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Thread: Best thermal compound?

  1. #1
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    Default Best thermal compound?

    I see lot's of products out there, but I was wondering if anyone has a favorite non conductive thermal compound?

  2. #2
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    Nothing other than Arctic silver in 12 gram lots from Ebay...cheapest way to go and I don't have to search and have a fruitless search in town. Great stuff for TEC's and diodes mounting in general lab use.
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  3. #3
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    Lightbulb

    Quote Originally Posted by MechEng3 View Post
    Nothing other than Arctic silver in 12 gram lots from Ebay...cheapest way to go and I don't have to search and have a fruitless search in town. Great stuff for TEC's and diodes mounting in general lab use.

    What he said...
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    Sorry for the post....Arctic silver will conduct...and short things. I use very small applications of the material...I am sure if you could use it being sure that no contact points are corrupted with it. Really is worth the extra cost for this compound. Fills surface voids down to 3 to 5 microns easily. After it has undergone a few heating cycles it becomes thixotropic in nature and will not migrate. A big plus for me.
    You are the only one that can make your dreams come true....and the only one that can stop them...A.M. Dietrich

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by MechEng3 View Post
    Sorry for the post....Arctic silver will conduct...and short things.
    I actually use Arctic Silver but have been considering trying diamond heat sync compound . It supposedly is non-conductive/capacitive.

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  6. #6
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    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by MechEng3 View Post
    Sorry for the post....Arctic silver will conduct...and short things. I use very small applications of the material...I am sure if you could use it being sure that no contact points are corrupted with it. Really is worth the extra cost for this compound. Fills surface voids down to 3 to 5 microns easily. After it has undergone a few heating cycles it becomes thixotropic in nature and will not migrate. A big plus for me.
    Yeah, I noticed on the Arctic website, that it's listed as a non-conductive compound, but then a few sentences later says "While much safer than electrically conductive silver and copper greases, Arctic Silver 5 should be kept away from electrical traces, pins, and leads. While it is not electrically conductive, the compound is very slightly capacitive and could potentially cause problems if it bridges two close-proximity electrical paths"

  7. #7
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    I use AS on my CPU heatsinks, I have found that it dries out after a period of time and heat.

    The basic white "gensil" compound on the other hand lasts a lot longer.

    In the end, they all work and the final results come down more to both surface flatness and how you apply the compound.
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  8. #8
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    Thumbs up

    Another vote for Arctic Silver. I use it all the time. Great stuff.

    Adam

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    Default

    Is there a place where you can buy it in a bigger volume then 12 gr?

  10. #10
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    Default

    Just to clarify, most of you do use Artctic Silver and have not had a problem with it shorting out your diodes?

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