Skylake anticipation thread

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How do you get that job?

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First step is probably getting a PhD in Electrical Engineering.

So can I just upgrade my haswell i7 4770k to a skylake processor? Any other hardware changes necessary?

It requires DDR4 RAM.

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So can I just upgrade my haswell i7 4770k to a skylake processor? Any other hardware changes necessary?

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You need a LGA 1151 motherboard.

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It requires DDR4 RAM.

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Not 100% true - there are some motherboards supporting DDR3L memory, but I see no reason to go to such lengths - you can't re-use old DDR3 dimms because it's a different pin set.

Not all MBs will support it and the price of DDR4 is dropping faster than expected - I literally cannot fathom why one would go through the expense of buying a Skylake processer, a Z170 chipset motherboard and not, then, go the whole 9 yards to getting DDR4 - one of the key features of the new architecture.

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I could understand it, if it weren't just DDR3L being supported.

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I agree if one could reuse (particularly recently purchased, high-speed DDR3 Dimms - no question). But, going DDR3L in lieu of DDR4 seems like a solution in search of a problem.

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I'm guessing it was done to appease notebook OEMs who are sitting on a stockpile of DDR3 SODIMMs.

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Probably good analysis - only a very small selection of the new Z170 boards provide support - just not enough real estate on the PCB to provide all things for all people.

Glad you're here, brother - should I be looking at something stronger than Arctic Silver 5 (my tried and true) for Skylake? Obviously, I have to make up my mind if I'm going conservative or aggressive - and I'm now leaning towards a modest overclock with a Noctua (or maybe, Hyper 212 Evo), but either way, the paste matters, right? I've never been good at application, either, although I've gotten better over the years.

And I know that I need to let it cure. What's your policy on the pre-application to the heatsink? Do you always do it? I've never done it and had no problems, but that is almost all AMD and very, very little overclocking.

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should I be looking at something stronger than Arctic Silver 5 (my tried and true) for Skylake? Obviously, I have to make up my mind if I'm going conservative or aggressive - and I'm now leaning towards a modest overclock with a Noctua (or maybe, Hyper 212 Evo), but either way, the paste matters, right? I've never been good at application, either, although I've gotten better over the years.

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It matters to a point that you don't want to use shitty paste. Arctic Silver 5 isn't shitty, so if you have that already then go for it. That said, the difference between Arctic silver and the dozen or so thermal pastes that are "better" is maybe 1 to 2 degrees Celsius. That kind of difference can be affected by application method. If you look at all the different temp charts, you'll notice the top 15+ pastes are usually the same, but in a different order. Sometimes AS5 is toward the top of the chart, sometimes it's down at the bottom. I personally use Gelid GC Extreme (it, too, falls all over the place in various charts). It's tougher (thicker) to apply than most others, but I like it for water blocks with a lot of tension.

My application method is a little unorthodox. Most people are firmly in one of two camps: Spread a thin layer evenly over the IHS, or a pea-sized dot in the center of the IHS, allowing the heatsink/block's pressure to spread it. I do a combination of the two (but I use the same amount of paste). I spread an ultra-thin layer on the IHS and then add a tiny dab in the center. The pea-sized dot method would theoretically yield the best results because it prevents trapped air between the heat sink and IHS, but in heatsinks/blocks that require a gradual adjustment in tension in each corner, I can never be sure the paste is spreading evenly in all directions, and you can't exactly lift and check because the paste job would be ruined.

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And I know that I need to let it cure.

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Arctic Silver has a cure time before it performs optimally, but some don't take as long to cure, and pastes like Gelid GC Extreme are advertised as "non-curing." It does indeed retain the same viscosity over time.

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What's your policy on the pre-application to the heatsink? Do you always do it? I've never done it and had no problems, but that is almost all AMD and very, very little overclocking.

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The only time I apply directly on the heatsink is when I'm working with the older Hyper 212 Plus. There's a gap between the aluminum and heatpipes on the contact side, so spreading a very very small amount to fill those gaps has been common practice. It's not an issue with the Hyper 212 EVO.

I use a thin card (usually an expired health insurance card), not as rigid as a credit card...flexible like a laminated piece of paper. I spread a rice-grain sized amount thinly over the entire IHS.