# Thermal Paste substitute??



## blackpearl (Apr 11, 2007)

There is guy in my neighbourhood who is a doctor (he is still doing his PG). He has a PC, a Celeron 2.4GHz, and he likes to tinker around with it. Last sunday he removed the heat sink to clean and since he did not have any thermal paste he applied some Ultrasound gel instead when reinstalling!!  For those who don't know, ultrasound gel is used when performing ultrasonography. The gel is applied over the abdomen or wherever required and the probe is ran over it. _"The gel is a good conductor of waves, so it must conduct heat too"_, he reasoned. His reasoning is flawed, nevertheless, I went over to his place and found his PC running fine. Unfortunately, his motherboard is an old model and does not have a temperature sensor so I was not able to determine the temp. But there was absolutely no heating. 

I then searched on google and found some pretty interesting results. Some people have been using all types of materials in place of thermal paste, like car grease, toothpaste and shaving creams. One guy used Savlon antiseptic cream on his Prescott processor and has actually recorded much lower temp than he had with the stock thermal paste!! Here is that thread where he has recorded his experience (its a long thread, btw)

*forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum-replies-archive.cfm/604379.html

I found another article where several odd materials were tested alongside Artic Silver. The results are interesting.

*www.dansdata.com/goop.htm


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## wilderness (Apr 12, 2007)

Interesting. 

The logic is that the paste should be a good conductor of heat.. Thats it, nothing else would matter. I wonder if the gel is corrosive. Normally, you wash off the stuff after ultrasound (or the next time you bath). 

Ideally, the best thing to achieve is to have a perfect fit between the bottom of the fan heatsink and the top cover of the processor, with no spaces in between. Of course, that requires much skills and hence... 

I somehow am not comfortable with the idea of water cooling... too much hassle while tinkering inside the case...  (Thinking if overheating might lead to a blast because of the steam  )

I like Asus's concept of a fanless board. A large heatsink runs across the side of the board and is connected via a thick metal pipe to the covering of the chip on the board. 
That wont, of course, work for CPUs, since CPUs are detachable, while mboard chips are generally soldered on the board. But still, the idea is good.. Its entirely possible to have a very slow fan (low noise) and a asus-like heat sink rod that clips on the processor seat.


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## ambandla (Apr 12, 2007)

Not sure but isn't it extremely dangerous to apply pastes that conduct electricity over a processor like savlon, toothpaste etc. Thermal paste that we use is not a conductor of electricity i think.


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## blackpearl (Apr 12, 2007)

ambandla said:
			
		

> Not sure but isn't it extremely dangerous to apply pastes that conduct electricity over a processor like savlon, toothpaste etc. Thermal paste that we use is not a conductor of electricity i think.



The processor does not conduct electricity all over its surface so there is nothing to worry about applying a conducting paste. Infact, the thermal paste *is* a good conductor of electricity. Anything which is a good conductor of heat is generally a good conductor of electricity.

Btw, I have no idea how this "heat pipes" work. The basic idea is to have as much surface area as possible for maximum heat dissipation. Whether the heat pipes implement some other techniques, I'm not sure.


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## ambandla (Apr 12, 2007)

I didn't mean the top of the processor. What if the liquid flows down into the socket.


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## sivarap (Apr 12, 2007)

Very funny indeed


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## Pathik (Apr 12, 2007)

@ambalandla... he didnt use savlon solution... he used paste... or cream... wich has higher viscosity...


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## ambandla (Apr 13, 2007)

sorry. It's gel that I was thinking of, not liquid. anyways. it's dangerous idea as those solutions may not last long.


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## Cool G5 (Apr 13, 2007)

If it is helping then why not use it other than the stock paste.


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## sysfilez (Apr 13, 2007)

it shows that anything can do as long as its not corrosive.


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## phreak0ut (Apr 13, 2007)

sysfilez said:
			
		

> it shows that anything can do as long as its not corrosive.



......and quick drying.


