For quite some time I have been having a problem with one of my two CPUs running too hot. Last weekend I seemed to have fixed the problem and my second CPU is running much cooler now.
When I first assembled Gemini I used a water cooling system from CoolIT in Calgary Alberta. When I attached the water blocks to the CPUs I used Arctic Silver Cermanique 2 as the thermal bonding compound and followed the instructions precisely. I know I did a good job because when I had to send the Intel motherboard back for replacement, after I took off the water blocks the pattern of the thermal compound was textbook perfect. When I got the replacement motherboard I reattached the water blocks as before with Ceramique 2 with confidence.
Eventually the bearings in the water pump started to fail, so I sent my system back to CoolIT in Calgary and the replaced the cooling system with one of their newer models. I was a little concerned at the time because when I installed the first cooling system it came with a thick coating of thermal compound slathered on the water blocks, which I had to remove thoroughly before using the Ceramique 2.
About a year ago I noticed that one of the CPUs was running too hot and did all kinds of investigation and research to understand the problem. In fact I thought the CPU was damaged because it was running so hot and drawing way more power than the other CPU.
Last weekend I took off the water block, and sure enough there was a thick layer of gray thermal compound. I cleaned it all off and carefully applied Ceramique 2 then attached the water block.
Right after powering on my computer I could see that the CPU was being cooled better than before, however there is a 27 hour burn-in for the Ceramique 2 - that is, it takes a while for the compound to spread out properly and stabilize. The next day the CPU thermal profile looked even better, but after 60 hours it looks even better. In fact the CPU thermal profile looks pretty much normal as it should. Sure the second CPU runs a little hotter than the first, but that is because it is downstream in the water cooling system. Also, the first CPU is running a little hotter than before because the second CPU is dumping more heat into the cooling system, which is what you would expect too if the second CPU is being cooled properly.
The lesson from all this is the when attaching heat sinks to your CPUs, the choice of thermal bonding compound and how you apply it is critical. The second lesson from this is that just because a company is expert at the mechanics of cooling systems does not mean they cannot also be complete idiots with respect to simple things like thermal bonding compounds and how to apply them. Sometimes expertise in one area can cause blindness in other areas.
When I first assembled Gemini I used a water cooling system from CoolIT in Calgary Alberta. When I attached the water blocks to the CPUs I used Arctic Silver Cermanique 2 as the thermal bonding compound and followed the instructions precisely. I know I did a good job because when I had to send the Intel motherboard back for replacement, after I took off the water blocks the pattern of the thermal compound was textbook perfect. When I got the replacement motherboard I reattached the water blocks as before with Ceramique 2 with confidence.
Eventually the bearings in the water pump started to fail, so I sent my system back to CoolIT in Calgary and the replaced the cooling system with one of their newer models. I was a little concerned at the time because when I installed the first cooling system it came with a thick coating of thermal compound slathered on the water blocks, which I had to remove thoroughly before using the Ceramique 2.
About a year ago I noticed that one of the CPUs was running too hot and did all kinds of investigation and research to understand the problem. In fact I thought the CPU was damaged because it was running so hot and drawing way more power than the other CPU.
Last weekend I took off the water block, and sure enough there was a thick layer of gray thermal compound. I cleaned it all off and carefully applied Ceramique 2 then attached the water block.
Right after powering on my computer I could see that the CPU was being cooled better than before, however there is a 27 hour burn-in for the Ceramique 2 - that is, it takes a while for the compound to spread out properly and stabilize. The next day the CPU thermal profile looked even better, but after 60 hours it looks even better. In fact the CPU thermal profile looks pretty much normal as it should. Sure the second CPU runs a little hotter than the first, but that is because it is downstream in the water cooling system. Also, the first CPU is running a little hotter than before because the second CPU is dumping more heat into the cooling system, which is what you would expect too if the second CPU is being cooled properly.
The lesson from all this is the when attaching heat sinks to your CPUs, the choice of thermal bonding compound and how you apply it is critical. The second lesson from this is that just because a company is expert at the mechanics of cooling systems does not mean they cannot also be complete idiots with respect to simple things like thermal bonding compounds and how to apply them. Sometimes expertise in one area can cause blindness in other areas.
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