OCUK Official IC Diamond/ Perihelion Test Results

[IC Diamond]

PLEASE READ THOROUGHLY BEFORE TESTING/POSTING YOUR IC DIAMOND OR PERIHELION TEST RESULTS!!!



PLEASE ONLY POST WITH RESULTS WHEN YOU HAVE FULL RESULTS, OTHERWISE YOUR POST MAY NOT BE SEEN BY ALL IF YOU RESERVE THE POST FOR LATER RESULTS WITH IC7. PEOPLE TEND TO GO TO THE NEWEST POST, SO IF YOU WANT IT TO BE SEEN BY ALL, POST YOUR RESULTS ONCE YOU HAVE THEM ALL. ALL OTHER DISCUSSION/SUPPORT POSTS, GO RIGHT AHEAD!!

PLEASE BE SURE TO BENCHMARK YOUR CPU TEMPS WITH YOUR CURRENT TIM AND RECORD YOUR RESULTS BEFORE USING IC7 FOR TESTING. WE NEED BEFORE AND AFTER PLEASE!

ALSO, PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU DON'T CHANGE ANY VARIABLE OTHER THAN THE THERMAL COMPOUND USED FOR BEFORE/AFTER (I.E. SAME VOLTS/CLOCKS, COOLER, AND OTHER HARDWARE)


APPLICATION METHOD


For all those participating in the ICD/Perihelion giveaway, please follow this link to the Innovation Cooling website for more information on the products:

Innovation Cooling

Proper application is the key to this product. The nature and consistency of this product is likely quite different from what most of you are used to in a Thermal Compound. We don't recommend use of traditional methods of applying the TIM like razor blades, lines, Rice size, etc. ARE ALL Big BIG NO NO's. Through extensive end user testing, the best overall application method has been determined to be a pea sized amount directly in the center of the CPU. The TIM should be adequately spread via the down force of the CPU cooler (a sufficient amount of down force will provide best results; minimum 50psi of down force should be the goal for optimum results. please see the Innovation Cooling website for more info). Also, for coolers/surfaces that have many peaks and valleys, it may be beneficial to wet the surface(s) with a small amount of ICD/Perihelion to initially fill the voids in the mounting surfaces...then proceed with recommended application as usual. Please click on the link below for application methodology and shoot me a PM if you have any questions.
Keep in mind, ICD/Perihelion has been formulated with the specific goals of providing superb thermal conductivity with short set times, but also for long term stability and performance without pump/bake out through extended thermal cycling or usage. This stuff is very stable over long periods of time.



Please do feel free to navigate through the whole Innovation Cooling website as there is tonnes of information on there that might prove beneficial.


HOW TO POST RESULTS


THE FORMAT IS AS FOLLOWS (ALL TEMPS IN C):

OPTIONAL INFO: PROCESSOR, VOLTS/CLOCKS, HEAT SINK/COOLING USED, ETC.

Before Compound:
Ambient Temp:
Idle Temp:
Load Temp:

ICD/Perihelion
Ambient Temp:
Idle Temp:
Load Temp:

Added 5/22 - Cure Time- Cure Time averages 2 hours in most situations for sinks with adequate pressure loading with maybe .5C more overnight. Lightly pressure loaded sinks may take a day or more depending on the amount of pressure


If you have any problems or need support, please feel free to post here for now. Remember, proper application and good even heat sink pressure (goal should be minimum of 50psi or more) are crucial for peak performance. Too much or too little compound will impact your results so please do visit the Innovation Cooling website for Application Instructions with images and explanations. For those with direct touch heatpipe coolers, you might want to try wetting the contact surface of the cooler with a tiny amount of ICD to fill any small voids before proceeding with the normal application method.

If anyone has any questions, please feel free to post up. .

