The Official PC building thread - 4th Edition

You don't want to use metal based pastes for electronics, can you say SHORT!

 

Not if you're careful I'm currently using diamond though. Not sure of it's electrical conductivity though. When I first experimented with it, I noted a 1 - 3C temperature drop. But perhaps I used it more sparingly than the other stuff I've used. The experts say it's better, so I believe them

 

You can use Diamond but you shouldn't use metalic, metal conducts diamond does not. In fact they use metalic pens to fix traces on boards.

 

I've heard of those.

Interesting. I think the lockup has tried to occur, but it seems it can't, while the drive in question is soo busy transferring. If reformatting does not work, I'll probably disconnect the drive indefinitely, and decide after a time, if the drive needs replacement.

 

if its not the hdd, me = n00b

 

Yes well, sometimes bugs can point in more than one direction. This one is weird to say the least. I'm close, I can feel it LOL!

 

I think you might be a NOOB shaffaaf but that is OK we understand.

 

The lockup just occurred during format. Either a cable is wigging, or the control board on the drive, or god knows what...
Or it isn't that drive, and it was simply coincidence that the bug never occurred during disconnect...

It's starting to make me nuts LOL!

 

Oman7,

The advantage to using Ceramique over the Diamond stuff, is that there are so many individual parts that need the TIM to be applied to and that the Ceramique, while it doesn't cure in the sense that Arctic Silver does, it does cure and creates a good bond between heatsink and VRMs. By the time it's cured, it will have just the right thinness to remove maximum heat, and be bonded in place. I don't think that you could do that kind of meticulous work with something as hard to work with as the Diamond TIM. That's why it dropped my motherboard temp 13C. The other drawback to the diamond is it voids your warranty! Not in words, but in the fact that all the print disappears from the CPU from vibration and abrasion from the ultra hard diamond dust. No Print, No Warranty!

Best Regards,
Russ

 

That hadn't occurred to me. I am aware of diamonds super hard structure(as well as an abrasive). It never occurred to me that vibration could ware away the vital information! Not too worried though. My 965 will likely remain with me a while anyway. I'll likely try ceramique one day. I love getting my hands dirty Unfortunately, money is always the issue. Drat!

 

Oman7,

Do not, I repeat, "DO NOT" use in AMDs or that type of socket. You "Will" pull the CPU out of the socket with the socket lock on, if you have to remove the cooler. You can use it on things like LGA775 and that type of mechanism. I ripped a bunch of pins out of my
first Athlon 7750 dual core that way. AMD was really nice about it and gave me another one, Thank You AMD! Do a little stress testing before you remove the CPU cooler. Shut it sown and release the lock lever. While applying a small amount of down-force, rotate gently back and forth, and it usually comes free pretty easy!

Russ

 

Diamond-based pastes like Antec formula 7 have higher conductivity still. Usually though, you start to get diminishing returns beyond good silver paste as the surface of the base of the heatsink starts to have more of an effect.

 

Sam,

That's why I recommend Arctic Cooling MX-2. It spreads like butter and is non conductive. You can make a mess and still not hurt anything. It has slightly better performance than Arctic Silver 5, about 1-2C better! I put a 3/16" sized ball of it in the middle of the CPU, and it will just spread right to the edges when you flip the lever. Wipe any excess up and you are done! MX-2 is the easiest and most foolproof Thermal past I've ever used. It consistently gives the same results, with little effort.

Russ

 

MX-2's been used on a few of my coolers. I prefer it to Arctic Silver 5 because as you say, it's slightly better for cooling, but better still it's not electrically conductive, so you don't have to be quite so cautious using it. OCZ Freeze went on a few of my coolers too and performed similarly. I've got some Antec formula 6 as a free gift from the LAN event I'm currently at, so will have to see how that fares whenever I need to next repaste a cooler.

 

Thanks for the tip, but I'm always careful removing the CPU. CPU's are like babies to me. I've got MX-2. Good stuff. I know what you mean by spreads like butter. I fully agree.
Well, my suspected drive is fully formatted. Next step, is once again see what happens. If the bug remains, I pull the drive again. If I pull the drive again, this time I'm waiting closer to a week before making a decision.

 

Although it could be a cable I doubt that, it sounds more like a bad drive. Run the manufactures diag tool on your drive and if it is still under warranty write down the return code and create a RMA with them.

Seagate SeaTools

Western Digital Drive Tools
** You'll have to select the correct device from the list on this page and the following page to get to your diag software.

Also Russ is 100% correct when it comes to ceramic paste and it not pulling your CPU out of the socket verses diamond paste. I have done that one myself and never had problems with the old white paste. You could due damage to your socket or CPU with silver as it just bonds too hard and can pull your chip when the heatsink is removed. Dangerous!

Steve

 

Trust me guys, I'll pay very close attention to my 965 baby It'll likely stay with the board anyway Though if I do have a bad board, unlikely, I'd elect to go AM3+ and need to remove it. Time will tell.
I'll run the diagnostic shortly.

 

The diagnostic came out fine. The drive has been fully reformatted (long format), and lockups are still occurring. However oddly they seem less pronounced. I just disconnected the drive again. Now I wait for 2 full days to see if there's an improvement. If the bug is gone, I'll try a new port. If the bug remains on a new port, it'll be confirmed to be a bad drive. I'll likely be switching Sata cables as well. Two birds with one stone

 

Oman7,

You say you like big cases? Here's one from Rosewill (of all companies) that's really nice. $129 at the Egg!

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147053

Here's a Review of it from Anandtech. Very impressive!

http://www.anandtech.com/show/4648/rosewill-thor-v2-the-god-of-cooling-and-silence/1

Lots of nice features, and very well thought out. Check it out.

Best Regards,
Russ

 

In this system are you using add-on controllers? If so you may have an interrupt/dma/port conflict, especially if you are using multiple add-on cards.