[BackwardPawn]

I was wondering if anyone could give me some advice. I'm building a new rig and got a good deal on an A70, but haven't applied a direct touch heat sink before. I ended up putting a line of paste along the edge of each pipe and installed the heat sink before noticing that it was upside down.

When I flipped it, I noticed that the spread was not what I would have liked, but I'm not sure if I should try it, or if I should remove everything and reapply. It was thin for the most part, but there were slight clumps along the areas that I originally applied the paste to. I've never actually removed the sink before using on previous builds and I don't know if the clumps will even out under heat or if I just did a bad job.

Should I try it and redo if needed, or am I better off trying to get it right from the start?

 

[candy_van]

Read this article

 

[BackwardPawn]

Thanks. That actually looks helpful. Now that its built, I'll turn it on to see what temperature I get, but will probably end up redoing it anyway.

 

[candy_van]

It's definitely a bit tricky, but you just need to take your time with filling in the gaps. After that it's all gravy

 

[spaceballsrules]

When I had my HDT cooler, I found that the TIM spread best when I applied it directly to the heatpipe. A thin line down the middle of each pipe. The excess would just spread to the aluminum separators on its own.

 

[BackwardPawn]

I've got the system running and I'm into the BIOS. The CPU is at 44 degrees (i5 2500k), which seems a little high, but I remember reading somewhere that BIOS isn't idle and it is pretty warm in here. I want to get Windows on and check using Speedfan or something. Since its not outrageously high, I'll probably order some better thermal paste before I redo it.

 

[AllenR]

you might wanna use CoreTemp to monitor your CPU temps

 

[BackwardPawn]

I downloaded Core Temp and all four cores are running between 28 and 32 degrees. I haven't done any load testing, but looks good to me so far.

 

[BackwardPawn]

The cooler seems to do a good job. I don't think I'm going to bother with reseating it until I have a reason to. The corsair fans are my only problem now. While not being especially loud, they still sound kind of obnoxious. What would be a good pair of fans to replace them with? Is something with PWM a good option, or is it better to get quiet fans with constant airflow?

Thanks in advance.

bp

 

[spaceballsrules]

What you are probably hearing is some sort of bearing or motor noise.
PWM fans would be good if you enable fan control in BIOS, but I prefer quiet fans at constant rates.
I can highly recommend Scythe S-Flex or Gentle Typhoon fans. I use the S-Flex (20 dBa) throughout my case and they work well in any orientation and have decent enough static pressure to use on heatsinks.
Another VERY good option would be to get some Thermalright TY-140 fans. They are 140mm, but they have 120mm mounting holes, so they have universal compatibility with 120mm heatsink mountings.

 

[BackwardPawn]

It really sounds like ball bearings. I probably will replace the fans with Scythes...in the meantime, I've tried to put a couple of F12 PWMs on that I had sitting around for another PC, but can't figure out how to get the rubber grommets off without breaking them. Any tips for this?

Also, in case anyone is interested, here's the temps I'm getting after running Futuremark 11. No overclock yet...does this look like its in a reasonable range to start overclocking? The fans are currently running at 1600 rpm.

Core 0: Low 25 High 47
Core 1: Low 25 High 49
Core 2: Low 23 High 45
Core 3: Low 25 High 49

 

[Lord Xeb]

I just put a big glob in the center (about 3mm across), pressed down, twisted side to side and called it a day. But the H50 makes it SO Much easier.

 

[frankth3frizz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by BackwardPawn It really sounds like ball bearings. I probably will replace the fans with Scythes...in the meantime, I've tried to put a couple of F12 PWMs on that I had sitting around for another PC, but can't figure out how to get the rubber grommets off without breaking them. Any tips for this? Also, in case anyone is interested, here's the temps I'm getting after running Futuremark 11. No overclock yet...does this look like its in a reasonable range to start overclocking? The fans are currently running at 1600 rpm. Core 0: Low 25 High 47 Core 1: Low 25 High 49 Core 2: Low 23 High 45 Core 3: Low 25 High 49

soap it !!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lord Xeb I just put a big glob in the center (about 3mm across), pressed down, twisted side to side and called it a day. But the H50 makes it SO Much easier.

i did that with my A70

 

[BackwardPawn]

Hmm...soap, I think that'll work.

I ened up filling in some gaps when I flipped it (plus tried to smooth some of it out). If I ever have reason to take it off, I'll do it right, but I see no reason to go messing around with it when its under 50 degrees on load.

 

[BackwardPawn]

I finally got the things off. If anyone else runs into this problem, just pull hard and they come off (they come with two extras in case you break one). The good news is that the arctic fans cool much better than the corsair fans. My temps came down about five degrees. Under load I'm not breaking 45 now, and they're much quieter. The bad news is the PWM function doesn't seem to work right and at full speed, the fans sound very unsteady (if that makes sense). So now they are just annoying in a different way.

So these fans will get used on the other system, where they will hopefully not run as fast and I'll get another pair here (maybe S-Flexes, unless someone has a better suggestion).

BP