*** HEADS UP *** Post # 149

For the people running the test I would recommend using LinX. I have just done a run with Perihelion and noticed the load temps where 5'C better with Noctua NT H1. However after looking at the LinX results you can see that the Noctua NT H1 was infact causing thermal throttling with the time/GFLOP going all over the place. Anything from 31 GFLOP to 48 GFLOPs. Obviously using Primeor .... you would never know and Noctua NT H1 would come out on top.

I am going to let Perihelion bed in some more and re run the test. Interesting, very impressed.

I'm using a pea size as recommended and works very well.

It might be worth adding this to the first post otherwise results could be invalid.

*** HEADS UP ** # 2 post #162


Guys if you are going to use IBT/Linx for testing the compounds, make sure your GFlops values are more or less same in all the tests otherwise your results will be invalid.

For example

MX-3 or any other thermal compound: 33-35GFlops in IBT

IC Diamond: 40-45GFlops in IBT

What will happen is that your temps will be higher in the case of IC Diamond as you are getting higher GFlops values even if IC Diamond is better than MX-3.
So you need to get GFlops values in a similar range for both compounds. So it should be e.g:

MX-3 or any other thermal compound: 43-45GFlops in IBT

IC Diamond: 43-45GFlops in IBT

Consistent/same GFlops values across all tests



Ongoing/preliminary Test Results to Date

 

[TheCenturion]

2 Questions:

I will be cleaning the old TIM off the cpu with a q tip or cotton bud, is this sufficient?

Is the pressure of a waterblock enough to spread the TIM properly? It will be applied while the case is standing up, so I won't be able to put too much pressure.

Thanks

 

[IC Diamond]

Introducing myself, Andrew from Innovation Cooling (IC)

I will be cleaning the old TIM off the cpu with a q tip or cotton bud, is this sufficient?

Is the pressure of a waterblock enough to spread the TIM properly? It will be applied while the case is standing up, so I won't be able to put too much pressure.

Thanks

QTIP ,clean rag should be good as long as no lint residue remains.



Good mounting pressure is just good shop practice, especially for heat transfer. Do your best.

IC Perihelion, like ICD is a high viscosity compound, the high viscosity is designed/intended for long term reliability. Perihelion is slightly more sensitive than ICD to pressure requirements. On screw mounted systems the screws are set in a fixed position, when the system is turned on the compound heats up it continues to flow leaving a low pressure overly thick bond line because the screw position does not change.

A re torque after a 10 min warm up on screw mounting systems to close the gap and to optimize performance may be required. This is sort of like a re-torque on the older cars head gaskets after the first 1,000 miles or (?) km's.

Some background here on torque/pressure performance

http://www.evga.com/forums/tm.aspx?m=681429

 

[PhillyDee]

Not sure how we would measure the pressure of 50 PSI? Any tips? Or is it just standard screwed down?

I will test on the H50 and overclocked i7 I have here, I have the ceramic stuff coming.

 

[IC Diamond]

Paste is a mechanical function

IC Perihelion, like ICD is a high viscosity compound, the high viscosity is designed/intended for long term reliability. Perihelion is slightly more sensitive than ICD to pressure requirements. On screw mounted systems the screws are set in a fixed position, when the system is turned on the compound heats up it continues to flow leaving a low pressure overly thick bond line because the screw position does not change.

A re torque after a 10 min warm up on screw mounting systems to close the gap and to optimize performance may be required. This is sort of like a re-torque on the older cars head gaskets after the first 1,000 miles or (?) km's.

Some background here on torque/pressure performance

http://www.evga.com/forums/tm.aspx?m=681429

From our forum test surveys about 80% of the people sampled were over 50psi. The 20% who did not see a + result were under 50psi or had poor contact. When troubleshooting the dominant or most likely factor is pressure ( more pressure will most times cure contact issues) affecting performance.

Next in order is contact, usually resolved with added pressure and possibly lapping IHS and Sink.

