Ic Diamond Thermal Paste Application, Advice Needed! Options

[finalman]

I'm getting some IC Diamond heat transfer paste coming in the mail and would like some advice in advance on how to apply it on the 360 as I want to use it on my jtag jaspers which currently use AS5.

Should I use the dot, line or spread method?
How much do I use, pea size or rice grain?
Do I heat it before application. If so how hot should i get it?

This post has been edited by finalman: Jun 9 2011, 06:49 AM

[hangover]

I'm getting some IC Diamond heat transfer paste coming in the mail and would like some advice in advance on how to apply it on the 360 as I want to use it on my jtag jaspers which currently use AS5.

Should I use the dot, line or spread method?
How much do I use, pea size or rice grain?
Do I heat it before application. If so how hot should i get it?

I only use AS5 as it works but same for IC i guess, only use rice grain size and dont spread it, let the 2 surfaces spread it as they come together. Not sure why you would want to heat it for as it wont do anything ?

[KILLorBE]

You should use a dot.
I think you should use somewhere in between, you should test it yourself to see if the entire core is covered.
There's no need to warm it up, but it may help the paste to spread easier.
I wouldn't get it too hot, maybe 40-50C max.
After cleaning the HS you may want to rub some paste on the HS to fill any gaps/crevices using a clean piece of plastic.

Also, I don't think you should expect much (if any) of a temperature drop, some tests show it's superior to AS5 and others show it worse than AS5 and some show there's hardly any difference.

http://www.overclockers.com/applying-thermal-grease/

Not sure why you would want to heat it for as it wont do anything ?

IC 7 is quite thick, warming it up will make it a little easier to spread (So I've read).

[hangover]

You should use a dot.
I think you should use somewhere in between, you should test it yourself to see if the entire core is covered.
There's no need to warm it up, but it may help the paste to spread easier.
I wouldn't get it too hot, maybe 40-50C max.
After cleaning the HS you may want to rub some paste on the HS to fill any gaps/crevices using a clean piece of plastic.

Also, I don't think you should expect much (if any) of a temperature drop, some tests show it's superior to AS5 and others show it worse than AS5 and some show there's hardly any difference.

http://www.overclockers.com/applying-thermal-grease/


IC 7 is quite thick, warming it up will make it a little easier to spread (So I've read).

Thats the only reason i could think of but there is really no need, the paste will spread itself with pressure.

[RoboChicken]

Like KillorBE said it is REALLY thick and hard to spread. I don't use it because it's a bitch for PS3s so I just stick with AS5 for both 360 and PS3.

[rigger66]

Also, I don't think you should expect much (if any) of a temperature drop, some tests show it's superior to AS5 and others show it worse than AS5 and some show there's hardly any difference.

Thats why I use MX-4 Best performance you can get

Regards

Rigger66

[KILLorBE]

Thats the only reason i could think of but there is really no need, the paste will spread itself with pressure.

Like RoboChicken said, it's a real pain to spread, use too little and it won't cover the entire core, use too much and the layer may be too thick (too thick for my likings).
Sure, it will probably spread better with time, but I want good performance right away.

Thats why I use MX-4 Best performance you can get

Regards

Rigger66

MX-4 is just about as good as AS5, IC 7, G751, OCZ Freeze or any other well known brand/enthusiast type of thermal paste, there's probably less than a 1C difference between the top 10 thermal pastes (Hence the different results in various tests, because applying the exact same amount/even layer, using exact same test methods (Ambient temp, load, pressure....etc) is pretty much impossible).
I must say that MX-4 is a lot easier to work with than IC 7 or G751 (Probably AS5 too).

Hell, I get good results using the cheapest aluminum oxide based paste (The cheap white stuff), but as an OC'er I want something better than good.

This post has been edited by KILLorBE: Jun 9 2011, 05:20 PM

[mecca30uk]

i use ic diamond on my sandy bridge pc, which is the best money can buy.

it brought down my temps 5 degrees over AC5


you need to use 5mm blob.


it doesnt matter if it goes on thick it is meant to, it is by far and away the best thermal paste therefore using a lot wont make any difference, its themral conductivity is so good thick is best

if you go on their site they suggest a lot, i put on more than ac5 and its working fabntastic, its miles better.


large 5mm blob in the middle of the chip should do fine.

if the chip is smaller than an i7 2600k processor then obviously use a lightly smaller blob in the middle


job done, you wnt reget buying this stuff its fantastic

[DTA HONDA]

I'm getting some IC Diamond heat transfer paste coming in the mail and would like some advice in advance on how to apply it on the 360 as I want to use it on my jtag jaspers which currently use AS5.

Should I use the dot, line or spread method?
How much do I use, pea size or rice grain?
Do I heat it before application. If so how hot should i get it?

I didn't have any success using ic on xbox repairs. I think its a waste of money so i bought a tube of arctic silver 5. And that worked better.

And like everyone else said its a pain to spread so you have to guess how much to put, and let it set with pressure. Which i couldn't get right.

[KILLorBE]

it doesnt matter if it goes on thick it is meant to, it is by far and away the best thermal paste therefore using a lot wont make any difference, its themral conductivity is so good thick is best

Its thermal conductivity is still only 4.5W/m-K, while aluminum starts around 120W/m-K.

Thermal paste is meant to fill gaps/crevices to have the largest contact area (As air is a lot worse), so you should use as little as possible.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermal_conductivity

[finalman]

large 5mm blob in the middle of the chip should do fine.

if the chip is smaller than an i7 2600k processor then obviously use a lightly smaller blob in the middle
job done, you wnt reget buying this stuff its fantastic

The 360 doesn't have a IHS (heatspreader) over the cores and the core measurements are like:

Jasper Core estimate \ guesses:
cpu: 8mmx10mm
gpu: 10mmx 10mm
edram: 5mmx7mm

so wouldn't a 5mm diameter blob be way to much?

[finalman]

Just searched google and found quite afew forums where IC diamond leaves scratches the heatspreader. Here are some pics:





Now the 360 doesn't have a heatspreader so it might do some real damage to the processor core surfaces.

I think that IC diamond might only be for use on processors sporting IHS \ heatspreader.

So I think I might skip it for my 360s and use it on my PS3 since it has a heatspreader.

[finalman]

Went ahead and tried it got about a 3 degree celcius drop on both of my jtag jaspers.

Also tried it on my PS3 and it no longer ramps up the fan speed as quickly.

Very impressed.