How much would temperatures be affected if you were to use a metal, such as gallium, as the material between the CPU and the heatsink/waterblock? Since metals have such a good thermal conductivity, I would expect quite a difference...but that is just a guess. It could almost be applied like thermal paste due to the fact that at room temperatures it would only be half liquid
And what about metals/alloys with a LOW melting point? An alloy like Field's Metal Melts at 62C. (Though I found some that melts a little higher) That way it would be in it's solid state through normal computer usage (assuming you keep your cpu below ~62 which is pretty much what you should do anyways)
Or to even heat up your cpu and heatsink with the system powered off and apply the metal that way-
I know it isn't practical, I know Coollaboratory makes some "metal" TIM and that isn't very practical either and I would assume you would apply the metals in much the same way...
Using Liquid Pro or any other liquid metal TIMs would be very similar to using any other paste TIMs. There are some big differences like how the TIM is applied, which in the case of Liquid Pro requires a lot of care and preparation to make sure get only the right amount on (because how it is held in between the IHS and heatsink is most likely surface tension) and its pure metal so electrical conductivity is a problem, and the other difference is that it can't be use on any heatsink material (aluminum for Liquid Pro). But other than those two things, and the minor fact that it most likely a massive pain to remove once cured, its not terribly different than other TIMs. Those liquid metal TIMs are also the best performing TIMs available and unlike those diamond based TIMs it doesn't scratch and erode everything you put it on. So all in all, its kinda different but not a massive departure from what your used to.
That heatsink is aluminum and thats the reason why you shouldn't use it on aluminum heatsinks. Liquid metal TIMs don't hurt copper or steel (which the IHS of a CPU is made of IIRC) at all so its perfectly safe on copper
Has anyone ever tried using diamond film as a TIM? As far as I'm aware diamond has the highest heat conduction capabilities of any readily available (albeit expensive) substance and its also a electrical insulator. I'm not sure of the specifics but I remember reading somewhere that diamond is used in ultra high speed microchip applications when a electrical insulator is needed that also conducts heat. I have no idea what the cost would be or if there would be any real world advantage in heat dissipation vs a solder TIM but it would be interesting to know...
But I'm wondering mostly is if it would be any difference from the Liquid Pro stuff
and/or if a solidified layer of metal molded between the Heatsink/waterblock and the cpu would be better than a liquid metal layer.
Just an addon- t is popular to delid intel chips do to the shit paste inside them, is it possible to apply a metal based TIM to a bear chip without killing it?
Stuff like Indigo Xtreme (liquid metal molded pad) and Liquid Pro are very similar and their performance would be fairly similar.
As far as for delids, it would work as long as you are careful about application as some CPUs will have capacitors and resistor packs right on top of the CPU close to the die, but the die itself is encased in an epoxy to protect the silicon so the metal will not get in the die. And if you are thinking about a delid I would highly recommend using the metal over any sort diamond based solution as the diamond could in theory damage the epoxy and possibly expose the silicon inside.
looks interesting. no idea what that liquid metal is. but yeah. delid'ing seems so easy now. and you don't even need to cover up the v-regs if you are using non-conductive paste. you actually don't even need to re-seal the IHS, you can just set it back on top.