The 3rd mechanical issue is application, better too much than too little. The waste in compound is having to redo your mount and the time spent - many start off with what they are used to like a riced sized amount which has been throughly vetted as insufficient for ICD or Perihelion. Waste of paste and time

Recommended reading

http://innovationcooling.com/ICDtroublshooting.htm


Below is a pressure test on an H50 this pic is part of a series where the guy tried to improve his mount after a equivalent before and after result. Resisting posting the full spread as it takes up a lot of space but screw systems will try the patience of the best mechanics and have gotten both great and marginal results from the H50's. Up to the individual mechanic's skill and persistence.

This mount has a left hand pressure bias with mostly edge contact and with little force applied along with minimal contact.

 

[1Day]

Do you have any data concerning sub-zero performance with either of the TM's? Would be very interested to see some results, and if there are performance dips the colder it gets. Say the difference between a cascade/Dry Ice at -80 and LN2 at -180?

 

[IC Diamond]

Do you have any data concerning sub-zero performance with either of the TM's? Would be very interested to see some results, and if there are performance dips the colder it gets. Say the difference between a cascade/Dry Ice at -80 and LN2 at -180?

Giglamesh used dry ice in the Gigabyte UK overclocking Contest


Nothing on Perihelion yet


You might want to pre cure the compound for at least a couple of hours. If you apply it and go immediately to sub zero the BLT would probably be too thick.

I ran one test with some ICD at ambient room temp (20C) with a simulated IHS and 2 pieces of glass clamped together with some binder clips @ approx 60 psi . With the paste applied I used a micrometer to gage the Bond line thickness (BLT) at timed intervals. About 2 hours to get 80-90% max, overnight for optimum BLT. Hairdryer might speed it up a bit

with a screw mount you might want to re torque it a couple of times

 

[Helios1234]

I've been meaning to test this for so long! But I need to find the time...

 

[1Day]

Thanks for the feedback - not really suitable in that case for what I wanted to do. I change CPU every couple of hours depending on what the benchmark is.

The temps with the products look great for 24/7 use and I shall pick up a couple of packs to test. Again thank you.

 

[Benihana]

Just arrived, so thought I'd post subjective findings before I test for real

This shows the colour/spread of the compound compared to MX-3, I found they were quite similar in their consistency, with the IC Diamond being a little easier to spread. That said like the MX-3 it does bunch up a little compared to something like AS5.

Some people mentioned abrasiveness, under purely subjective testing, it feels the same as MX-3 when spreading a small amount, and when feeling with fingertips.

I know its not much, but thought it might get the ball rolling!

Looking forward to testing it

 

[IC Diamond]

Just arrived, so thought I'd post subjective findings before I test for real

This shows the colour/spread of the compound compared to MX-3, I found they were quite similar in their consistency, with the IC Diamond being a little easier to spread. That said like the MX-3 it does bunch up a little compared to something like AS5.

Some people mentioned abrasiveness, under purely subjective testing, it feels the same as MX-3 when spreading a small amount, and when feeling with fingertips.

I know its not much, but thought it might get the ball rolling!

Looking forward to testing it

Feels the same because particle size is probably close

Most thermal compounds are Liquid sandpaper or lapping compounds by definition.

Light gray compounds are usually/mostly made up of aluminum oxide.

Aluminum oxide is what they make sandpaper out of.....MOHS Hardness scale 9

Diamond on the MOHS hardness scale 10

Copper MOHS 3

To be abrasive you just have to be harder than the material to be cut.

Most thermal compounds have particle sizes in the range of 600 - 800 same as your 600 - 800 sandpaper

http://www.unc.edu/~rowlett/units/scales/grit.html

If you are ambitious you can calculate cutting speeds and material removal between diamond the hardest (cubic boron nitride is actually harder than diamond) and the second hardest aluminum oxide.

For the insignificant speed- distance traveled, light pressures, minuscule time slice You will not see any difference between the two under normal use.

Abrasives have to move to work,

For all compounds- if you are a habitual abuser who reinstalls his sink 20 times a week or constantly rotates the sink under pressure then switch to something less abrasive like a zinc oxide compound .

