So I was bored the other night and decided I would take the fansink off of my old GTX260 that I am planning on selling one of these days. I took all the OEM applied thermal paste and tape (they sure put a lot on the GPU, was rather nasty stuff starting to get crunchy). My question here is, is what should I use for thermal transfer material when I put the fansink back on? I was thinking Arctic Silver 5 for the GPU itself and then maybe some thermal tape for the rest? I heard ceramic paste works better than tape, but that it is rather permament, and I would want whoever bought the thing from me to do what they want with it without having to worry about permanent paste...
If there are thermal PADS on the memories, just re-use them. The GPU-TIM is a bit tricky as the exposed SMD-components around the GPU don't really want to get bathed in the stuff. (dunno what's the case with Nvidia cards though, been just messing with AMD for a while) I'd recommend something non-conductive on the GPU just to be safe. Also what's that thing on your avatar?
i put AS5 on my ATI X1650 in the HTPC and its been running fine ever since. just dont get carried away and smear it all over and youll be fine.
Mk I'll definitly use AS5 on the GPU heatspreader. But as for the original cooling pads - most of them fell apart and I just threw them away. Anyone have suggestions for a good type of thermal tape to use? Can I buy good thermal pads? Is there any form of 'non permanent' ceramic?
Scan do this: http://www.scan.co.uk/products/akas...icro-fibreglass-double-sided-thermal-adhesive. You just cut it to size. You can also use a double layer depending on how thick the pads you need are. I think I also bought some in Maplins a while ago as well. I have just used MX-3 on a GPU. I found that AS5 was a bit too thin and the heatsink didn't feel that it was on tight enough (weak springs on the backing plate I reckon). MX-3 worked fine and it felt more secure. In addition, MX-3 is non-conductive so I wasn't as nervous about overspill as I was with the AS5.
Specialtech have a decent range of thermal pads http://specialtech.co.uk/spshop/customer/home.php?cat=1632