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Thermal Solutions In the Absence of Thermal Paste

H0R53
By H0R53
in Cooling
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Posted

Here I will post my experience with different thermal solutions in the absence of thermal paste.

I didn't have any thermal paste, and while I waited for it to arrive in the mail I tried numerous solutions.

With thermal paste my temps were around 37 degrees Celsius at idle.

 

Solution: Aluminum Foil

result: Temperatures were about 15 degrees Celsius higher than with thermal paste (around 53). Case fans spun up during boot and while idling.

 

Solution: Nothing

result: Temperatures were around 7 degrees warmer than with thermal paste (low to mid 40s). Temperatures rose and fell during idle.

 

Solution: Colgate toothpaste

result: average of 5 degrees less than with thermal paste (low 30s to low 40s). Currently using Chrome and TunnelBear (thanks Linus) and the temperature is 40 degrees Celsuis.

 

My machine:

 

Core 2 Quad Q9400 @ 2.66 GHz (TDP 95W)

6GB DDR2 800MHz

nVidia GTX 460 1GB (TDP 150W)

240GB SanDisk SSD (Windows only)

500GB Seagate Momentus (Programs and games storage)

160GB WD Caviar Blue (for FRAPS)

700W Kentek PSU

Main build: Intel Xeon E3 1240 | 16GB Avexir Red | Custom GTX 1050Ti | 1.5TB RAID0 | 500GB RAID0 | 240GB SSD | 240mm AiO | Thermaltake Dragonscale | Corsair CX600 v1

 

Media Center: Intel i5 3470 | 8GB Corsair XMS3 | GTX 550Ti XLR8 RED | 500GB WD Blue | Stock Intel | Dell 3010 Case | 250W PSU

 

Main Laptop: Gold HP DV7 1127CL | AMD Turion X2 RM-72 | 4GB DDR2 | AMD HD 3200M Graphics | 32GB Hually SSD | 1TB Western Digital Blue

 

Backup Laptop: Intel C2M T7200 | 4GB DDR2 | AMD X1600 Graphics | 160GB Seagate Momentus

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Posted

Why would you use aluminum foil in the absence of thermal paste? The main purpose of thermal paste is to give the cooler base a flat surface to conduct heat through. I don't think aluminum foil is quite accomplishing that.

"It pays to keep an open mind, but not so open your brain falls out." - Carl Sagan.

"I can explain it to you, but I can't understand it for you" - Edward I. Koch

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5 minutes ago, Godlygamer23 said:

Why would you use aluminum foil in the absence of thermal paste? The main purpose of thermal paste is to give the cooler base a flat surface to conduct heat through. I don't think aluminum foil is quite accomplishing that.

All in the name of science i guess. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Roses are red, Templars wear white. 

Will you take Jerusalem with me tonight?

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Posted

Lol thats hilarious.

Forum flamewar:

"WTF why would you ever use that thermal paste? I wouldn't let that near a CPU if my mother was dangling off a cliff!"

"No you bastard this is ARCTIC SILVER"

"YOU RETARD ONLY COOLLABORATORY LIQUID ULTRA CAN SUFFICIENTLY TRANSFER HEAT FROM A CPU TO THE HEATSINK!"

"You don't even LAP THOUGH"

--"actually guys I use Istant Whiten Deluxe Colgate Adults Toothpaste--" *gunshots*

i5 6600k and GTX 1070 but I play 1600-900. 1440p BABY!

Still, don't put too much faith in my buying decisions. xD 

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1 minute ago, YedZed said:

--"actually guys I use Istant Whiten Deluxe Colgate Adults Toothpaste--" *gunshots*

My thermal paste is peanut butter.

"It pays to keep an open mind, but not so open your brain falls out." - Carl Sagan.

"I can explain it to you, but I can't understand it for you" - Edward I. Koch

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Just now, Godlygamer23 said:

My thermal paste is peanut butter.

NO YOU IDIOT YOU CAN GET BETTER TEMPS WITH MOIST PAPER TOWELS! Plebs

i5 6600k and GTX 1070 but I play 1600-900. 1440p BABY!

Still, don't put too much faith in my buying decisions. xD 

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Wow, no thermal paste and only 7 degrees hotter?
An i3 4160 with no paste on a stock cooler reached 100C at idle for me.

QUOTE/TAG ME WHEN REPLYING

Spend As Much Time Writing Your Question As You Want Me To Spend Responding To It.

If I'm wrong, please point it out. I'm always learning & I won't bite.

 

Desktop:

Delidded Core i7 4770K - GTX 1070 ROG Strix - 16GB DDR3 - Lots of RGB lights I never change

Laptop:

HP Spectre X360 - i7 8560U - MX150 - 2TB SSD - 16GB DDR4

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A new idea for @LinusTech or @Slick to test in a workshop video:

"Can you use toothpaste / Peanut butter / Other things  as a replacement for thermal paste??

 

 

QUOTE/TAG ME WHEN REPLYING

Spend As Much Time Writing Your Question As You Want Me To Spend Responding To It.

