# Applying Artic MX-2?



## bhstr99 (Apr 10, 2010)

Hi guys, I've had a tube of Artic MX-2 lying around for just over 3 years (purchased - 4 Apr 2012) ARCTIC MX-2 Thermal Paste: Amazon.co.uk: Computers & Accessories

It got just over a 1/4 left and I was thinking about applying new thermal paste to my CPU.

Usually when idle my temps are 30-40degrees and when browsing (with like 8+ tabs open) my temps are 38-45. However when gaming it rockets up to the 70s and even peaks at 75-78 (According to CPUID HWMonitor) but whenever I check it's usually in the 70s. 

So my main question is should I apply this paste on to it? As I bought this PC custom built and have no idea what quality paste they've used. The paste I have has been stored at a cool temp.

The temperatures are quite low when using the PC for normal use but just a bit concerned for when I'm gaming and the temps ramp up. 

Do you think applying this paste will decrease the temps I am seeing when gaming or are those temps expected when gaming at the a high clock speed and air cooling fan.

CPU: i5 3570k @ 4.4GHz 
Voltage: 1.251v
Cooler: Xigmatek Prime SD1484 XIGMATEK - PRODUCT


EDIT: Plus I regularly clean out the dust in my PC and fans (using compressed can of air)

Thank you! :thumb:


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## Bill_Bright (Dec 17, 2004)

Are you overclocking?

Generally, you only get a few degrees difference when applying a good quality after market TIM (thermal interface materials). And since this was custom built, it may have been good quality anyway so whether it will help or not we don't know. 

Understand applied TIM does not wear out or otherwise need regular replacing AS LONG AS the cured bond between the mating surfaces is not broken. If left undisturbed, it will easily last and remain effective for 10, 15 years or longer. 

Did this computer always peak up into the 70s or did this just start happening recently?

Understand it is the case's responsibility to add a sufficient supply of cool air flowing through the case so maybe adding another case fan, or replacing current fans with larger fans (if the case supports it) would be better. 

As long as the TIM in the tube is still smooth and spreadable and without any dried chunks, it should be fine. But because to properly apply a new layer you must thoroughly clean the old surfaces and then properly apply a fresh layer, all the while handling the HSF and being in close proximity to the CPU and other sensitive parts, the worry is accidental damage to the CPU, socket, HSF mounting mechanism and surrounding parts due to ESD or mishandling.

IMO, if super careful, you remember to unplug from the wall and touch bare metal of the case interior to keep static in your body discharged, your thoroughly clean the mating surfaces and then apply as thin a layer as possible while still getting complete coverage, then it would not hurt to give it a try. But don't expect miracles unless the current bond is broken. 



> EDIT: Plus I regularly clean out the dust in my PC and fans


:thumb: I wish everyone understood how important that simple preventative maintenance task is.


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## bhstr99 (Apr 10, 2010)

Hi, yes the CPU is overclocked. I believe the custom build PC came at 4.3GHz and I pushed it to 4.4GHz (as my first little overclocking experiment, can't remember when and why I did it. :ermm: ) 

From your awesomely detailed response I guess I will pass and avoid all the hassle of re-applying a thermal compound.


Also I honestly can't remember if the temps have been going high from the very beginning or not. And to add to my original post also when browsing/youtubing temps do reach a max of around 60-65 (according to HW Monitor).

However my main concern is the CPU temps when gaming as I do game a lot and I suppose high temps for a CPU over a long time is not so good for it. 

I've got a Zlaman Z11 case, so it's quite big and has plenty of fans at the front, top and rear. 

I honestly want to push my CPU to a higher clock for some reason but I guess it is not worth it for the temps. Unless I invest in a better cooler.

Would you say these temperatures are okay(safe), also what would you say is the max temp a CPU can go (for hours of gaming) before it becomes a concern.

And finally should I just downclock my CPU to 4GHz or 4.2Ghz? But I do game a lot and performance means a great deal me. Would downclocking affect my performance a lot?

Apologies for all these questions which are in a completely random order as I've just wrote down the questions which came to mind as I was writing. .

Thanks for all your time!


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## Bill_Bright (Dec 17, 2004)

I highly doubt going from 4.4GHz to 4.2 or even 4.0GHz will be noticeable. That is already considerably above the 3.4GHz default. 

