First Time Build - Install Aftermarket Heatsink?

[mishimaBeef]

Hi all, this is my first time building a computer and I was wondering if you all think I should install an aftermarket heatsink or stay with the stock heatsink. I am a bit concerned with the thermal paste application and I don't want to screw anything up. The stock heatsink comes with the thermal paste already applied.

I might try overclocking if I feel it is 99 percent safe later on down the road but I figured I could always buy and install a heatsink then and the only thing it would cost me is some work with pulling out the motherboard and re-assembling.

What do you think? If you think I should get an aftermarket, please recommend some budget ones ~$50 or less that are good quality.

Also please recommend some thermal paste as I will need this in any case as the stock cooler may need re-seating.

Here is the build:

Asus VH242H 23.6" 1080p LCD
Antec 300 Case
Western Digital Black Caviar 500 Gb
Microsoft Comfort Curve Keyboard 2000 OEM

Athlon II X4 635 2.9 GHz Processor
Asus Radeon HD EAS5770 1 Gb Video Card
2 x 2 Gb G.Skill DDR3-1333 RAM
2 x Cooler Master 120 mm LED fan
BFG GS-550 Power Supply
Asus M4A77TD Motherboard
Samsung 22X SATA DVD Writer OEM
Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit OEM

 

[RavenSEAL]

Yes, yes and yes. My Core 2 Duo went from 40 with stock to around 29-31 with aftermarket heatsink+fan!


Here is what i'm using:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835186134


You can never have enough case fans, just remember that as well, i got 2 blowing straight at my CPU as well. Also, don't forget to apply your thermal compound carefully and DO NOT OVER DO IT! just make sure you get a thin sheet on the CPU and a bit on the heatskin.

Good luck!

 

[zagood]

If you're too afraid to screw something up, just don't do it. Unfortunately, that means you'll have to forever buy more expensive parts to run at stock while the rest of us are saving millions of dollars by overclocking cheaper components.

Seriously though, just do your research, read some guides, even look around on youtube for videos showing the general mounting procedure. You'll be fine.

For $50:
Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme (TRUE)
Zalman ZM-CNPS10X

$60
(need to buy fan and AM2 bracket separately): Prolimatech Magahalems

$30 (budget - don't expect too much in overclocking): Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro Rev. 2

For thermal paste, almost any new heatsink will come with some included. It'll be more than adequate. If not, grab some Arctic Silver 5, or do some research and see what's best for you: http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=150&Itemid=62

 

[wpcoe]

Off topic, but it's been bugging me. Why do so many forum posts include something like:

Here is what i'm using:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835186134

And, when I click on the link (either in Opera 10.6 or IE8), I'm taken to a link like:

http://detonator.dynamitedata.com/cgi-bin/redirect.pl?user=u00000687&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.newegg.com%2FProduct%2FProduct.aspx%3FItem%3DN82E16835186134

And the (newegg) page never loads?

 

[zagood]

There are some sites that AT gets a referral bonus via detonator, so it automatically takes something like "newegg.com" in a link and sticks the referral link in instead.

Unfortunately, vBulletin is parsing some percent signs (like this - &#37 incorrectly, which makes for broken links.