Then I'd like to understand how it's possible to get a "thick" layer
when
the heatsink is applied properly, and with all the pressure from the
clamps.

Because it gets sandwiched inbetween.

And it promptly gets squeezed out, especially if you apply the heatsink
correctly - at an angle, so that no air bubbles are possible and force
is
applied at an angle and changing point of contact.

Ah..that'd be the angle AMD recommend NOT TO DO because it cracks the
core?

No, not that angle.