The first silver-based, polysynthetic thermal compound for
use between modern high-power CPUs and high performance heatsinks or water-cooling
solutions.
Arctic Silver 3 features:
Made with 99.9% pure micronized silver.
Arctic Silver 3 uses three unique shapes and sizes pure silver particles to maximize
particle-to-particle contact area and thermal transfer. This exclusive combination gives
the compound a distinctive silver-green color as each type of particle reflects light
differently.
Over 70% silver content by weight.
Arctic Silver 3 also contains a small percentage of specially engineered micronized
boron nitride. The thermally-enhanced boron nitride ceramic particles improve the
compound's flow characteristics and long-term stability.
Extended temperature limits:
– 40°C to >160°C
Arctic Silver 3 will not run or separate.
Controlled triple phase viscosity.
Arctic Silver 3 does not contain any silicone. The suspension fluid is a proprietary
mixture of advanced polysynthetic oils that work together to provide three distinctive
functional phases. As it comes from the tube, Arctic Silver 3's consistency is engineered
for easy application in a thin even layer. During the CPU's initial use, the compound
thins out to enhance the filling of the microscopic valleys and insure the best physical
contact between the heatsink and the CPU core. Then the compound thickens slightly over
the next 50 to 200 hours of use to its final consistency designed for long-term stability.
(This should not be confused with conventional phase change pads that are pre-attached to
many heatsinks. Those pads melt each time they get hot then re-solidify when they cool.
The viscosity changes that Arctic Silver 3 goes through are much more subtle and
ultimately much more effective.)
Thermal conductivity: >9.0
W/m°K (Hot Wire Method Per MIL-C-47113)
Thermal Resistance:
<0.0024°C-in²/Watt (0.001 inch layer)
4 to 15 degrees centigrade lower CPU core
temperatures than standard thermal compounds or thermal pads.
When measured with a calibrated thermal diode imbedded in the CPU core.
Negligible electrical conductivity.
Arctic Silver 3 was formulated to conduct heat, not electricity. It is only
electrically conductive in a thin layer under extreme compression.
(While much safer than electrically conductive
silver and copper greases, Arctic Silver 3 should be kept away from electrical traces,
pins, and leads. The compound is slightly capacitive and could potentially cause problems
if it bridged two close-proximity electrical paths.)
Arctic Silver 3 is sold in 3 gram and
6 gram tubes. The 3 gram tube contains enough compound to cover at least 20 to 30 small
CPU cores, or 7 to 12 large CPU cores, or 3 to 6 heat plates.
At a layer 0.003" thick, the 3 gram tube will cover approximately 18 square inches.
Important Reminder:
Due to the unique shape and sizes of the silver particles in Arctic Silver 3, it will take
a minimum of 72 hours 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.) On systems measuring actual internal core
temperatures via the CPU's internal diode, the measured temperature will drop as much as
2C to 4C over this "break-in" period.
Caution:
We do not recommend using Arctic Silver 3 on Intel Xeon processors. The huge contact
area and large gaps between the processor and the heatsink require a thermal pad or thick
mesh-reinforced paste. |