If I'm wrong, please point it out. I'm always learning & I won't bite.

 

Desktop:

Delidded Core i7 4770K - GTX 1070 ROG Strix - 16GB DDR3 - Lots of RGB lights I never change

Laptop:

HP Spectre X360 - i7 8560U - MX150 - 2TB SSD - 16GB DDR4

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  • Author
2 hours ago, Godlygamer23 said:

Why would you use aluminum foil in the absence of thermal paste? The main purpose of thermal paste is to give the cooler base a flat surface to conduct heat through. I don't think aluminum foil is quite accomplishing that.

The point of thermal paste is to eliminate any space between the cooler and the CPU in an effective manner. By folding the foil into a flat square you can achieve that, but tiny spaces of air between those layers actually act as insulators. The foil performed worse, and once I get a new CPU I'll test things like peanut butter and post it on YouTube or something. I hear that mayonnaise performed better than most thermal paste but loses its abilities within a week. Toothpaste is actually pretty similar to regular thermal paste in its composition so if the thermal paste i ordered sucks, I might just keep the toothpaste on my CPU. 

Other things I plan to test include copper foil, copper plates, and nonconductive thermal padding.

Main build: Intel Xeon E3 1240 | 16GB Avexir Red | Custom GTX 1050Ti | 1.5TB RAID0 | 500GB RAID0 | 240GB SSD | 240mm AiO | Thermaltake Dragonscale | Corsair CX600 v1

 

Media Center: Intel i5 3470 | 8GB Corsair XMS3 | GTX 550Ti XLR8 RED | 500GB WD Blue | Stock Intel | Dell 3010 Case | 250W PSU

 

Main Laptop: Gold HP DV7 1127CL | AMD Turion X2 RM-72 | 4GB DDR2 | AMD HD 3200M Graphics | 32GB Hually SSD | 1TB Western Digital Blue

 

Backup Laptop: Intel C2M T7200 | 4GB DDR2 | AMD X1600 Graphics | 160GB Seagate Momentus

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1 hour ago, RadiatingLight said:

A new idea for @LinusTech or @Slick to test in a workshop video:

"Can you use toothpaste / Peanut butter / Other things  as a replacement for thermal paste??

 

 

It was my idea first, @LinusTech or @Slick if you do that in a video be sure to credit me please.

Main build: Intel Xeon E3 1240 | 16GB Avexir Red | Custom GTX 1050Ti | 1.5TB RAID0 | 500GB RAID0 | 240GB SSD | 240mm AiO | Thermaltake Dragonscale | Corsair CX600 v1

 

Media Center: Intel i5 3470 | 8GB Corsair XMS3 | GTX 550Ti XLR8 RED | 500GB WD Blue | Stock Intel | Dell 3010 Case | 250W PSU

 

Main Laptop: Gold HP DV7 1127CL | AMD Turion X2 RM-72 | 4GB DDR2 | AMD HD 3200M Graphics | 32GB Hually SSD | 1TB Western Digital Blue

 

Backup Laptop: Intel C2M T7200 | 4GB DDR2 | AMD X1600 Graphics | 160GB Seagate Momentus

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9 hours ago, H0R53 said:

It was my idea first, @LinusTech or @Slick if you do that in a video be sure to credit me please.

I'm fairly certain you were not the first person to do any of this as we have tests from Hardware Secrets. 

"It pays to keep an open mind, but not so open your brain falls out." - Carl Sagan.

"I can explain it to you, but I can't understand it for you" - Edward I. Koch

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Bryan used Vegemite among other substances.

Black Knight-

Ryzen 5 5600, GIGABYTE B550M DS3H, 16Gb Corsair Vengeance LPX 3000mhz, Asrock RX 6800 XT Phantom Gaming,

Seasonic Focus GM 750, Samsung EVO 860 EVO SSD M.2, Intel 660p Series M.2 2280 1TB PCIe NVMe, Linux Mint 20.2 Cinnamon

 

Daughter's Rig;

MSI B450 A Pro, Ryzen 5 3600x, 16GB Corsair Vengeance LPX 3000mhz, Silicon Power A55 512GB SSD, Gigabyte RX 5700 Gaming OC, Corsair CX430

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I was already thankful this wasn't another "USE MAYONNAISE WITH YOUR $300 CPU!!!!" threads. Until I read this:

On 20.12.2016 at 5:41 AM, Godlygamer23 said:

My thermal paste is peanut butter.

 

Sorry Godly, you've just lost any credibility you still had.

^^^^ That's my post ^^^^
<-- This is me --- That's your scrollbar -->
vvvv Who's there? vvvv

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3 hours ago, LoGiCalDrm said:

I was already thankful this wasn't another "USE MAYONNAISE WITH YOUR $300 CPU!!!!" threads. Until I read this:

 

Sorry Godly, you've just lost any credibility you still had.

I don't actually use peanut butter. 

"It pays to keep an open mind, but not so open your brain falls out." - Carl Sagan.

"I can explain it to you, but I can't understand it for you" - Edward I. Koch

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