You got your peanutbutter on my cpu! You got your cpu in my peanut, A review on things you can and can't use as TIM in a pinch. Rating Options

[redtigerdragon]

Great writeup, awesome job. Way to take the time to do this. Just awesome.

[The Punkinator]

Yep this is awesome. Great job.

[motoray]

Nice post! this is funny as hell im linking this to everyone i know!

[RaPiDo987]

Good job! My wife and I enjoyed it...

[gabrieltessin]

Good job! My wife and I enjoyed it...

Glad I could makes things, umm... enjoyable!

[gabrieltessin]

I have listened to the people and come up with a new list for my next test.
Duct Tape
Cheese Wiz
Mayonnaise
Candle Wax
Shaving Gel
Chewed Gum
Paper
Ranch Dressing
Cheese
Cling Wrap

I will be re including Dielectric Silicone as a control.
The new review might be done by Sunday or sometime next week.
Sorry if I didn't include all suggestions.
If any more suggestions are posted that sound really good or really funny they will be added.

This post has been edited by gabrieltessin: May 14 2009, 02:06 PM

[Darth_Tom]

Very awesome. It was a good laugh all the way through.

You should attempt to fry an egg, as mentioned before. The folded up bit of aluminum would probably leak butter everywhere, so I'd try something a little more cooking related.

Metal measuring cup?


If you use one egg in the bottom of one of those, well, can you say homemade Egg McMuffin? Right down to the egg puck!

[Bosco]

I have listened to the people and come up with a new list for my next test.
Duct Tape
Cheese Wiz
Yogurt
Candle Wax
Shaving Gel
Chewed Gum
Paper
Ranch Dressing
Cheese
Cling Wrap

I will be re including Dielectric Silicone as a control.
The new review might be done by Sunday or sometime next week.
Sorry if I didn't include all suggestions.
If any more suggestions are posted that sound really good or really funny they will be added.

I can't wait to see this. Keep your results from your next test in this thread. I am sending out a press release about your results so far

[dr_bowtie]

you know i'll bet this is 2 first....


a 1st for OCC as well as the whole net...I mean come on who else has really tried PB&J and toothpaste for TIM....

I can just see those added in the next real TIM review....


Notice on the graph that the Micro-Guys copper TIM didnt do as well as we thought but hey atleast it did better than the PB&J TIM from the local grocery mart....

[Compxpert]

Omg this TIM review is amazing. You should definitely be a reviewer as you have a very creative mind.

[gabrieltessin]

TIM Substitutes: Test 2
This test is a continuation of the first but with some new faces. The system remains the same but the room temps have changed drastically from 6c in the first test to 18c. To keep things in perspective I retested Dielectric Silicone and No TIM. Dielectric's idle temp was 29c and load was 46c. No TIM's temp were 35c idle and 51c load. But enough about that boring stuff lets check out the new contestants.

Contestants

Easy Cheese, Mayonnaise, Edge Shave Gel, Hidden Valley Ranch, Glad Cling Wrap,
20lb Paper, Juicy Fruit, American Cheese, and Candle Wax

1.Mayonnaise Idle 31, Load 45

Ick, mayo. I was extremely surprised by the results. Mayonnaise performed as well if not better than Dielectric Silicone in these short term tests. I personally don't like mayo but thats not the point. The point is it rocks as a short term cooling option. It is a very common product but goes bad very quickly, and would most likely start to smell within days.
Lifespan: Days or until nasty.

Pros: Common, cools very well
Cons: Greasy, Short Lifespan

2.Ranch DressingIdle 30c, Load 47c

Ranch dressing is a common household item with surprisingly good thermal conductivity. It proved better at keeping the CPU cool than most of the other new contestants. Ranch is very common and tastes good on just about anything. Unfortunately it scores low points because it will go bad over time.
Lifespan: Days or until smelly

Pros: Excellent Cooling, Great Taste
Cons: Short Term Solution to a long term problem

3.Shaving GelIdle 33c, Load 47c

Its got Aloe!...and has decent thermal conductivity. Most guys who like looking clean will have this on hand but if not is available in most department stores. Though it cools well it is a very short term solution which started to dry out within a half hour.
Lifespan: Maybe an hour.

