For older and not very power-hungry chips I'm using Sekisui #5760 double adhesive thermal tape. Ordered a couple of years ago from ebay so can't be 100% certain that it's genuine, but seems to be holding (and transfering heat) very well.
And you've just reminded me that I only have about a quarter of the sheet left, so I must order more 😀

interesting but if they never had them its because they were designed not to need them

are you doing something that adds heat? trying to minimise risk of heat damage?

I do find 'home brew' cooling methods interesting, partly because they are often actually quite good

I've converted many medium power gpus to passive cooling and upgraded other cooling things. The thermal glues (even superglue) work well and the trick is a small drop in the center with a small amount of regular paste of choice for the bulk of the area. With a small center drop it's easy to twist off and just strong enough to hold.

gerry wrote on 2021-05-07, 10:43:

interesting but if they never had them its because they were designed not to need them

are you doing something that adds heat? trying to minimise risk of heat damage?

I do find 'home brew' cooling methods interesting, partly because they are often actually quite good

I’ve overclocked a PCX2 based Matrox m3D up to 85Mhz, from 66, and it needs a heat sink to prevent graphics corruption. Currently held in place with paper clips and a rubber band.

I also have a Verite 2100 based Stealth S220 with the latest bios that clocks the chipset to 2200 speeds and it gets quite hot but doesn’t appear to have any issues.

But yah in general overclocking. But I don’t want to use anything too permanent or that might damage the chip or writing on the chip if I ever try to remove.

CwF wrote on 2021-05-07, 13:14:

I've converted many medium power gpus to passive cooling and upgraded other cooling things. The thermal glues (even superglue) work well and the trick is a small drop in the center with a small amount of regular paste of choice for the bulk of the area. With a small center drop it's easy to twist off and just strong enough to hold.

I might try this method, thank you. Do you know if the glue damages or permanently bonds to the chip package?

quicknick wrote on 2021-05-07, 01:01:

For older and not very power-hungry chips I'm using Sekisui #5760 double adhesive thermal tape. Ordered a couple of years ago from ebay so can't be 100% certain that it's genuine, but seems to be holding (and transfering heat) very well.
And you've just reminded me that I only have about a quarter of the sheet left, so I must order more 😀

Thanks, I’ll see if I can find some. For now I’ve got this ordered. Thinking about using a 10mm height heatsink with a 10mm height Noctua fan. I’ll test it on something less collectible first.

Thermal Adhesive Tape 30mm by 25M, HPFIX High Performance Thermally Conductive Tape Apply for Coolers, Heat Sink, LED Strips, Computer CPU, GPU, Easy to Apply & High Durability https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075F37SQG/ref=cm_s … Q7EA8GPB1EZ8FME

gerry wrote on 2021-05-07, 10:43:

interesting but if they never had them its because they were designed not to need them

You are right but this reminds me of PLCC 286 CPUs. They don't have a heatsink either but run uncomfortably hot. I just feel more safe when I add a heatsink to keep them cooler. I use 3M thermal tape.

Chadti99 wrote on 2021-05-08, 12:12:

CwF wrote on 2021-05-07, 13:14:

With a small center drop ...

I might try this method, thank you. Do you know if the glue damages or permanently bonds to the chip package?

Usually when you twist it off it shears clean from one surface, usually the heatsink, but either. from there mechanical pressure from a blade flakes off the rest, acetone on a q tip cleans it up. Just keep the glue to <20% area or so, and twist - don't pull. Never seen damage from it.

I just buy heat sinks with thermal tape already applied they tend to be pretty cheap. Ask for adding heat sinks to cards not designed for them it helps with their longevity I stuck one on my Riva 128 and it runs much cooler now

you have various options

- Arctic Alumina Thermal Adhesive ( http://www.arcticsilver.com/arctic_alumina_th … al_adhesive.htm )
- Loctite Output 315 thermal conduct adhesive kit ( https://www.henkel-adhesives.com/ch/en/produc … octite_315.html )
- Akasa AK-TT12-80 ( http://www.akasa.com.tw/search.php?seed=AK-TT12-80 )
- You can also use a normal (good) thermal paste on the chip and 4 dots of strong glue in the corners. I did it 20 years ago (when I was young and "brave" 😁 ) on a voodoo3 and it still works 😉

Just keep in mind that except the thermal pad, the other solutions are pretty much permanent (although have a better conductivity) so use them if you are sure 😉