Rarshaiz
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Saturday, March 12, 2016 11:15 PM
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Ok so I thought I was having temp that were higher then normal So decided to go out and buy the Indigo Xtreme 2011-3 X1 Thermal Interface Kit @ http://www.frys.com/product/8323627?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG Well I got some money off the purchase because it was not a full kit was missing the gloves but they took about $3 off the kit. So I watched the video of how to do this on youtube @ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEuuvzfZFSYThe video is not for the 2011-3 but its still the same principals. If you buy this stuff watch that video do not listen to his times for waiting and all that I followed the directions to the letter on times. Except for the reflow where my times took longer then it stated but did make the dip after the reflow and then went back up to the 95C temp at which point I shut it down for 45min cooling off as per the directions. Now for my review. Personally I did not see any difference in this from the other two TIMS that I used. In fact of the 3 that I have I think I should have stayed with the Gelid GC extreme. All 3 TIMS are running very close to the exact same temps. Now I did buy a rather cheep version of a waterblock for the CPU but its just a copper plate with a clear view of the water flowing through the block. I will say though it was rather easy to do. Not at all as I was imagining it to be considering your using a metal that I think is bismuth lead and tin alloy. which in the right mix has a melting point of 95C according google research So would I buy it again? NO probably not. with such a little difference in it it was not worth the investment at all. Fact is I could have bought 2 more cooling fans for this monster case instead and probably had better results. Now that I have it on there I will not be removing it any time soon. Because you just can not get a better connection then metal on metal and this does that. Although I can not see under the hood to actually know how good of a spread it does have. That being said it did have seepage out of the opposite end of the cpu as was to be expected. The cpu should never see the 95C mark under normal use anyways so it will not be remelting on me either. *****UPDATE***** Contacted the company that makes this product. Stated that I am not seeing the type of results I felt I should be. The sent me an email telling me to remove the waterblock and send them pictures of the TIM as it sets on the cpu they also stated they would send me out a new TIM to replace the one that is there now. So I have to give them big props for that. I will update this as the process unfolds.
post edited by Rarshaiz - Monday, March 14, 2016 5:06 PM
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bcavnaugh
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Re: Review Indigo Xtreme 2011-3 X1 Thermal Interface Kit
Sunday, March 13, 2016 0:36 PM
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I have two kits one for the 2011 and one for the 1150 but never used them under my water blocks. MX-4 is what I now use.
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Cool GTX
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Re: Review Indigo Xtreme 2011-3 X1 Thermal Interface Kit
Sunday, March 13, 2016 1:31 AM
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Thanks for sharing your experience with the forum, Rarshaiz +1, Arctic MX-4
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TECH_DaveB
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Re: Review Indigo Xtreme 2011-3 X1 Thermal Interface Kit
Monday, March 14, 2016 11:35 PM
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Props for them replacing it like that, unless things have changes, Indigo Extreme is NOT cheap. I will be very curious to see what happens fomr here, both their input as well as the final results.
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Rarshaiz
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Re: Review Indigo Xtreme 2011-3 X1 Thermal Interface Kit
Tuesday, March 15, 2016 4:25 AM
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So far from what I can tell it would most likely be great. But after pulling the Water Block off the cpu it was clear I did not get full coverage. Because of the way you have to install the stuff I think it is probably going to be a crap shoot as to whether or not you get good coverage. I went out and bought another kit and actually did worse on the second try. So I have no clue how to get it to get good coverage. My plans for when I get the new one from them is I am going to make sure the cpu is level I am also going to take the Water Block to a machine shop to see just where any humps may be on the block its self debating whether or not to have them true the surface. Then most likely I will probably only screw the block down minimally so it can let the stuff flow much easier. I am sure it is as good as they claim the problem is getting it to flow or as they say reflow correctly. Currently using 6 year old Thermaltake TG-1 with the temps at idle 37c and under stress test 67c.
post edited by Rarshaiz - Tuesday, March 15, 2016 4:32 AM
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the_Scarlet_one
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Re: Review Indigo Xtreme 2011-3 X1 Thermal Interface Kit
Tuesday, March 15, 2016 8:56 AM
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Do not have them "true" the surface.
What block are you using? Most waterblocks have a very slight convex surface to the face of the Block, and this is done on purpose. This allows greater coverage for an ever so slightly convex cpu lid. If you "true" the block, you will only be hitting the edges of the cpu and possibly cresting an air gap above the cpu lid. I am not sure I would need to explain how negative those impact would be.
If you think the cpu block is warped, send it back to the manufacturer to be replaced. Why waste more money on an item you are only going to possibly destroy and have to repay to purchase.
I have polished the surface of an EK cpu waterblock, and I can comfortably say that you will be wasting your time, 100%. While it did not hurt my Temps, it did not help at all. The blocks are manufactured with jet plate to provide the proper flex that matched the cpu.
