Petter

I think it may well have been. The way I read it, Ultrastick is a paraffin based substance which has been on the market for at least a decade (which can still mean it is good of course). I am not in a position to say whether it is better or worse than anything else, and indeed I was planning to use it with BeO isolators about a decade ago when I was looking at it. It seems lovely application wize. However, there is nothing on initial thermal performance, only a suggestion that thermal performance is constant over time, and better than something else (and they don't say what this is). Besides, based on paraffin it is actually flammable, and will evaporate at high temperatures - but sure, it cleans up nicely. The way I read the second reference (tapes), I do have some experience with thermal tapes, also from the CPU world, and I don't like them one single bit. It is true that new materials that have recently entered the heatsink market may be very very good indeed - graphite based materials can be almost as good as copper (in one plane) etc, but I don't believe in them for paste, possibly they might be good for film. Besides, if you look at "research" done by overclockers, it all goes the way of thermal compounds a la Arctic Silver, or at least it did when I was keeping up on these things. My point is that you select a technique that suits you, and if you execute well, you should have a great long-term solution. It helps if the materials are easy to apply, and all these + my Berquist films with integrated "thermal compond" fit that bill. I like the concept of non-conductive materials that do not evaporate, and thick ceramic spacers + flat mating surfaces. Again, your mileage will vary, and I am probably spending way too much time on this minor point which will minimally influence the sound quality of the finished product.

I have been playing around with thermal grease quite a bit for computers and come to the conclusion that I like thermal grease which is very easy to apply in super-thin layers. Toothpaste quality if you like. Another important item for me is that it should not only be non-electrically conductive, but also not contain conductive material (so that it can become conductive in the future). While this is typically not a problem for the almost unspreadable crap that you normally would pick up from an electronics place - at least the "high performance" items, it is a problem with typical high performance pastes intended for CPU cooling, and given the voltages we operate on not something I want to bother messing with. Bottom line, Arctic Silver Ceramique is the best I have found. Super easy to apply in thin layers, does not contain conductive material (belying the name). In these HV days, you may want to take a look at it. It is not really that costly when you consider that it spreads a long way (2.5g at $5). www.arcticsilver.com Using easily applicable matererials and good technique will probably get you more than moving to more esoteric materials such as BeO (from Al2O3) Your mileage may vary. Petter

Word of warning - I have worked with PPS isolators in 80-130 degC environment (typically 1hour), and the PPS isolators would quite often loosen - meaning that the assembly holding them would have to be tightened. I am all for PPS, but be careful to doublecheck that you don't get into a situation where you get too loose after a while. This is probably nothing to worry too much about, but it would be sad if it happened and went unnoticed. I too will go for this setup by the way. Beryllium Oxide washers are not really that much better than Al2o3 units as I recall, and last time I checked, probably 10 years ago, BeO units were still available from Thermalloy or someone like that. I too am all for excess, but in the case of BeO, it is probably not worth it unless you have a nice source already. The thing to watch out for with ceramics being almost completely rigid, though is that they are less tolerant to "un-flat" heatsink than pads. Petter

The UK is mostly to blame for the wide tolerance of voltage (at least on the high side) in EU because they were originally high at 240V. Instead of changing the system, EU just increased the tolerances.

On page 28, Spritzer suggests there are a couple of errors on BOM v4. Where do I get the latest BOM (I have v3 and am considering starting to obtain parts)? Has anybody completed the build yet, or are all still waiting for parts? Happy building! Petter