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JJJC's Fast Insulation Guide

post #1 of 31
Thread Starter 
JJ's Subzero Insulation Guide

There are a lot of insulation guides around on the net, and even a few on this very site, but I figure there's always room for one more. biggrin.gif Because I am able to see the future, I'm almost certain that a few people will come busting in telling me this isn't enough insulation and chiming in with how they think it should be done. Just know that this works flawlessly for me, I have never killed anything due to lack of insulation. If you don't think it's enough, or you consider your method better, then stick with it. smile.gif

This is a very fast method, overall it takes me around 10 minutes from start to finish. I prefer to spend my benching and not insulating.

I've played with a lot of setups in my time doing this, eraser, LET, eraser+LET, eraser+vas (Don't try that one at home) as well as others and have found my current method to be the fastest and simplest of them all. It's also easy to clean up. Today I will be insulating a Maximus V Formula for CPU and memory subzero.

Things you will need:
Vaseline
Small paintbrush
Paper Towels
Closed cell foam
Scissors, craft knife or anything else that will cut through foam
Hair dryer (optional)

insulate-1.jpg

Start by covering the socket area of the board in vaseline with a small paintbrush. You only need a thin layer, I've seen people pour a whole tub over their board before but you just risk it getting into your socket and causing issues that way. Thin layer or thick layer makes no difference, it repels water all the same.
insulate-1-5.jpg

Here you can see the area I've covered in vaseline. If you're going to put a GPU under cold then you'll want to cover past the pci-e slot.
insulate-1-2.jpg

This step isn't completely necessary, but I like to do it as it takes a few seconds and in theory should spread vas in to hard to reach spots and melt it all together as one layer. You don't want to have it so hot that it's dripping off your board, just so it softens up a bit.
insulate-1-3.jpg

Same deal for the back of the board.
insulate-1-4.jpg

To finish up the back I just have my mounting plate, a piece of foam and a single paper towel. You can layer it with more towels if you like, but I've found one to be enough.
insulate-1-7.jpg

Now it's time to lay down some paper towels around the socket. I do this so that the cold from the pot doesn't directly touch the board, and it also soaks up any moisture that does come up.
insulate-1-9.jpg

Rip, fold and push around to fit. Doesn't need to look pretty.
insulate-1-10.jpg

You should end up with something like this. Again, you can layer more if you like, but I have found a single layer to be plenty in my setup. If you're going to have cold bug issues and need to go from subzero to positive temps then you'll want to lay down some extra as you'll constantly be melting the ice buildup.
insulate-1-11.jpg

A piece of foam to hold it all down and seal it off a little. This one isn't a perfect fit but it works. I originally cut it up for a gigabyte 1156 board. Thermal paste has also been applied. Wiggle and turn the pot a bit as you mount to help spread.
insulate-1-12.jpg

All mounted! Now I'm going to turn my attention to the memory. (Yes I did burn the hold down plate with a torch)
insulate-1-13.jpg

Here's a shot of the ram I will be using. Not sure if you can see in the photo, but I have applied a thin layer of vaseline to the pcb and a very thin layer to the gold connections. Same method as the board, brush it on and hit it with a hairdryer.
You might also notice that there's no label on the stick. They tend to peel or fall right off after freezing ram.
insulate-1-15.jpg

Stick the ram in the slots. I haven't added any vaseline, just what I did when insulating for the CPU. Lay down some paper towel in the empty slots and around the immediate area to soak up any moisture that might come up.
Not shown in this image is the temperature probe that you will need. Use something to attach a probe to the ram sink. I use a piece of keandable eraser as it sticks and lets the cold through.
insulate-1-16.jpg

Here's my very awesome ram pot. Go into your kitchen and grab a sheet of tin foil. Fold it over and mold it to your ram. If you have a proper ram pot then this step is obviously not for you.
insulate-1-17.jpg

I just go over the makeshift pot with a normal kitchen rag and lucky band. My rag isn't quite long enough to go around the whole thing, so I've just used a little paper towel at the back to cover it all up.
insulate-1-18.jpg

That's it, you're done! The cold will spread from the mem pot and freeze the edge of your motherboard, but it doesn't cause me any problems. If you're going to melt it then mop it up with a paper towel as you do so.
insulate-1-19.jpg


Any questions then please feel free to let me know, and I'll do my best to answer them. If you just want to view the gallery of images then here's the link: http://s1109.photobucket.com/albums/h437/JJJC_93/Subzdero%20Insulation%20Guide/

Happy freezing guys!
biggrin.gif
post #2 of 31
Nicely done.... thumb.gif
    
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post #3 of 31
Sweet guide biggrin.gif I'll look forward to use it after i get an ln2 pot biggrin.gif

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post #4 of 31
Nice guide, thanks.

Looks like your memory pot is made out of the same stuff as my hat.
post #5 of 31
Quote:
Originally Posted by jjjc_93 View Post

Start by covering the socket area of the board in vaseline with a small paintbrush. You only need a thin layer, I've seen people pour a whole tub over their board before but you just risk it getting into your socket and causing issues that way. Thin layer or thick layer makes no difference, it repels water all the same.

First off, well written sir! cheers.gif

Id like to comment on your statement i have in bold. while some people have never had issues with vaseline in the socket, I have. It was on this very board too. I applied too thick of a layer and the result was it slowly made its way underneath the socket and up into between the pins and such. Thus, a thin layer like JJ has suggested is probably the best bet! thumb.gif
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post #6 of 31
Very nice, the memory part was just what I was looking for. thumb.gif
    
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post #7 of 31
Hey mate nice guide, will give it ago tonight,so you put no vas in ram slots at all just what's on the the rams?
post #8 of 31
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bullant View Post

Hey mate nice guide, will give it ago tonight,so you put no vas in ram slots at all just what's on the the rams?

Yeah, that's right. You can put vaseline in the slots if you like, but I avoid it. Is often the cause of clocking issues and booting problems, and that's never fun when you want to be benching. If you do freeze your ram, just give everything good time to dry. After finishing I usually tear it down and leave everything to sit overnight and come back to it the next day.
post #9 of 31
Yep ok Im not sure if I'll freeze ram today as I'm still trying to sort all settings for ram out , only got board and ram yesterday
post #10 of 31
Nice ghetto memory pot, simple and functional.
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