The Official Budget-Conscious Dream Machine!

Me too, I wouldn't buy one myself, not when I got my Ultra-120A for so cheap.

 

Well, for me it was either the Tuniq Tower or the Scythe Ninja. Nothing against Scythe. I just chose the Tuniq.

I think the Thermalright Ultra performs about identical to the Tuniq so I see no wrong in going with either brand.

 

IIRC the Scythe Ninja does very well in low-airflow environments but for all out cooling power under proper air, it falls short of the Ultra-120s and Tuniq.

 

You can't use the Smilidon motherboard try with that Tuniw Tower can you?

lol I remember having problems with the Xigmatek.

 

No I tried it. I can't even get the tray back in. But the Freezer 7 Pro fits fine and does as well as it needs to. That's staying with the E6750, though I'm sure it would be adequate for the Q9450 as well.

 

One thing that does suck with having an Ultra-120 and an NZXT Lexa, you have to remove the CPU cooler to get the PSU out...

 

Isn't that kind of a given with most larger coolers? I have no problems popping out my cooler to switch a PSU.


Also, what's the best methods you've found for cleaning and re-applying the thermal paste? I use coffee filters and high purity Isopropyl Alcohol for cleaning. Then I use Ceramique and I just glob a small dot in the center and let the weight of the cooler spread it out. I think it might work differently for AS5 though.

 

I use these:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835100010
Then on with the little dob of AS5.

 

Do you like to spread it thin over the surface or do you just glob a dot in the center like me? I've found no differences in cooling really.

I also find there's not much difference between the official cleaning products and plain high purity isopropyl(rubbing alcohol). I use the coffee filters as they don't leave any lint or shreds of paper or the like.

 

ArctiClean I use exactly as instructed.
Arctic Silver I put the dot in the centre and let heat do the rest, that seems to be the accepted method, never caused me any trouble.

 

Yep, I figured if that's what Arctic Silver says to do, it's what I'll do. Some people prefer to spread it out with a credit card, but I'd like to see them try that with Ceramique. It's as thick as modeling clay

Yeah, I just use Ceramique because it's non-conductive. It takes a few weeks to fully cure though, in which time I'll see a 2-3*C drop.

 

I do a thin line across the four cores.

 

How does that work out??? I'd have to see a pic of it.

AFAIK the dot in the center method work even for quads.

 

See how the four cores are laid out? You spread a thin line on top of that area. This is the recommended method by the guys who make AS5.

 

When I first sinked my E4300 I used the line method. I will probably do so again if I get a Quad.

 

heres the recomend application for AS5 for a C2D
http://www.arcticsilver.com/pdf/appinstruct/as5/ins_as5_intel_dual_wcap.pdf

and for a quad.

http://www.arcticsilver.com/pdf/appinstruct/as5/ins_as5_intel_quad_wcap.pdf

 

Horizontally versus vertically then? Interesting.

 

Hmm, that's interesting. I've been doing the dot in the center method since I had my X2 3800+ and I've never had problems. Though I'm using Ceramique. I wonder if it's different.

EDIT: After a quick check, it is indeed the same method for Ceramique. I'll have to try that with the quad and see what happens to temps >.>

 

IIRC the method for Athlons was the dot, and the method for core 2s was the line, might be wrong though.

 

I think you are right. I just never really checked the instructions for a Core 2. I've been using the dot method for ages and it's never given me heat problems or anything. Both of my Core 2 CPUs have run perfectly in spec for temps on the respective coolers.

So I don't know what to think. I'll give the line method a try. But if there's no difference in temps, I'm switching back to the dot method. It still gets pretty good coverage with a dot about the size of a BB. And the thickness of the application is usually perfect upon later removal of the cooler.