But if me, I would undo all overclocking and see what your temps are. If you are still pushing 60°C while just browsing and viewing youtube, then something is wrong with your cooling, assuming your ambient (room temps) are not excessively high. 

According the Intel ARK for your CPU, the Tcase (Case Temperature is the maximum temperature allowed at the processor Integrated Heat Spreader (IHS)) rating is 67.4°C so your 75-78°C would bother me. Note you are still not reaching the threshold where the CPU shuts down out of self-protection, but your temps are still too high and may affect aging of the CPU and surrounding components.

According to Newegg, your case has,


> Supports up to 7 System Fans
> - Front: 120mm or 140mm x 1 (120mm Blue LED Fan x 1 built-in)
> - Rear: 120mm x 1 (120mm x 1 Standard Fan built-in)
> - Top: 120mm or 140mm Fan x 2 (120mm Blue LED Fan x 1 built-in)
> ...


But support for optional and included is quite different. What fans do you have, where are they, and which way do they blow?

Generally you want front to back flow through the case though a top fan exhausting out if often very helpful. 

I have seen mixed results with side fans with some disrupting air flow and making cooling worse.


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## bhstr99 (Apr 10, 2010)

Ah damn that makes me worried now. The reason for wanting to keep such a high clock is because GTA V is very demanding and I felt as if the higher would be better. 

Would going from 4.4GHz to 4GHz affect my FPS in a big way do you think? I guess I would have to see myself but I'd like to know what you think .

Also what would be the best way to save my clock settings, would it just be to note down the Multiplier? (44) and the voltage? 

But that would also mean I'd have to reset my bios as theres a bunch of other things changed in there too for the CPU such as:

CPU Voltage Freq - 350Khz
CPU Current Capability 110%
CPU Load-line Calibration - Very High.
CPU Power Phase Control - Extreme

And If I do download to lets say 4GHz I'd have to figure out the lowest voltage too correct? to keep temps even lower, or could it keep the voltage at 1.251v

Edit: By the way lets say the CPU did run at 70 degrees and I couldn't do much about it if I wanted to keep my clock speed. Even though it may degrade the CPU quicker it should I suppose still last me a few more years? It's been just around 2 years since I got the PC and I wouldn't mind if it died on me in 2-3 years so I can get a much better newer generation CPU. 

Thanks again!


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## Bill_Bright (Dec 17, 2004)

I am just saying for testing purposes, take your clocks back and see what happens. I highly doubt going from 4.4 to 4.0 will be noticeable (except maybe in your imagination). Going to 3.4GHz like will have a noticeable impact, but with proper case cooling you should not need to keep it that low. 

It may not seem like much from going from 78° to 70°C is a big step. Any will help. For me, I don't like my temps to sit above 60°C for more than a few seconds - which it only does when stressed. When just surfing the net, entering text here, or watch youtube, my temps generally stick around 35°C with this 3.4GHz i7-3770 pushed to 4.1GHz. And that's with the OEM cooler. 

Frankly, it is your 60°C while taking it easy that bothers me more.


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## bhstr99 (Apr 10, 2010)

Bill_Bright said:


> I am just saying for testing purposes, take your clocks back and see what happens. I highly doubt going from 4.4 to 4.0 will be noticeable (except maybe in your imagination). Going to 3.4GHz like will have a noticeable impact, but with proper case cooling you should not need to keep it that low.
> 
> It may not seem like much from going from 78° to 70°C is a big step. Any will help. For me, I don't like my temps to sit above 60°C for more than a few seconds - which it only does when stressed. When just surfing the net, entering text here, or watch youtube, my temps generally stick around 35°C with this 3.4GHz i7-3770 pushed to 4.1GHz. And that's with the OEM cooler.
> 
> Frankly, it is your 60°C while taking it easy that bothers me more.


You are right that it is worrying and I should be worried too. 