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Rarshaiz
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Re: Review Indigo Xtreme 2011-3 X1 Thermal Interface Kit
Tuesday, March 15, 2016 5:18 PM
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Scarlet-Tech Do not have them "true" the surface.
What block are you using? Most waterblocks have a very slight convex surface to the face of the Block, and this is done on purpose. This allows greater coverage for an ever so slightly convex cpu lid. If you "true" the block, you will only be hitting the edges of the cpu and possibly cresting an air gap above the cpu lid. I am not sure I would need to explain how negative those impact would be.
If you think the cpu block is warped, send it back to the manufacturer to be replaced. Why waste more money on an item you are only going to possibly destroy and have to repay to purchase.
I have polished the surface of an EK cpu waterblock, and I can comfortably say that you will be wasting your time, 100%. While it did not hurt my Temps, it did not help at all. The blocks are manufactured with jet plate to provide the proper flex that matched the cpu.
HEATKILLER® IV BASIC (INTEL processor) - Acryl CleanModel: WC-18006
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Rarshaiz
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Re: Review Indigo Xtreme 2011-3 X1 Thermal Interface Kit
Thursday, March 17, 2016 5:49 PM
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So here has been my correspondence with the folks that make the Indego extreme TIM I also sent a message to the people that make the Heatkiller IV and there reply is listed at the bottom of this correspondence.They said to bottom the screws out on the cpu. So as I said really I think this does come down to a crap shoot. Hello, I am writing you today because I am not seeing any temp reductions compared to other inferior products namely Thermaltakes TG-1 that is over 6 years old. With the TG-1 I seen a over all temp on the cpu at 67C using your product I seen a temp of 72c. I followed the directions to the letter that came with the product. Which was the 2011-3 version. I have not removed the water block to check on it because I feel that it would render the product unusable. But from everything I can see around the water block it appears that it is properly set. Any help would be greatly appreciated. *********************************************************** Thank you for the inquiry and sorry to hear you are not seeing any performance improvement. The best way to troubleshoot is to remove the block and send us a few images of the ETI on the CPU; it could be voids or more cooldown time needed following reflow. The images should give us a better idea. If you provide your shipping address, we’ll send you another ETI to replace this one.Sincerely,Chris ************************************************************************************************************* Thanks for your quick reply. I will remove it and take pics and send them to you asap. ************************************************************************************************************** Hi Jerry,Your replacement ETI was mailed out today; feel free to send us some images and we’ll share any insights for the next installation. Thanks! Chris **************************************************************************** I uploaded the images to my server as the raw format is much to big to send in email you can download the images here if you take off the ETM.zip you can see an image of the temp I was seeing at 10 min of full load. I can say that it did not get full coverage. I did not get in to the near left side looking in at the cpu. My guess is the problem has to be with the tightening of the water block screws. Please advise how tight that them screws should be. I am using a Watercool Heatkiller iv Basic as the water block. The other thing I wondered is should I even hook the water pipes up to the pump and rad? I use quick disconnects so it is not a problem not to hook them up while seating the ETI. I put 6 year old Thermaltake TG-1 TIM and at idle I am getting 35c and at full load I see a high of 67C. Thanks ***********************************************************************************************************Hi Jerry,Thanks for the CR2 files; that is a significant void (guessing ~20-30% of the CPU is lacking heat transfer); yes, non-uniform loading may have contributed to this. One of the reviewers (xtremerigs.net) recommended (6) turns of the thumbnuts with the Heatkilller 3.0. Here is a link to the EK Supreme Ap Note which would be comparable in procedure and turns: http://indigo-xtreme.com/page-dcd.pdf I don’t think the tubing would be interfering with the installation unless they are putting excess tension on the block. Sincerely, Chris Now this next message was a reply to my request from them for their recomendations on how tight should the screws be on the water block to the cpu. Christian Bernhard [Watercool e. K.] Hello, You are right. The hint gots lost in translation. The Heatkiller IV series has a pre defined end stop. Turn them alternating, evenly and crosswise until you reach the end stop at all 4 thumbscrews. If it's done the block is properly mounted within INTEL specifications for the specific socket. Mit freundlichen Grüßen / Best regards, Christian Bernhard Sales & Marketing
