I think it is a testament to how well TIM has improved over the years.
Building a new PC
- Thread starter writhziden
- Start date
He did mention it during the credit card spreading method.7 minute mark said:
Thanks.
Not all TIM will behave the same as in the video, I found out. Doing my own tests with the three different compounds I have, some work better when spread thinner while others may not matter how the compound is applied. I still think thinner is better, assuming it isn't so thin that there is not enough. I just reapplied some Arctic MX-4 after the TIM that came with my new fan didn't seem to be working as well. With the Noctua supplied compound, my temperatures were maxing out around 77 C under 100% load for 10 minutes. With the MX-4, the temperatures reached 70 C under 100% load for 10 minutes. That's a pretty nice drop.
With the MX-4 a bit thicker, I was seeing 73 C under 100% load for 10 minutes. Now that I have it applied thinner, that's where I'm seeing the 70 C.
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I agree 100% because the theory still holds true. The most efficient heat transfer occurs with direct metal to metal contact. Just because the TIM has outstanding heat transfer capabilities, that does not suggest it is okay to slather on a thick layer. If nothing else, that adds time to the heat removal process and I don't see how that could be considered a good thing.
I will stick with my recommendation to apply TIM as thin as possible while still ensuring complete coverage.
Okay, I am having an odd issue with my motherboard. It intermittently loses my main SSD that has Windows installed on it. Loading optimized defaults or clearing the CMOS seems to fix the issue, but it's odd that the issue exists at all. I have two Crucial SSDs in the system, one a newer model. It finds the newer model fine, but the older model that has Windows installed keeps getting lost.
I do see a newer firmware version for the MX100, so I will install that and report back in a week or two if problems do not come back.
- CT512MX100SSD1 512.1 GB - Windows installation
- CT1050MX300SSD1 1050.2 GB - Media files
I do see a newer firmware version for the MX100, so I will install that and report back in a week or two if problems do not come back.
Don't forget the easily forgotten obvious: all cables firmly connected?
That was my first check. Removed and replaced all cables. The BIOS still didn't show the SSD until I loaded defaults.
Let's hope it not the drive failing. I might also try a different motherboard SATA port. If nothing else, that would force the system to refresh/rewrite all configuration settings instead of referring to possibly corrupt or incorrect entries.
I'll try that next if the problem returns; I was also thinking of replacing the SATA cable in case this one is worn since it is a few years old. I do note in the firmware update:
I should probably also mention that my previous system build would occasionally blue screen after waking from sleep, and the blue screen crash said that it could not access critical system files. The two could be related.
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Well, cables that don't move about don't normally "wear" out just by age unless exposed to the elements or sun. But of course, they can be damaged when moved, and exposed contacts can get dirty so it is worth trying.
That "during power state transitions" sounds promising, if they truly corrected it.
That "during power state transitions" sounds promising, if they truly corrected it.
Hopefully.
As to my reasoning for replacing the cable and using a different SATA port if the problem returns: I'm not sure how old this cable is. It might be the original SATA cable that came with my 2008 system, in which case, it has been moved around quite a bit between systems and between motherboard replacements. The age alone would probably be reason to suspect it, assuming it's 9-10 years old. Temperature changes, etc. could easily have left that cable more fragile and prone to easily being damaged during bending.
Yeah, I generally use all new cables with new builds too - even if pulling old drives over. If nothing else, I figure the newer cables are designed to support the latest standards. SATA III was just coming out in 2009. That cable may have been designed with SATA I in mind. That may all be wishful thinking on my part, but that's my story and I'm sticking to it! So there. 
The problem returned with the SSD disappearing from the system. I replaced the SATA cable with a newer cable and put the Windows drive on SATA 1 instead of SATA 0. I put my Blu-Ray on SATA 0 in case it's a bad port. I don't use the Blu-Ray as much, and I'd rather lose a connection with it than one of my SSDs. I do want to find out if it is a bad port, so I wanted to keep something connected to it. That way, I can RMA the board if it's bad.
This time, when the SSD disappeared, I received a BSOD. It flashed too fast to really catch the BugCheck; all I saw was Kernel in the BugCheck name. No MEMORY.DMP or minidump was saved, which was probably due to the SSD not being available to write one.
This time, when the SSD disappeared, I received a BSOD. It flashed too fast to really catch the BugCheck; all I saw was Kernel in the BugCheck name. No MEMORY.DMP or minidump was saved, which was probably due to the SSD not being available to write one.
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If a BSOD was tossed up, hopefully there will be an event listed in Event Viewer that might lend a clue.
I checked there, too. Without the SSD, the system would have had no access to Event Viewer logs, either cached or otherwise. I think that is why there is no record anywhere of the BSOD.
The only event viewer log information about the crash is that the system was not shut down properly.
:thud: Doh! I forget this was the boot disk. Sorry. I wish I knew more to suggest. I might install that SSD into another system (as a secondary drive) just to make sure it works fine, but it is looking more and more like a mobo problem.
:thud: Doh! I forget this was the boot disk. Sorry. I wish I knew more to suggest. I might install that SSD into another system (as a secondary drive) just to make sure it works fine, but it is looking more and more like a mobo problem.
It could be the SSD, too. The MX100 seems to have other users reporting similar issues as it ages (or after power is lost to the residence, which happened to me a few weeks ago). We'll have to see how things go the next few weeks. It's a good thing I keep system images and store my backup files on a separate drive. I will probably also back up to my Google drive while I wait to see if this drive is stable.
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Well, it does not seem to be a port or cable issue. The SSD was lost again tonight. I was trying to repartition it, and it kept changing how much I could shrink the volume. I decided to run a disk check on it, rebooted for the check, and the drive disappeared. I'm now trying to power cycle the drive per Crucial's instructions for this issue. We'll see if that has any better results. If not, I may make it a secondary drive and install an M.2 SSD.
Mike, you might want to use Hard Disk Sentinel to check the stats on it, you could also try to touch bases with the dev., send in a report to him, he might have similar reports or a reasoned explanation?
Hard Disk Sentinel - HDD health and temperature monitoring
Hard Disk Sentinel - HDD health and temperature monitoring
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