Here is the max(ish) temp it got to when running Intel Extreme Tuning Utility Stress test for just around a minute.








http://i.gyazo.com/203919e0f3e010906e872e7af5ac9d82.png

Whenever I'd keep an eye on the temps during the test I'd see it hit that 77-78 for a split second then drop back to 68-75.

here is a very worrying test using Prime95 Using the In-Place Large FFTs option (not sure if this a suitable option to test a CPU for real world use but picked it as it made my temps go crazy.)







http://i.gyazo.com/c65ab847c6cdbdd54730bad671532b47.png

The scary thing is i only have to run it for less than 5 seconds for the temps to rapidly go that high and then I get worried and obviously stop it instantly. 
However using Blend test the temps will stay between 64-68

Here is the final screenshot, (Chrome open with about 10-12 tabs), opened up a two youtube videos and switched between them opening and closing new videos etc.








http://i.gyazo.com/c3bc1350d152184f4b1f9afb32f67a6b.png

I guess something may just be wrong :sad:

_____

For the downclocking would you like me just to set it to 3.6GHz and repeat the tests I did above?


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## Bill_Bright (Dec 17, 2004)

Well, I've seen worse, if that makes you feel better. 

Are you front fans blowing in and top and rear fans blowing out?


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## bhstr99 (Apr 10, 2010)

Bill_Bright said:


> Well, I've seen worse, if that makes you feel better.
> 
> Are you front fans blowing in and top and rear fans blowing out?


Yes, my front fans (as well as two side fans on each side which you can see here - http://www.zalman.com/DataFile/product/Z11plus_m.jpg) are sucking air in, my top fan is blowing out, and rear fan is blowing out.

The headsink has two fans, where the front fan (closest to the front of the case) is sucking air in through the heatsink to which the other side of the fan blows it out to the rear fan which also blows it out.

So it seems like air in coming in from the front side and blowing out to the rear. 

I can provide pictures if necessary. 

I've never moved/unmounted the heat sinks at all so It is unlikey that changing the thermal compound will make a massive improvement, I've also read that changing thermal paste could really just make a few degree's difference. 

Hmm. :ermm:

EDIT: Just tried IntelBurnTest v2.5

Standard made the temps jump to 82 in under 5 seconds and then it proceeded to go to 87 degrees and I just stopped it. :4-nopity:


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## Bill_Bright (Dec 17, 2004)

Yeah, again, if the bond is not broken, changing the TIM will not make that much difference from the original TIM. 

I don't see where you have any choice but to lower your clock rates, other than going with a good water cooling solution. But those introduced a whole new set of concerns. 

5 seconds is a lot of time - considering your CPU is changing states 4.4 billion times in 1 second!


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## bhstr99 (Apr 10, 2010)

Bill_Bright said:


> 5 seconds is a lot of time - considering your CPU is changing states 4.4 billion times in 1 second!


That feels like just wow even today haha.

I dropped the clock to 4GHz and voltage from 1.251 to 1.2v. I guess I'll see if it decides to crash on me or if anything feels sluggish, which it shouldn't (all in my head!!!!) 

Intel Burn Test at the maximum setting only reaches 82 (mainly between 76-80) even when I had Prime35 (blend) running with it. 

If this feels stable I'll slowly start dropping the voltage even more until I hopefully get back to the stock voltage, which I assume will drop the temperatures a lot more! (As I've seen a few forum posts on google with OC's to 4 - 4.1Ghz on stock voltage)

Also like I mentioned earlier in a post these BIOS settings still stand with:
CPU Load-line Calibration: Ultra High
CPU Current Capability: 110%
CPU Voltage Frequency: 350Khz

(if there is any setting there^ that you believe is contributing to the high temperatures and possibly only providing a tiny performance boost, please let me know . )

The idling/browsing temp seems to be between 32-56 for now (with a quick test like I did earlier in a previous post).

I haven't had a chance to test with games but I will keep an eye on them temperatures too. 

I know this has completely gone from a "Should I apply this thermal paste" to "Whats wrong with my overclocked cpu " but thank you for all your help.

If you believe/recommend that I should forward this, you could say problem, to the Overclocking section of the forum then I wouldn't mind doing so, maybe they could help me setup my overclock with optimal settings to keep temps as low as possible.


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## Bill_Bright (Dec 17, 2004)

Overclocking and heat management go hand in hand and the cause of your heat problems has yet to be determined so I see no reason to move it - but that's not up to me either.


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## bhstr99 (Apr 10, 2010)

Alright thank you! At 4GHz so far and when playing GTA V temps always stay below 70 now, more into the 60-67 range. What's your opinion on these temps for a game like GTA V for example. 

