heat sink compound & thermal pad

[russchar]

First time build. AMD 1.4 procesor and heat sink with thermal pad. I put a thin layer of silicone heat sink compound (generic comp usa) over the enitre cpu,and them put the heat and fan on. After readind these forums,I think i did it wrong. Do I need to remove the Heat sink and remove the excess compound and the thermal pad,or am I okay .Thanks

[mc2phat]

Remove the thermal pad with a razor blade or scraper, then use rubbing alcohol to get the left over stuff off. here is a guide to help you apply the thermal compound: http://www.arcticsilver.com/arctic_s...structions.htm

[LawyerRon]

Take the heatsink off and scrape off the thermal pad, then clean the surface of the heatsink with alcohol. Wipe the thermal compound off the cpu with a soft cloth then reapply the compound to the raised "slug" on top of the cpu. You only need compound on the slug where it contacts the heatsink.

[morriswindgate]

if you used the white thermal compound, just get the excess off. since this stuff doesn't conduct electricity, but will make a mess as it melts and runs down. Just clean up what you can using the alcohol and then scape the thermal pad off the heatsink and then re-apply small amounts to the CPU chip in the center until you get a really good coverage pattern when placing the heatsink down ontop of the CPU without attaching it. Once you have this pattern then attach the heatsink and fan to the MOBO. Also do not use any metal object to scrape the excess compound off the cpu, use wooden popcycle sticks or flat type toothpicks.

[mike breck]

As the others have said, use Alcohol plus Q-Tips and a soft toothbrush for the really stubborn bits. Just do it gently.