I figured that for my first build, I wouldn't mess with anything tricky, so I bought the retail version for a few dollars extra just to avoid any possibility of screwing up the seating of the heat sink. I read that an Athlon 64 can overheat in under one second, and that a common newbie mistake is to misapply thermal grease: either putting too little or too much on, etc.
Well, the thing comes, and I'm wicked excited until I get it out of the box and the thing is separated from its heat sink! I have to seat it. This doesn't look hard with the stock one, but now I figure that I might want to think about getting a better heat sink and some grease since I'm stuck doing it anyway. My questions:
1. How hard is it for a careful person to apply thermal grease perfectly the first time?
2. If I use the stock heat sink, will I have trouble scraping the phasing compound off if I want to upgrade later?
3. How far should I expect to overclock safely with the stock heatsink, and how much do I gain by going to a better one?
4. If you recommend not using the stock one, what's your personal favorite Socket 939 heat sink and thermal grease? Is there a difference between "thermal adhesive" and "thermal compound"? I was looking at this grease because it claims to be nonconductive; is it overkill at $17.99 a tube?
Arctic Silver 5 High-Density Silver Thermal Compound 12Gram/Tube
5. Is there a use for the stock heatsink if I get another one, or should I donate it to the homeless or something? Are they worth a few bucks? Is there value in having a spare?
Well, the thing comes, and I'm wicked excited until I get it out of the box and the thing is separated from its heat sink! I have to seat it. This doesn't look hard with the stock one, but now I figure that I might want to think about getting a better heat sink and some grease since I'm stuck doing it anyway. My questions:
1. How hard is it for a careful person to apply thermal grease perfectly the first time?
2. If I use the stock heat sink, will I have trouble scraping the phasing compound off if I want to upgrade later?
3. How far should I expect to overclock safely with the stock heatsink, and how much do I gain by going to a better one?
4. If you recommend not using the stock one, what's your personal favorite Socket 939 heat sink and thermal grease? Is there a difference between "thermal adhesive" and "thermal compound"? I was looking at this grease because it claims to be nonconductive; is it overkill at $17.99 a tube?
Arctic Silver 5 High-Density Silver Thermal Compound 12Gram/Tube
5. Is there a use for the stock heatsink if I get another one, or should I donate it to the homeless or something? Are they worth a few bucks? Is there value in having a spare?
