Is there a curing time for thermal paste?

davedudes · 11 Dec 2010 at 18:27

Just applied some AS5. Read somewhere that it will take at least 5 days or so for it to settle down (cure), is this true with other thermal materials? :confused:

Cheers guys.

Danny862 · 11 Dec 2010 at 18:28

i would say yes!
others say different but me (and some others) notice a degree or two decrease after a few days
hope i helped

cmndr_andi · 11 Dec 2010 at 18:28

It depends on the thermal paste.

I believe AS5 needs 200 hours to set in. But other pastes like MX3 have no curing time.

Reality|Bites · 11 Dec 2010 at 18:49

What actually happens during the curing time?

cmndr_andi · 11 Dec 2010 at 18:54

From the AS site:

Important Reminder:
Due to the unique shape and sizes of the particles in Arctic Silver 5's conductive matrix, it will take a up to 200 hours and several thermal cycles to achieve maximum particle to particle thermal conduction and for the heatsink to CPU interface to reach maximum conductivity. (This period will be longer in a system without a fan on the heatsink or with a low speed fan on the heatsink.) On systems measuring actual internal core temperatures via the CPU's internal diode, the measured temperature will often drop 2C to 5C over this "break-in" period. This break-in will occur during the normal use of the computer as long as the computer is turned off from time to time and the interface is allowed to cool to room temperature. Once the break-in is complete, the computer can be left on if desired.

SouthEastBlue · 11 Dec 2010 at 18:58

I'm guessing curing is when it goes from being a 'liquid' to a 'solid' between the CPU and heatsink causing it to conduct the heat better. Well... I'm assuming that's all there is to it.