*P O L L* Liquid Metal damage ---> Integrated Heat Spreader, Copper & Nickel

[Nicholas Peyton]

Examples

-If you used it on your IHS with a Copper heatsink and it caused no damage then you would cast 2 votes (1 for each) so your selections would be:

• IHS (caused NO damage)
• COPPER (caused NO damage)

-If your Nickel Plated block was discoloured but your IHS was perfectly fine (with no permanent damage) then your selections would be:

• NICKEL *discoloured*
• IHS (caused NO damage)

-If you've never used Liquid Metal or only use for delid select:

• Never used Liquid Metal or only used for delid

Maximum of 6 votes per person

--------------------------



~If it caused damage to your IHS, Copper or Nickel what was that damage? How bad was it? Was it permanent? How did you correct it?

~How long did it take?

~Anyone out there who got more than a 5c difference compared to a decent regular paste?



P.S.

Not interested in what it did to your aluminium (we all already know not to use Liquid Metal on Aluminium)

Thanks,


Nick

 

[ruff0r]

COPPER (caused NO damage)
Block was used directly on GPU DIE for 2 years the indents are from me scraping the rests of the Liquid Metal Pro
metal off.

IHS (caused NO damage)
COPPER (caused NO damage)
Used on An i5-2500k IHS and a ... i dont even know anymore direct heat pipe Air cooler Like this one

The only issue was that after a while The Liquid Metal makes a very good Bond like an alloy only way to get rid of ....Scrap it off with sandpaper.

Conclusion:
Used Liquid Metal PADS Instead of Liquid Metal ""paste"", 100% easier to remove, 50% harder to Apply .
Got around 3-5C° on Load. On Air it was Less.

 

[dont whant to set it"']

Did no damage to mine but the laser etchings were almoast all gone.(relative short usage timeframe ~6months)
Le: used inbetween ihs and hs as die was soldered to ihs.

 

[biffzinker]

Used it on my R9 280, caused stubborn/hard to remove discoloration on the copper base, and the exposed die had a scuffed appearance.

 

[Arctucas]

Delid.

 

[Nicholas Peyton]

Someone just asked me for help determining if Liquid Metal would damage the GPU DIE on his GTX 1080. (or small shiny IHS)? Not sure which one it is as I've never de-lided so still a n00b in that respect.

But he wants to use his Corsair HG10 AOI to cool his GPU (its not compatible) but he can make it compatible by adding a 2mm copper shim between DIE and block. He wants to use Liquid Metal. But is worried it will corrode or permanently discolour the top of DIE/small shiny IHS....?

Anyone have experience with that? I have given him the link to this forum and this thread I started yesterday.

Best I can do just now....

Thanks

 

[dont whant to set it"']

Dont is my answer for long term use of lyquid metal tim on chip die,chip die insolator is a glasslike mirror finished in that particular case.
Le:alltough doable if applyed first on waterblock and only.

 

[phanbuey]

I'm about to use liquid ultra on my delid... I used Gelid Extreme but it dried up / leaked out in like 4 days

 

[ruff0r]

The only thing that will happen to his SHINY Die is that what happened to my old i7-920 , You will scratch the shit out of it when you try to clean it off.
If he got an high quality flat Plane shim go for metal but he will need twice as much , otherwise i recommend good thermal past for shims along on the movement they will cause while installing the cooler, remember Liquid metal is conductive if he is a first time user and uses to much around the dies are components and short out If he uses to much, I used to much my first time.
Again i recommend Coollaboratory Liquid MetalPad for such thing, since you can peel scratch it off after use with your fingernail only working with it is harder.
Edit: If you want a recommendation use Thermal Grizzly i am using it as a replacement to my Liquid metal right now and its good it comes very close to Liquid metal.

 

[Nicholas Peyton]

Okay thanks for all the info guys I'll forward the link for this thread to him so he can make his mind up

 

[eidairaman1]

Someone just asked me for help determining if Liquid Metal would damage the GPU DIE on his GTX 1080. (or small shiny IHS)? Not sure which one it is as I've never de-lided so still a n00b in that respect.

But he wants to use his Corsair HG10 AOI to cool his GPU (its not compatible) but he can make it compatible by adding a 2mm copper shim between DIE and block. He wants to use Liquid Metal. But is worried it will corrode or permanently discolour the top of DIE/small shiny IHS....?

Anyone have experience with that? I have given him the link to this forum and this thread I started yesterday.

Best I can do just now....

Thanks

Use Akasa Shinetsu pads, AC MX2/MX4, AS5/ASC, Gelid. Do not use Aluminum based pads or compound on copper.