 

[PhoenixUK]

Alright, I guess I'll be first to post some of my own tests.

I havn't seen this post before starting my tests so it probably isn't much help but it gives you all some idea.

Ambient temps are unfortunately unknown as I didn't have any way to measure them.


Tested on following:

555BE @ QUAD CORE 3.75GHZ 1.44v
Asus M4A785TD-V EVO AM3 Board
G.skill Ripjaw @ 1670mhz c8 9-9-9-21
Zalman CNPS 9700 Cooler

Also I didn't have much time so IC Diamond only had around 30min stress curing time before the tests were started. MX-3 was few months old application.

TEST 1 - IDLE Temp, nothing running in background, just desktop
Time of testing - 15min

MX 3 - 28c
IC Diamond - 27c


TEST 2 - Light use, Winamp running in background, msn, few tabs and YT vid
Time of testing - 30min.

MX3 - 32c
IC Diamond - 32c


TEST 3 - Prime Blend, 100% Stress.
Time of testing - 30min.

MX3 - 46c
IC Diamond - 45c


-------------------------------------
So, looks quite good so far, maybe with some curing time it will get even better.

Thanks to OCUK for the sample !

 

[avatar12m]

http://hardwarelogic.com/articles.php?id=5379

i know its the best but....

 

[IC Diamond]

http://hardwarelogic.com/articles.php?id=5379

i know its the best but....

That site was kind enough to host one of our first giveaways. Great crew on the forum at the time, small but energetic and friendly.

Capper who used to own hardwarelogic keyed in on some advantages to IC Diamond for Notebooks started a thread on repasting CPU/GPU's on notebookreview that resulted in sager and a number of other whitebox/SI's people integrating ICD into their products. A number of discussion threads there on repasting if you do a search.

Personally I prefer the field survey's we do over the review cycle. Empirical data from field testing has a long deep history and there are probably few products you use that have not undergone some field study of some such as drug testing, the make up your girl friend uses, marketing tests on food products or as in merchandising, what % are going to buy the blue shoes and how many should we order? it goes on and on.

We sell to a computer hobbiest niche so our interest is the real world results as it relates to them ----What does the average end user see at the desktop? Good, bad, indifferent the data is what it is.....

 

[SeraphX]

dont have no fancy graphs or what not but heres my results
temps are way high cos without heating on my house is like a freezer lol

OPTIONAL INFO: PROCESSOR, VOLTS/CLOCKS, HEAT SINK/COOLING USED, ETC.
CPU: AMD Athlon II X4 635 @ 3.45Ghz
Clock: 240x14.5
Volts: 1.43Vcore
Heatsink: Arctic cooling Freezer 7 Pro Rev. 2
CPUID HW Monitor used for temp reading.
Idle state tested for 1 hour machine resting on desktop, nothing open
Full load state tested in same conditions with prime95 on In place Large FFT's test for 1 hour

Before Compound: Arctic Silver 5
Ambient Temp: 25oC
Idle Temp: 48oC
Load Temp: 67oC

IC/ 24 Carat Diamond
Ambient Temp: 25oC
Idle Temp: 45oC
Load Temp: 64oC

seems a really cool paste, very very thick compared to the AS5 i used before and very sticky

 

[PhoenixUK]

^67c on athlon cpu ?? That seems more to me like 35degree ambient temp, not 25 !

 

[SeraphX]

lol it is only 25, i'd cease to exist any higher
it's not helped by sucking already warm air off my 5770 which idles at 36, getting a better fitting cooler in the next week or so, so hope temps come down somewhat

 

[Renni 95]

Using this paste ive dropped 2c on idle temps and 8c under load!!
method used was that i used my finger to put a layer on the cpu (this stuff was ike concrete!)

 

[sunjoo2012]

i guess ic diamond is better

 

[varkanoid]

Just arrived, so thought I'd post subjective findings before I test for real

Looking forward to testing it

what a waste ! going from AS5 to IC Ceramic so will post details ASAP