Heat transfer compound

Just arrived on DX

http://www.dealextreme.com/p/silicone-heat-transfer-compound-65465

Seems to be a good alternative to Fujik (this) and it's cheaper.

What do you think?

Any of these will work. The more solids and the less liquid, the better. But the less runny they are, the harder they are to apply properly. Vegemite or Marmite work better than most. Till they dry out....

If Dan's Data was responding just now I'd post a link, but if you go to

http://www.dansdata.com

and search for Vegemite, you'll get the idea.

The name really does make me wonder what they were thinking...Coca. I suppose it's still better than Fandyfire:P

I use AS-5. I find the metal particles are much finer, because its that much harder to remove from non mirror surfaces! In-terms of thermal performance, I think the differences are small, too small to feel, maybe measurable with good setups (computers).

Realistically its more about knowing that the stuff is a couple percent better, and makes up for crappy torch heatsinks. Practically there is more to gain with better thermally designed torches.

I wonder if these are made from plain silicone sealant + random thermal compund. 50ml for 3usd? I use the fujik one and have a feeling that even if applied correctly (not like the usual stock flashlights that comes from rushed assembly) ain't that good. In the last decade i've worked with a ton of various thermal compounds and i was pretty surprised how much difference does those make between the various brands/types. However the most important thing is still to apply it properly. That said i really think there will be not much difference (thermally) between generic thermal glues since the emitter stars and pill are nowhere near that flat as cpu heatspreaders (intel's are notorious to be slightly concave) and quality heatsinks.

For best thermals one should lap the emitter stars properly and the pills. I did not do it since i found no way to properly flatten the spot in pills where stars should fit.

Still the best cheap approach for a DIY would be the fujik plaster. A drop of 1/2 of rice grain on the star then hard pressed (really hard) on the mating surface. Kept pressed on for a few hours without moving it in the process should be the best you can get on the cheap.

It says it has a Chinese manual so, shouldn't be a problem figuring out how to do it.

ImtiredFoy

Indeed but must be simplified chinese. (since it is simplified it should be pretty easy eh?)

I have just started using this today from DX

DX Item Number 35819 Heat Sink Thermal Silicone Paste (10cm*10cm*0.1cm) DX Heatsink strip $3.95 USD

Aloha and welcome to BLF xub1!