 

[peche]

I'm about to use liquid ultra on my delid... I used Gelid Extreme but it dried up / leaked out in like 4 days

use liquid metal between CPU die and IHS, between IHS and cooler use what ever you like, thats the most popular delid

Someone just asked me for help determining if Liquid Metal would damage the GPU DIE on his GTX 1080. (or small shiny IHS)? Not sure which one it is as I've never de-lided so still a n00b in that respect.

its better to use regular thermal paste there, for example arctic mx o thermal grizzly, liquid metal corrodes or destroys aluminium, coollaboratory advises that on their site,

Please notice that the Liquid Ultra is not suitable with the usage of aluminum surfaces.

info taken: http://www.coollaboratory.com/product/coollaboratory-liquid-ultra/

also i have delidded my current i7, no problems so far, did a repaste over IHS and cooler, take out IHS by mistake so had to re-apply liquid metal again, cleaned out CPU die with minor problems [liquid metal is little sticky due thermal cicles] and also over CPU IHS, no scratches or discoloration found...my i7 was running that pastes for moar than 6 months...

some people claims that conductnaut by Thermal grizzly is better solution than coollaboratory liquid ultra, easier to apply and remove mostly,

Regards,

 

[phanbuey]

use liquid metal between CPU die and IHS, between IHS and cooler use what ever you like, thats the most popular delidit,

that's what i am doing - liquid metal between the ihs and die, and i have some thermal grizzly kryo for between the IHS and the block... my prior attempt to running it totally delidded ended in epic failure so i have to deal with ihs.

i tried using gelid extreme for between the ihs and core, but within a few days temps deteriorated from 75-80C to 95+ C

 

[peche]

that's what i am doing - liquid metal between the ihs and die, and i have some thermal grizzly kryo for between the IHS and the block... my prior attempt to running it totally delidded ended in epic failure so i have to deal with ihs.

i tried using gelid extreme for between the ihs and core, but within a few days temps deteriorated from 75-80C to 95+ C

my bad, got confused there, also y had a delid die guard somewhere there that came with an MSI board from a build i did, customer claimed no to need so he gifted me the guard, never used must be somewhere there, running it naked its pretty extreme and also so risky dude, i wont do it,

what happened in your prior intent? =D got curious

 

[phanbuey]

my bad, got confused there, also y had a delid die guard somewhere there that came with an MSI board from a build i did, customer claimed no to need so he gifted me the guard, never used must be somewhere there, running it naked its pretty extreme and also so risky dude, i wont do it,

what happened in your prior intent? =D got curious

Couldnt get the pressure right to get the mobo to post, and in my tooling around with it, the chip ended up bending some of the mobo pins... i was able to bend them back, and got it to post with the IHS, so I decided to try again (lol) thinking that the reason it didnt post the first time was because of the bent pins, and it would work now.

Yeah that didnt happen - the chip ended up splipping slightly and the cache bent some of the pins closest to the middle... and this time when i tried to bend (a different) area of pins back one of them snapped off...

So now i have a new mobo and a science experiment to see if i can repair a 1151 socket.

 

[peche]

Couldnt get the pressure right to get the mobo to post, and in my tooling around with it, the chip ended up bending some of the mobo pins... i was able to bend them back, and got it to post with the IHS, so I decided to try again (lol) thinking that the reason it didnt post the first time was because of the bent pins, and it would work now.

Yeah that didnt happen - the chip ended up splipping slightly and the cache bent some of the pins closest to the middle... and this time when i tried to bend (a different) area of pins back one of them snapped off...

So now i have a new mobo and a science experiment to see if i can repair a 1151 socket.

i like that attitude, i guess i will never run a naked die ... my luck isn't enough for that

 

[Nicholas Peyton]

Could NOT get all the Conductonaut Liquid Metal off my COPPER block (although the surface is still smooth):

Note: I tried a Citrus based TIM cleaner & alcohol based tim cleaner.
Even tried dipping the block in boiling water then scrubbing with a non-abrasive cloth.

I did manage to get most of it off my CPU (2nd picture)

Installation time was only 1-2 months.

If anyone knows how I could get this off my copper block please share?

Also; will this affect temps? (the surface is still smooth and there are no signs of "corrosion" as such.

CPU was fine (but it did take me AGES -- spent forever rubbing this weird 'black residue' that kept coming and coming) it was relentless. Even when the CPU looked clean I'd rub it again and the black residue would seem to magically re-appear. Like as if I was using a dirty cloth (but it was clean).
Eventually an hour later, it stopped coming

 

[qubit]

Sounds like LQ is more trouble than it's worth. I wouldn't bother.

Use a good quality regular paste instead. These don't damage and can be cleaned off easily with isopropyl alcohol.

 

[Nicholas Peyton]

Sounds like LQ is more trouble than it's worth. I wouldn't bother.

Use a good quality regular paste instead. These don't damage and can be cleaned off easily with isopropyl alcohol.

aye, it all seems to come down to if you want the extra trouble for 4c - 5c better temps.

Anyway if anyone knows how I can get this off my copper block, (as seen in 1st pic above) please share

My temperature results comparing Kryonaut with Conductonaut LM is here: https://www.techpowerup.com/forums/...-vs-conductonaut-liquid-metal-73-w-mk.229167/

 

[R-T-B]

aye, it all seems to come down to if you want the extra trouble for 4c - 5c better temps.

