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For people that want to do something similar on Windows, I can wholeheartedly recommend FanControl [1]. It's sadly not open-source, but it works great, and is quite pleasant to interact with. [1]: https://getfancontrol.com/
Please do some measuring of core temperature response to load before and after re-pasting / upgrading the thermal compound. Something between a large grain of rice and a pea, and I like to clean the CPU and cooler cold plate completely, paste the CPU, then press and smear around the cooler onto the CPU before mounting it, to ensure full surface area coverage with a thin layer of compound.
I switched from years old Arctic silver 5 to Noctua NT-H1. It resulted in a dramatic difference. 64c loaded vs 84c -- I now suspect I had an air bubble which may invalidate the initial motivation for the work in the first place :-)
https://github.com/dak180/TrueNAS-Scripts/blob/master/FanCon...
(That's not mine. I think I wrote a variation in Python.)
Then I realized: my server is in the unfinished part of my basement where I can't hear it anyway. Let's just run the fans at 80% speed all the time since that's sufficient to keep the drives cool.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Genuine question: I've known the law of "pea sized amount" for thermal paste for 20 years or so. Does it still hold true for modern (and larger) CPU dies? I haven't upgraded in a long time so genuinely don't know, but also wouldn't want to use outdated knowledge!
I've seen reports and debates that modern heat spreaders are too large for the pea method, and that an X pattern is more common now. Here's one of the test videos you can find on Youtube about the subject: https://youtu.be/aaxBYrZFJZM?t=199
That wasn't tested there.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
You can also undervolt most modern AMD parts and actually gain performance
How does that work? Is it just that it can run at high speed sustained if it doesn't have to dissipate as much heat?
There is, of course, a risk that the lower voltage won't be stable, but, as long as you stress test your system as you would while overclocking, you'll be able to find a lower voltage that is workable.
The 7000 series ryzen chips have this built into most motherboard bioses by the name 'pbo offset' (or similar) which modifies the stock voltage curve lower, and can set new temperature targets if desired. I'm running my 7950x at PBO level 3 with an 85c target, works well with no more fuss than a couple reboots really.
Please do some measuring of core temperature response to load before and after re-pasting / upgrading the thermal compound. Something between a large grain of rice and a pea, and I like to clean the CPU and cooler cold plate completely, paste the CPU, then press and smear around the cooler onto the CPU before mounting it, to ensure full surface area coverage with a thin layer of compound.
Genuine question: I've known the law of "pea sized amount" for thermal paste for 20 years or so. Does it still hold true for modern (and larger) CPU dies? I haven't upgraded in a long time so genuinely don't know, but also wouldn't want to use outdated knowledge!
It's just a compound what helps with a heat transfer. Both CPU IHS and the radiator are not ideal surfaces, so if you install one on one without TP then there would be bubbles of air trapped in imperfections of the surfaces. They are not a problem per se but they do make the heat transfer worse, so IHS is hotter than it could be and a bit less effective to transfer the heat to the radiator.
You have two options to improve the heat transfer:
a) polish both the IHS and the radiator to a perfect surface, ie they would should mirror like; and then you should use a torque screwdriver to ensure what the cooler is tightened and leveled exactly right;
b) or you can just slap some thermal paste between them and call it done.
And in the second case you need 'just enough' of TP to smooth out the imperfections, but if you slpat too much then again you are making the heat transfer between the IHS and the radiator worse.
So if you ever find yourself minding about how much TP should you use then just start with a pea size, place the radiator (you can even screw it if that's your jam) then remove it and look at how the TP spread around the IHS. If it covers 90% with a thin film (and your radiator isn't the lowest shit tier polished with the old rusted raspel) when you are fine enough.
The only difference between 20yo and now is what IHS are way more larger so now you may find a need to use... a larger pea as a reference.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I've seen reports and debates that modern heat spreaders are too large for the pea method, and that an X pattern is more common now. Here's one of the test videos you can find on Youtube about the subject: https://youtu.be/aaxBYrZFJZM?t=199
Giving a single moment of thought to what happens when the paste is squished to this should lead everyone to the conclusion that a square that is equidistant from the edge to the center is the right pattern with maybe a dot it the middle for piece of mind. That wasn't tested there.
For people that want to do something similar on Windows, I can wholeheartedly recommend FanControl [1]. It's sadly not open-source, but it works great, and is quite pleasant to interact with. [1]: https://getfancontrol.com/
Curious as to why you think it’s sad it is not open source .