[Pyranite]

Quote:

Originally Posted by michinmuri Has anyone ever tried or thought of using solder as thermal paste? I know that it would a pretty permanent bond between the CPU and heatsink but wouldn't it be a better heat transfer than using paste? I'm thinking of doing it for giggles.

doesnt conventional solder have a tendency to melt at lowish temps?

 

[cuy50]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pyranite doesnt conventional solder have a tendency to melt at lowish temps?

The lowest melting point of most solder is 90 degrees Celsius, so it would theoretically be safe.

 

[Manyak]

Sure....Intel actually uses it themselves between the die and the IHS.

 

[michinmuri]

I just read in wiki that even the lower ones melt at like 430F. They should work and without damaging the CPU. I did some reasearch before asking this seemingly "dumb" question.

 

[michinmuri]

kewl. is there any evidence that it works better than, say, AS5?

 

[0rion]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pyranite doesnt conventional solder have a tendency to melt at lowish temps?

Computer chips traditionally run between 20C and 100C, solder wont melt at such cool temperatures. It takes a few hundred degrees to get solder to liquify.

OP- Solder is used to keep the IHS on the chip sometimes, especially with newer chips. Its generally considered a pain because of the reason you specified, its too permanent. Plus, It probably doesnt work as well as something like Arctic Silver does at heat transfer.

edit: I take too long to type......

 

[cuy50]

Quote:

Originally Posted by michinmuri I just read in wiki that even the lower ones melt at like 430F. They should work and without damaging the CPU. I did some reasearch before asking this seemingly "dumb" question.

The trick would be to keep the solder hot enough so it remains liquid while you add the heatsink, but then I imagine the CPU could get damaged by warming solder on it...and then also solder can get messy....

 

[CoolerMasterD]

Let me know what the results are if you do it

You live in Lexington! ZOMG!

 

[d3v0]

I hope you try this on some old P3/Duron or something

 

[michinmuri]

Well, I guess I need to look at the heat transfer rate of certain solder mixes and the transfer rate of AS5 and all that. They also have some solders that contain silver, but the melting points are very high, but some have been made that are low. I bet that kind is very expensive.

 

[michinmuri]

Quote:

Originally Posted by CoolerMasterD You live in Lexington! ZOMG!

Nothing special about that, other than if you also live here, it's obviously a small world. I actually met someone on here that I was in band and graduated with.

 

[Vlasov_581]

 

[TEntel]

It wouldn't damage the CPU.

At least on person on this forum has taken a heatgun to his CPU in order to reflow the solder under the IHS.

 

[michinmuri]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TEntel At least on person on this forum has taken a heatgun to his CPU in order to reflow the solder under the IHS.

I don't wanna go that far (I think.) I just want better conductivity than paste, and was thinking maybe solder would be a good bet even if permanent.

 

[003]

This is a terrible idea. In theory, it would work. In practice... it would be much to easy to apply too much heat and kill the CPU. Keep in mind, the die is attached to the substrate via solder. I can't believe nobody has tossed up the most obvious solution here... Coollaboratory Liquid Pro.

And yes, it works and it works well. In fact, it is the best performing TIM you can get today. Just don't use it on aluminum.

 

[jtypin]

i do not think solder is permanent, just re melt it, take off the HS then keep it warm while wiping it off? btw this is with the CPU OUT OF THE BOARD

 

[TEntel]

Quote:

Originally Posted by michinmuri I don't wanna go that far (I think.) I just want better conductivity than paste, and was thinking maybe solder would be a good bet even if permanent.

Of course.

My point is that the heat won't damage the CPU.

As long as it is not in the board, running, it can take massive amounts of heat. Obscene amounts.

I say go for it.
I've tossed the idea around a bit myself.

It will obviously work great.
I'm certain solder will conduct heat very well, and it will maximize the surface area between CPU and heatsink.

Keep in mind that too much TIM acts as an insulator, but too little results in less contact area between CPU and heatsink, which means that it is inevitable that you aren't getting optimal heat transfer.
Lapping helps of course, but still isn't perfect.

 

[michinmuri]

CPU and heat sink are lapped down to copper, so the transferance of heat between those two surfaces will be better than stock. Just wanted to get some opinions/facts to see if it would work better than AS5 andt he like due to it being a liguid versus a paste.

003, I will use liquid pro in my next build, that will not be so permanent. This one I may give to a friend soon and could care less if the heat sink and CPU are (mostly) permanently attached.

 

[sabermetrics]

just wanted to know... how are you going to add the solder? Solder takes very little time to re-solidify, and the amount of time you have to set the cooler down would be very small... and also, how are you going to reheat the solder once the cooler's mounted? you can't really heat up the motherboard along with it..