Newbie Question!!

[bashy]

Hi to all,

New to pc building so please be patient with me if i ask a silly question.

In the process of replacing the mobo on mi pc, took the heatsink off the CPU (AMD ATHLON 1GIG) and realized it's got 4 little round black pads on all 4 corners of the CPU, and there's a little rectangle metal plate in the middle with bits of white stuff around it.Now i've been doing alot of reading in this forum and there's alot of mention of using some sort of compound between the CPU and heatsink. do i use some compound on the CPU even though it was running perfectly ok without the compund and if so what do i do with the black pads on the CPU and the metal plate which seem s to be stuck on with some white stuff.

THANKS!

[pam123]

The little metal plate, if you took the heatsink/fan combo off, is the cpu core and you don't want to damage it. Let the pads alone they're protecting it.
The white stuff is the remains of the heat transfer pad,thermal paste, that AMD uses.
It's usually a good idea to clean it off, Goo Begone, Mean Green, or even isopropyl alcohol will do the job and apply fresh thermal paste but if you put it back together (edit: without cleaning anything off) and everything is still working okay then let well enough alone, you'll know what to do the next time.

[Eriol]

yes you will need some additional compound after you remove the old stuff. Its not that the CPU was working fine without it b/c it was there but when you removed the heatsink the seal that was created from the old compound was broken.

[pam123]

Nope.
He hasnt removed it, thus the comment about the white stuff.
If he's still getting the same temps he did before he's okay.
It's not something he should make a habit of but on this occassion he's alright.

[Eriol]

I thought once you remove a heatsink, especially if its been on a while, its better to remove the old compound and apply new stuff

[bashy]

Thanks for your replys Pam and Eriol,

How about the little rectangular metal plate measuring approx 10mm x 7mm and has AMD Athlon and few numbers engraved on it. what shall i do with that, it seems to be stuck on using the white stuff.

[gary_hendricks]

Hi bashy,

About that little rectangular metal plate measuring approx 10mm x 7mm, I think you can leave it alone.

However, like Pam and Eriol mentioned, its best to apply some fresh thermal paste on the CPU. Here are some tips.

1. Use only minimal paste
The key to applying thermal paste is simple - you want the surfaces to be clean, and you want only the minimal required paste to get the job done. The most common mistake for beginners is to apply too much paste.

2. Clean everything
You have to clean both the heatsink and the CPU die thoroughly to remove the old paste. Compounds like Mean Green will do the job.

3. Apply a small amount of paste to CPU die
No matter what paste you are using, try putting just a small amount on the CPU die. You really only need something like the equivalent to half a grain of rice. Start off with as little as you think would give a super thin layer. It's always better to have too little to start.

4. Spread the paste out
Using something with a clean edge, spread the paste out across the whole of the die. Most people use something like a credit card, stiff business card, or razor. Make sure not to scratch the surface if you use something sharp.

Hope this helps. Good luck

[bashy]

Thanks Gary,

One more thing, what do you mean by 'spreading the paste on whole of die', is it spreading across whole of the top surface of the CPU. At the present moment the thermal paste was just in the centre of the top surface and then the little metal plate was put on top and then finally the heatsink was placed.

[gary_hendricks]

Hi bashy,

What I meant was to spread a new, thin thermal paste layer on the CPU die. You see, the thermal paste acts as a thermal interface between the CPU to the heatsink.

Imperfections on the surface of both the CPU die and the Heatsink create an imperfect contact point between the two surfaces. The CPU die and Heatsink might look pretty smooth but when their surfaces meet, the sometimes invisible imperfections on each surface leave gaps in their contact. Air in the gaps acts as a really inefficient heat conductor.

These gaps are what that thermal paste layer is meant to fill, so that instead of having poor heat conducting air in those gaps, you have much better conducting thermal paste. Now many of these gaps are microscopic, so much so that you would never notice that the enefficiencies were there at all.

But your CPU temperatures will show it: no one in their right mind would run a CPU without a heatsink and thermal interface simply because the raw contact of the two surfaces will NOT transfer enough heat to maintain what enthusiasts would consider to be comfortable temperatures.

Originally Posted by bashy Thanks Gary, One more thing, what do you mean by 'spreading the paste on whole of die', is it spreading across whole of the top surface of the CPU. At the present moment the thermal paste was just in the centre of the top surface and then the little metal plate was put on top and then finally the heatsink was placed.

[bashy]

Thnks Gary, much appreciated

That answers all mi questions FOR NOW!!! LOL

[Panama Red]

Here's a video tutorial on how to install/remove an AMD cpu and another on how to properly apply thermal compound; Arctic Silver in this case.

http://www.amd.com/us-en/Processors/...5E6678,00.html

http://www.arcticsilver.com/arctic_s...structions.htm

[pam123]

Originally Posted by Eriol I thought once you remove a heatsink, especially if its been on a while, its better to remove the old compound and apply new stuff

Yes it is what should be done.
But if you don't do it, and the temps don't rise (that's the qualifier) you just got lucky.
Like I said "don't make a habit of it" but this time around the computer is all right.

[bashy]

Hey Thanks!!

These video clips are great. Just the sort of stuff i was looking for.

Thanks for all your technical info.