[solved] CPU TIM and Fan questions

[Chris]

I have OCZ Vendetta 2 heat sink and fan installed, on my i7 920 overclocked to 3.8GHz. It has been running at about 42c for the past 2 yrs. Now the heatsink fan has a grinding sound when I booted the computer in the morning, and then went normal after 30 seconds. Also, cpu temp has gone up to about 48c (at idle, with minimum tasks in background).

Here are my questions:

1. I replaced the fan with a Noctua NF-P12. It is 3 wires, and the original fan has 4 wires. The fan runs at around 1400 rpm. Do I need to buy a fan with 4 wires, and what does the 4th wire do? Is this fan appropriate for heatsink use?

2. I removed the heatsink, cleaned it with 99% alcohol (and the cpu as well). I put on Arctic Silver 5 which is old stuff since 2004. The temp did not drop, it is around 47c overclocked, and 40c on optimized default. Is my AC5 too old?

So either the fan or the AC5 or both is giving me problems. Which do you think?

3. If I replace my heatsink & fan, what do you recommend besides D14(which is really too large for my case. I only overclock to 3.8 GHz, and do photo editing, and sometimes game a bit.

edit: I ran P95, and it reached 78c in 5 minutes when I turned it off.

[enaberif]

1) 4th wire is a rpm wire which allows PWM or fa control bios level to work.
2) How did you put the thermal paste on?

[Chris]

I used different methods, a grain of rice on the cpu, which did not spread enough to cover the important part of the heat spreader (don't recall is this is the right term). Then I put three small threads of AC5 on the 3 heat pipes, and it spreads to all areas of the cpu with no overflow, seems to give me the lowest temp.

So, is my Noctua fan appropriate for heatsink use. It is running at 1400rpm.

[Adzsask]

Noctua's ar ok for heatsinks, but I would grab a fan with higher CFM to penetrate the fins better. Coolermaster R4, Scythe GentleTyphoon AP-15, or scythe S-flex, or a 1400 RPM yate loon.

[enaberif]

being it has heat pipes if the base has a exposed heatpipes there is a proper way to put thermal paste on

[Chris]

Thanks. This is the right way?
"Two lines, perpendicular to the heatpipes does the best coverage for exposed heatpipes."
I put a line along each heatpipe, about an inch long. I'll try the proper way tomorrow morning.

@Adzsask: Thanks, I'll go get one.

[enaberif]

Originally Posted by Chris

Thanks. This is the right way?
"Two lines, perpendicular to the heatpipes does the best coverage for exposed heatpipes."
I put a line along each heatpipe, about an inch long. I'll try the proper way tomorrow morning.

@Adzsask: Thanks, I'll go get one.

proper way:
[Guide] Applying thermal paste on Core i7, Core2Duo & Core2Quad and installing a 3rd party Heatisink - www.hardwarezone.com.sg

[Chris]

Thanks for the link. After looking at the cost of the fans I need to buy, I am looking at buying a Hyper 212+ which is on sale for $22, which more than double the cost of the Coolmaster R4 fan at $10. Review here for Hyper 212+ is a little better than my Vendetta 2.

What do you guys think? Is this a good way to go or stick with vendetta 2 with a coolmaster R4 fan?

[Adzsask]

Originally Posted by Chris

Thanks for the link. After looking at the cost of the fans I need to buy, I am looking at buying a Hyper 212+ which is on sale for $22, which more than double the cost of the Coolmaster R4 fan at $10. Review here for Hyper 212+ is a little better than my Vendetta 2.

What do you guys think? Is this a good way to go or stick with vendetta 2 with a coolmaster R4 fan?

Yate loon's are $5 a piece, if you are that broke, grab a few on e-bay, I got 5 YL's for under $10 from hong kong. It took about 20 days to get to me but hey, I payed $2 per fan.

[Feanor]

For themral paste, i used the good old ac5 for years, then last time i ran out, i decided to read some reviews before buying. Turns out the mx-2 is easier to applied (tried and true) and performs better (by not that much, around 2-3 C) for the same cost (at least for the 30g syringe). Really good stuff.