Official ICD7 Thread

Capper5016 · 08-03-2009, 07:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by flipfire

Do you realise how much air pockets that will create?

Proper application: http://innovationcooling.com/applica...structions.htm

Let me ask a simple question.....have you tried it? Do you have any personal experience with what you are commenting on?

Quote:

Originally Posted by DestruyaX

I wasn't trolling. Just because it can work doesn't mean it'll work forever like that, or work flawlessly each time.

And I'll be the first one to attest to thermal pads being next to worthless, but I'd still have some trepidation replacing something that works fine to begin with. Even so, getting replacement pads probably isn't a bad idea should you ever have to get your notebook serviced. Especially with a northbridge problem - if the notebook craps out, and you've obviously removed/replaced the TIM, they're going to probably rule that as the cause and put you in breach of warranty for "altering" the stock configuration.

I'm trying to again find a way to break this down (I'm taking Loritab after getting my hand cut open today)....... Typical thermal compounds have a consistency of syrup, or even a thinner substance like dish soap. They have a very high liquid content.... traditional thermal compounds like these were produced with the idea of filling micro cracks and grooves (machine marks, etc). Trying to fill a .5-1.0 MM gap with these wont work, because they are so thin that they just bleed out as they heat up.

The difference with ICD7 is that it has a much lower liquid content, with an almost putty consistency. After it heats up and settles, it becomes almost wax like.And using a large pea sized glob, it has enough compression between the heat sink and chipset that it creates a bond that works perfectly, as evidenced by numerous volunteer testers here.

About a year ago, I was working with Andrew from Innovative Cooling, as well as several other thermal compound makers and found that most thermal compounds performed in bunches (not coincidentally because several of these companies use the exact same materials).

After messing around with ICD7 (which is also fantastic for polishing stuff). I had the idea to replace the thermal pads on a variety of products.....so apart came video cards, motherboards, gaming consoles, etc. I replaced the generic thermal pads with ICD7 and put the whole lot under some pretty rigerous testing. I found that in every instance ICD7 improved the thermal performance, either by direct temperature readings (using professional testing equipment) or by unscientific means (console performance.....not shutting down or freezing, fans turning on less). Specifically, I saw dramatic gains with graphics cards and notebooks. I've been running my 7811-FX with ICD7 on the CPU and chipset for about six months, and the temperatures, even with a T9900, are greatly improved.

When I have seen a problem, its people applying it like traditional thermal compounds, meaning a bead down the middle, or a small rice grain sized glob in the middle......thats not the way to do it, because this is so much thicker and doesnt spread as well as thinner pastes.

As to thermal pads, they are about worthless, and honestly provide a very poor thermal interface.......why are they used? Because on an assembly lne they are much easier to install then thermal paste.....much less chance of getting a thermal paste all over the PCB, or applying too much, or not enough. The real operating life of a thermal pad is also shockingly short.......so combine poor performance with short lifespan, and its easy to see why people are replacing them with the copper mod and ICD7.

Why do I get angry at people? Because a guy like this will spout off like a know it all, without any experience, or facts.......this guy posted a quote from one person who didnt see any benefits, and even that person asked if they did it correctly........as if that somehow trumps all the user experiences here and countless other forums. Aside from that, it makes me mad because I've spent a lot of time trying to help people here, be it with thermal paste, CPUs, drivers, etc......and to me its counterproductive when someone like this chimes in, without having taken the time to read the previous 32 pages here, or 10+ pages in the other thread.

No I apologize, I've been hurting the last few days, and before I drift off to my coma, I want the two naysayers here to go back and read the user experiences here.

JohnWhoTwo · 08-03-2009, 10:42 PM

Sorry to hear about your hand, Capper.

Regarding your last post -

I haven't had a problem with my 7805u, but after reading your post, it somewhat makes me want to put ICD7 on it anyway.

Is there such a thing as an ICD7 kit with cleaner?

-L1GHTGAM3R- · 08-03-2009, 11:09 PM

order from here
Cleaner:http://www.heatsinkfactory.com/arcti...l-p-16154.html
ICD7:http://www.heatsinkfactory.com/ic-di...m-p-16605.html u can order both should be around 20$

Capper5016 · 08-03-2009, 11:18 PM

I'll live, drugs are good....sometimes. If nothing else, I'm a lot less edgy tonight than i have been over the last couple days.

Alright, to answer some questions.....Arctic Clean is awesome, best stuff you can get. If its too expensive, or you dont want to wait, some denatured alcohol is probably the second best choice, you can get it at Home Depot or Lowes in the paint section.......or you can use good ole 90%+ rubbing alcohol (make sure there are no additives in it, fragerances, lubricants, etc).

If you havent had any issues, then it would just be an experiment. Me personally, I got tired of my temps being too high, and the fan kicking on. when I replaced the P8400 with the T9900 I decided it was a worthwhile endeavor. ICD7 made a huge difference in temps and fan usage.....but add to that using an app like CPUGenie my notebook is dead silent.

I've used pretty much every thermal compound available during testing. I really like MX-2, TX-2, Shin Etsu 751, and ICD7. I really liked OCZ Freeze, but during the longevity testing it dried out and had to be replaced, with isnt a good thing......that also goes back to one of the things that makes ICD7 my recommendation....its so thick, and six months later I've seen no fluctuation in performance at all.

JohnWhoTwo · 08-04-2009, 09:03 AM

Thanks to -L1GHTGAM3R- and Capper5016 for the info.

SuperFlyBoy · 08-05-2009, 12:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Capper5016

...that also goes back to one of the things that makes ICD7 my recommendation....its so thick, and six months later I've seen no fluctuation in performance at all.

I was wondering which version of ICD7 you recommend - a web store quoted here shows a 7 carat (1.5 gram) and a 24 carat (4.8 gram) - is this simply a quantity definition by the makers of ICD7?

mklym · 08-05-2009, 01:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SuperFlyBoy

I was wondering which version of ICD7 you recommend - a web store quoted here shows a 7 carat (1.5 gram) and a 24 carat (4.8 gram) - is this simply a quantity definition by the makers of ICD7?

You are correct. The 24 carat is just a larger tube. If you are just doing the CPU and GPU on one notebook, the 7 carat tube is enough.