Silly Question.

[ming]

Ok, call me stupid or what have you.

I just want to ask - is there a difference between thermal compounds for CPUs and GFX cards?

Asking this coz I'm wondering if I should use Arctic Silver for my gfx card.

 

[Taurus]

no difference. it all serves the exact same purpose; to help transfer heat from a hot surface to a cool surface.

i put as3 on my video cards.

 

[ming]

cool... thx.

just one other question regarding this... how much of it should i be putting on coz when i replaced the fan last time i put a thin layer of the stuff that came with the new HSF, but my system keeps crashing if i play games for long time. guess it's overheating still.

 

[Taurus]

graphics cards can be tricky.because of the larger and sometime uneven surface area, you want to use a good amount.. but not too much. also, when you put the heatsink on you don't want to trap any air pockets.

clean the gpu and heatsink bottom well with alcohol. i get some (clean) saran wrap and put some over my index finger so the pad of my finger is nice and smooth. put a dab on the gpu and rub it around so that the whole surface is covered with a thin (but not quite transparent) layer. then do the same with the surface area of the heatsink. rub it in so it fills any microscopic cracks in the finish. then put a sizeable dab (can't think of an example of how much) on the center of the gpu and place the heatsink evenly onto the gpu and press down evenly on the center while slightly twisting it left and right so the compound works it's way out to the edges.

that's what i do, at least. maybe others will chime in with their methods and we can all get better at it.

 

[ming]

thanx for the info... hope my system wont crash when i sort it out after the new year.