I will consider making a new post in the other section and sum up the posts in this topic (as well as link) once I receive you're final and helpful reply! 

:smile:


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## Bill_Bright (Dec 17, 2004)

I see no reason to start another thread. This is still about cooling. 

Technically, your temps are safe. I would like them lower if mine, but as long as your computer is stable and not locking up, shutting down, or rebooting, then I think you are fine.


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## bhstr99 (Apr 10, 2010)

Alright sweet! I'll stick to 4GHz as that seems like the sweet spot. Put the voltage to 1.190v so far, seems good. Going to keep dropping lower and lower as the max temps seem to be decreasing as I do so. 

Thanks for all your help, any final suggestions/recommendations are highly appreciated. You may close this topic if you have nothing more to say . Thank you!


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## Bill_Bright (Dec 17, 2004)

Well, if me, I would just drop it back the default and see how the "game play" is. You may find it is still good. Remember, the CPU is but one part of your system affecting over all performance. The graphics and RAM play major roles and you are not changing them. And game makers develop games to provide good "game play" on much lessor systems for folks with smaller budgets. And even at the defaults, that is still a quad-core with a big 6Mb cache and a "Turbo" mode of 3.8GHZ. Nothing to sneeze at. 

This is mainly because I would want to know what my temps are at the default settings. If still sitting above 60°C for more than few seconds when simply browsing or watching youtube videos, I would want know why. And that might even mean pulling the HSF assembling, thoroughly cleaning with 91% Isopropyl alcohol, and apply a super thin, new layer of TIM (while observing proper ESD control, of course). 

Then I might inch it up a little bit at a time and see what - but then that is just me.


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## bhstr99 (Apr 10, 2010)

Thank you for all your information, I will consider setting my CPU back to stock possibly next week as I will have a week off University and a lot more free time to play around with everything. Everything you have told me has been really useful, especially the fact that I don't need crazy high clock to run a good gaming PC! 

Recently installing a MSI GTX 970 (from a AMD Radeon HD 7850) has been a great addition to my gaming performance, and I should have stopped worrying about my CPU speed with this upgrade. 

:1angel:


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## Bill_Bright (Dec 17, 2004)

Yeah, with today's graphics oriented computing environment, the CPU is often the 3rd most important factor behind the graphics solution and RAM.


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## bhstr99 (Apr 10, 2010)

Oh I see! My ram is at 1600Mhz, I've ensured that the correct speed is set on the bios for the ram and using the XMP profile.

Appreciate all your time! You may marked this as solved. :smile:


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## Bill_Bright (Dec 17, 2004)

While RAM speed is important, more so is the RAM amount - at least to a point.

Many, including me, say that 8Gb is the sweetspot. Less and performance suffers, more than 8Gb and performance gains are marginal, at best. But the point is, 8Gb of slow RAM is much better than 4Gb of fast RAM.


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## bhstr99 (Apr 10, 2010)

Oh yes I definitely have 8gb! Should of mentioned that in my previous post.
it's just a single stick though, not two so I can't take advantage of any dual channel memory.


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## Bill_Bright (Dec 17, 2004)

> not two so I can't take advantage of any dual channel memory.


Dual channel today does not give the performance advantage all the marketing hype suggested it would. Dual channel has been around for 40+ years and back then when RAM speeds were slow and RAM amounts were small and very expensive, the advantages were clear. But not today. You might likely see a little gain on some tasks if you put another 8Gb in there, but whether they would be worth the costs is another story.


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## bhstr99 (Apr 10, 2010)

Ah I see, thanks for clearing that up! Might be worth it with the crazy Memory Leaks GTA V has sometimes, leaves me with 2gb free of RAM at times. Most of the time it only uses up 4gb.

Thanks for clearing that up for me.


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## Bill_Bright (Dec 17, 2004)

Plus, with more RAM, the system bangs on the Page File less often. With a hard drive and disk intensive programs, that can affect performance too. With an SSD, not as much.


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## bhstr99 (Apr 10, 2010)

Glad I have an SSD then (with OS + Paging file setup on it)! Haha


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## Bill_Bright (Dec 17, 2004)

> with OS + Paging file setup on it


That's how mine is setup.


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