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## xbonez (Apr 13, 2007)

Cool G5 said:
			
		

> If it is helping then why not use it other than the stock paste.


coz they don't last as long as real thermal pastes. i had read somewhere that though toothpaste acts as a better thermal paste than even arctic silver it lasts only about 28hrs


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## ambandla (Apr 13, 2007)

^^ 28 hrs. okay. Apply tooth paste on the proccy every morning before you brush your teeth


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## xbonez (Apr 14, 2007)

good idea. brush ur teeth and ur proccy


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## sysfilez (Apr 14, 2007)

^^ very funny.


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## saikibryan (Apr 17, 2007)

seen that ultrasound gel...
so wat ppl r sayin 
should i try????


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## ambandla (Apr 17, 2007)

saikibryan said:
			
		

> seen that ultrasound gel...
> so wat ppl r sayin
> should i try????



Noooooooooo. Don't go for unconventional methods. Buy a Thermal paste. You can get branded one for 250 bucks and you can use that for a year.


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## blackpearl (Apr 17, 2007)

saikibryan said:
			
		

> seen that ultrasound gel...
> so wat ppl r sayin
> should i try????



ambandla is right. Use proper thermal paste. These are just temporary solutions. For long term use you will need thermal paste.


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## xbonez (Apr 17, 2007)

that guy experimented with all those gels coz his proccy was anyways old. u won't want to try it on ur proccy unless u're planning to buy a new one soon and don't mind risking it. or if u happen to work for some magazine, u could write an article on thermal paste substitutes and experiment at ur employer's cost  ?


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## saikibryan (Apr 17, 2007)

okk...
thanx guys for that warning
regards


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## tarey_g (Apr 17, 2007)

blackpearl said:
			
		

> One guy used Savlon antiseptic cream on his Prescott processor and has actually recorded much lower temp than he had with the stock thermal paste!! Here is that thread where he has recorded his experience (its a long thread, btw)
> *forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum-replies-archive.cfm/604379.html



it may conduct well , but for how long? The savlon gel will react to the heat and the nature of substance will change over time .then it may not be as good it is when its new. Risky thing to do


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## xbonez (Apr 18, 2007)

not worth trying out on ur proccy unless its in a bad state already


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## Harvik780 (Apr 19, 2007)

Someone at Digit might try.How About a shoot out to thermal dissipation solutions..


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## xbonez (Apr 19, 2007)

^^good idea. but the prob is that most solutions other than proper thermal paste don't last long so its not practical for home use. btw, if i put proper thermal paste, how often should i change it?


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## ambandla (Apr 19, 2007)

There is no specific time. high end thermal pastes will work for months or years. reapply when you feel that the temperatures are above the usual levels.


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## zhuxiaonuan (Oct 14, 2008)

> Last sunday he removed the heat sink to clean and since he did not have any thermal paste he applied some Ultrasound gel instead when reinstalling!!  For those who don't know, ultrasound gel is used when performing ultrasonography.


 very strong


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## ashu888ashu888 (Oct 14, 2008)

HEy a really nice thread this.. but any of u guys hv tried these unusual stuff apart from the Thermal paste ?? if yes, plz post ur results..

also, dont the toothpaste and the ultrasound gel bubble or squeeze out from b/w the processor and the heat sink ?? that NOT being a paste and jus a gel !!!


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## DigitalDude (Oct 14, 2008)

blackpearl said:


> ...
> 
> Btw, I have no idea how this "heat pipes" work. The basic idea is *to have as much surface area as possible for maximum heat dissipation*. Whether the heat pipes implement some other techniques, I'm not sure.


 
and good conductor (copper) to quickly conduct heat evenly... thats all.. no other funda

what all mobo designers strive is to reduce the weight/amount of copper at the same time expose maximum area possible for heat dissipation and make the walls sufficiently thick to conduct heat evenly over the entire heat pipe.


BTW coming to the topic, a thermal conductor paste should have good conduction properties also during high temperatures.. which most other substitutes fail at... for many substitutes when the temperature increases, the heat conduction capacity reduces dramatically. so even if a substitute seems to conduct well at normal temperatures it will not be same at higher temperatures. and other points that come into picture are repeatability, reliability, chemical reactions with the metal like being corrosive or physical reactions with rise in temperature like expanding, adhesiveness with the metal etc are also important.

so just applying some stuff that conducts might be done for hobby/experimental purpose, while nothing can replace a good branded thermal paste 


_


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