post edited by Rarshaiz - Thursday, March 17, 2016 5:58 PM
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SM-71
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Re: Review Indigo Xtreme 2011-3 X1 Thermal Interface Kit
Wednesday, March 23, 2016 10:35 PM
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I tried Indigo Extreme on my old i7-3930K build with Kraken X60 water cooler. The first pad did not re-flow at all, I forgot to unplug the pump, & apparently, just the water circulation inside the loop was enough to keep the pad from reaching re-flow temp. Second pad reached re-flow temp, but had very poor re-flow results, only about 1/2 the pad had proper flow (which I only found out about when I sold the CPU), but it still managed a 6C drop over 2 hour Prime95 burn-in run Vs Arctic Silver 5 with CPU at a modest overclock of 4.2GHz. I definitely want to give Indigo Extreme another shot on my next build which will either be a Skylake 6700K, or Broadwell-E 6930K, but that's probably 6 - 8 months away yet :(
Rebuild 2.0 Specs: Phantek's Enthoo Pro Full Tower case * Gigabyte Z690 Gaming X DDR4 motherboard * Intel i9-13900KS CPU with Kraken X63 AIO * WIN 11 PRO 64bit * MSI 4070 Ti Gaming X Trio GPU * Corsair Vengeance 64GB(4x16GB) RAM * Solidigm P44 Pro 2TB M.2 NVMe SSD (Win11 Pro) + Intel 665p 1TB M.2 NVMe (storage) + Samsung 990 Pro 2TB M.2 NVMe (storage) + Samsung 980 1TB M.2 NVMe (Ubuntu) * Seasonic Vertex GX-1200 1200W ATX 3.0 PSU * Samsung 50 inch QN90A 4K TV/monitor * FANS: Bitfenix Spectre Pro 200mm front intake + 2x Noctua NF-A14 Industrial PPC 140mm exhaust on Kraken X63 radiator + 1 Noctua NF-A12 120mm rear intake
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Vlada011
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Re: Review Indigo Xtreme 2011-3 X1 Thermal Interface Kit
Friday, March 25, 2016 6:17 AM
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Indigo Xtreme is long time on market, I don't know why customers never accept that as best solution for cooling CPU. They more use Collaboratory Liquid Pro and Ultra than Indigo Xtreme. I'm not sure what is better. I install NT-H1 or MX-4 paste for 1-2 seconds in middle of CPU and that's it. CPU and block look so bad after installation collaboratory... I can't describe... I'm old school... Mirror finish polish cooler base and mirror finish polish CPU and paste in middle and that's it.
post edited by Vlada011 - Friday, March 25, 2016 6:21 AM
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Rarshaiz
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Re: Review Indigo Xtreme 2011-3 X1 Thermal Interface Kit
Sunday, March 27, 2016 0:02 PM
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Currently still waiting on the new ETI they sent. Next time I try this I am going to make sure that the computer is level as it may have been off by a very slight fraction. I did not get full coverage as I did miss about 20-30% of the cpu. The only thing I can come up with is must not have been as level as I thought it was. I will also remove the water pipes from the water block to break in the ETI. This way I am sure there is no stress on the water block. Other then that I am still going to say that this is a total crap shoot. I am wondering why they could not make it so that it was already spread across the plastic sheet then when you heat the thing up it could melt in place so you would know you had a high chance that you got full coverage.
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SM-71
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Re: Review Indigo Xtreme 2011-3 X1 Thermal Interface Kit
Sunday, March 27, 2016 4:20 PM
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Rarshaiz Other then that I am still going to say that this is a total crap shoot. I am wondering why they could not make it so that it was already spread across the plastic sheet then when you heat the thing up it could melt in place so you would know you had a high chance that you got full coverage.
CooLaboratory has a "Liquid Metal Pad" that is of similar concept, except that it's a very thin sheet of metal that is either pre-cut to fit your CPU/GPU, or can be cut to fit your CPU / GPU. It flows at a lower temperature than the Indigo Extreme (around 74C IIRC), but it will move around if you don't put the heat sink on perfectly straight during installation. I used it on an old GTX 660 Ti card & dropped temps 4C - 5C vs stock TIM when gaming. Forgot I still had some, 1 partial GPU sheet & 2 full CPU sheets!!!
Rebuild 2.0 Specs: Phantek's Enthoo Pro Full Tower case * Gigabyte Z690 Gaming X DDR4 motherboard * Intel i9-13900KS CPU with Kraken X63 AIO * WIN 11 PRO 64bit * MSI 4070 Ti Gaming X Trio GPU * Corsair Vengeance 64GB(4x16GB) RAM * Solidigm P44 Pro 2TB M.2 NVMe SSD (Win11 Pro) + Intel 665p 1TB M.2 NVMe (storage) + Samsung 990 Pro 2TB M.2 NVMe (storage) + Samsung 980 1TB M.2 NVMe (Ubuntu) * Seasonic Vertex GX-1200 1200W ATX 3.0 PSU * Samsung 50 inch QN90A 4K TV/monitor * FANS: Bitfenix Spectre Pro 200mm front intake + 2x Noctua NF-A14 Industrial PPC 140mm exhaust on Kraken X63 radiator + 1 Noctua NF-A12 120mm rear intake
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