Anyway if anyone knows how I can get this off my copper block, (as seen in 1st pic above) please share

My temperature results comparing Kryonaut with Conductonaut LM is here: https://www.techpowerup.com/forums/...-vs-conductonaut-liquid-metal-73-w-mk.229167/

I've been considering trying this and aren't really concerned with cleaning it off.

My main questions are how hard the application is, and longevity. How long does it last? I never want to have to pull it off again until I upgrade is my logic, lol.

PS: Before someone pulls out a gun and says "away from the thermal paste froggie" based on my sig thread, remember I now recruit my brother to handle this particular kind of operation... his arms work.

 

[Nicholas Peyton]

I've been considering trying this and aren't really concerned with cleaning it off.

My main questions are how hard the application is, and longevity. How long does it last? I never want to have to pull it off again until I upgrade is my logic, lol.

PS: Before someone pulls out a gun and says "away from the thermal paste froggie" based on my sig thread, remember I now recruit my brother to handle this particular kind of operation... his arms work.

Thats a good point actually.

After doing my temp comparison (link above) I'm strongly considering just re-applying the Conductonaut LM.

However I'm more inclined to leave it a few more days first to do a further comparison. Thermal Grizzly claim there is no curing time for Kryonaut but I do faintly remember getting better results after a few days (regardless of their claim).

I'm going to do a few heat cycles and try and hurry the process up. I could be wrong; and I've not done any concrete testing on it. But nows my chance I suppose. Of course, I'll share the results

If the temps on the Kryonaut doesn't increase by tomorrow, I'm going back to the LM.... I can always replace the CPU block when ZEN comes out.

 

[Arrakis9]

I've been considering trying this and aren't really concerned with cleaning it off.

My main questions are how hard the application is, and longevity. How long does it last? I never want to have to pull it off again until I upgrade is my logic, lol.

PS: Before someone pulls out a gun and says "away from the thermal paste froggie" based on my sig thread, remember I now recruit my brother to handle this particular kind of operation... his arms work.

you should never have to replace the TIM, in some other threads its mentioned that its best used between surfaces that are not going to be serviced often such as between the die of a processor and the IHS or the die of a GPU and its cooler. the application is not difficult you just have to be MUCH more careful and take your time applying it as it is liquid metal and will kill components if it is not were its supposed to be.

Thats a good point actually.

After doing my temp comparison (link above) I'm strongly considering just re-applying the Conductonaut LM.

However I'm more inclined to leave it a few more days first to do a further comparison. Thermal Grizzly claim there is no curing time for Kryonaut but I do faintly remember getting better results after a few days (regardless of their claim).

I'm going to do a few heat cycles and try and hurry the process up. I could be wrong; and I've not done any concrete testing on it. But nows my chance I suppose. Of course, I'll share the results

If the temps on the Kryonaut doesn't increase by tomorrow, I'm going back to the LM.... I can always replace the CPU block when ZEN comes out.

the liquid metal is a better choice overall, as for removing it from blocks (staining) you can use metal polish to remove most of it and return the surface to very fine. if you want to completely remove the LM from the surface of the block to resell or whatever you'll need to lap it with sand paper and re-polish the surface.

this is the stuff i use:

 

[Mr.Scott]

if you want to completely remove the LM from the surface of the block to resell or whatever you'll need to lap it with sand paper and re-polish the surface.

Exactly. It's the only way to completely remove it.

 

[Nicholas Peyton]

Wouldn't that ruin the "convex" design shape of my block? giving worse temps? Might just be better to polish it with a metal polish as suggested then leave the rest of it.

My thoughts would be that if its impossible to remove most of it (without lapping) (the bits that are impossible to remove) have actually filled the "pores" in the copper creating in effect a better contact?

-The surface of the block is still smooth.

-The old LM paste was only installed for 1-2 months.

-I will probably be going back to LM soon.

-The *old* LM only seems to be present in the "pores" of the copper since the block is still smooth to touch. (I've scrubbed it and scrubbed it). So what ever residual layer must be very "fine"? Or just in the "pores"?

-Lapping / Sanding the block could reduce the "convex by design" shape worsening temps more than this very thin layer of old LM?

-I can probably get even more off by using some metal polish to smooth it even further? (better than lapping and ruining shape)?


/\ that was my thoughts (to explain it a bit better).

If I'm still wrong; then you learn something new every day.. as I seem to have been doing a lot lately, lol ?

?

 

[Vario]

Coollaboratory Liquid Ultra put a white crud rough alloy corrosion resembling bird shit on my H100i's copper block. I had to lap it with sandpaper to get it level again, but the H100i's pump died shortly afterward for unrelated reasons, because it was a junk product.

I recommend you lap the product that is affected. You can also lap the lid of the CPU. If the lid of the CPU has already been made concave because of a convex waterblock, then this will correct it. Use paste product in the future like Arctic Silver 5.