Pros: Cheep, Smells Manly!
Cons: Lifespan shorter than a SeaMonkey's.

4.Easy CheeseIdle 33c, 48c

I was pleasantly surprised when I tested this one, it didn't suck as bad as I would have thought and it proved a good testing snack. This is the only product I had to go out and specifically buy so I rate its availability as fairly low. It is ultra pasteurized and does not need to be refrigerated. It does have a few negatives including mediocre cooling and its tendency to run when hot.
Lifespan:Days, possibly a week

Pros: Better than nothing, easy to apply.
Cons: Smell can get to you, Doesn't work well enough to justify use.

5.American CheeseIdle 35c, Load 49c

Proving that not all cheese is equal, canned or otherwise is conventional, non-pressurized cheese. I like cheese, but I do not like how ridiculessly messy it is. A small chunk was put on the CPU and a clip on the heat sink. After the test I discovered I underestimated its coverage and had to scrape it of the mobo. This cheese gets all crusty after a few hours and is a bad cooling choice. Is available anywhere and is quite good for eating.
Lifespan: Hours

Pros: Good Tasting
Cons: Messy, Bad Cooling

6.Candle WaxIdle 33c,Load 51c

The aromatic and soothing sent of Over The River, is a welcome departure from the smell of burning cheese. Sadly enough candle wax does not cool very well at all. I hoped that it would melt at load and keep things cool, it melted but it didn't cool at all. I personally did not have this on hand but I managed to borrow this from a friend but I know most people have some sort of candle on hand.
Lifespan: Days to weeks

Pros: Smells a bit like a spa.
Cons: Runs when hot, doesn't cool well.

7.Chewing GumIdle 38c, Load 51c

I didn't give chewing gum high hopes but at least it didn't get last. A poor conductor of heat, it is more at home stuck to bottoms of tables. Extremely hard to remove from components after testing. Its common, cheap, and you can blow bubbles with it but I in know way suggest its use as TIM. This like the last three contestants work worse than no TIM.

8.Plastic WrapIdle 40c, Load 60c

Well this has bad news written all over it. Instead of dissipating heat, this keeps it in. Plastic well known for its insulating properties and its scary low melting point make it a scary option. It didn't melt under load but performed far worse than nothing. Though bad, is not the worst thing you can use.
Lifespan: Until Melted

Pros: umm....its easy to clean?
Cons: Hot, Squeaky

9.Paper Idle 38c, Load 72c+

Paper like plastic is a terrible TIM substitute. An insulator by nature and good for nothing but doodles paper is very common and very stupid to use in place of a proper TIM. Seriously, don't do it. During testing CPU temps climbed to 75c very quickly causing the computer to sense its own mortality and reboot.
Lifespan: Indefinite

Pros: A good way to store readable information.
Cons: A good way to kill your computer.

10.Duct Tape Idle 41c, Load 85c+

The Handy Man's secret weapon has failed me for the first time. Think of it as extra thick cling wrap but stickier and harder to clean. Most everyone should have this on hand at all times and if you don't, you are not welcome in my house. During testing temps almost instantly jumped to 85c and the computer rebooted again confirming my suspicions that my computer was scared for its life.
Lifespan: Eons

Pros: All in one tool for everything.
Cons: Cooks CPU to a crisp.

WARING
I do not recommend any of the tested items for several reasons:
1. TIM is cheap, safe, and doesn't void warranties.
2. Most of the products tested are not meant for more than a few hours.
3. If you do this to your computer it will become self aware and bite you like mine bit me as seen in the picture below.

The fan I had ducted taped to the heat sink slipped off I absentmindedly picked it up and WHAMMY! One of the blades smashed into my little finger nail and broke a chunk of it off. So seriously, don't give your computer any reason to hurt you.. it will.




TIM Results:

Test 1 @ 6c ambient:




Test 2 @ 18c ambient:



This post has been edited by gabrieltessin: May 19 2009, 09:50 PM

[Bosco]

Gum and duct tape rofl This is awesome