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First time doing a motherboard and processor - thermal grease?

F

Felecha

Golden Member
I got an ASRock 939Dual-SATA2 and an AMD Athlon 64 X2. First time I ever tried to do this. I know there's this thing called thermal grease for the heatsink. The Athlon manual says to go to the AMD website and get the Thermal Cooling Guideline and use only a recommended interface material for the specific processor you have

Well, the pdf Guideline is from 2002. My new processor is of course not on the list. I've searched the AMD site and not yet found a newer guideline.

There is a list of brands and numbers like Bergquist HF225UT

How important is it to find exactly the right one?
 
If you have retail HSF, you can use their stock thermal padding on the heatsink. Should be sufficient enough. Otherwise I think people around here will vouch for Artic Silver 5. Not that important to find the exact kind.
 
I'd go get something called artic silver. Artic Silver's website has instructions for applying it. You need something (thermal grease, artic silver, etc) between the processor and heatsink, to properly conduct heat between the two.
 
They should have preapplied some stock thermal paste on the Heatsink that came with your CPU, just don't rub it off or touch it. Or else you will need to remove it all and get some new paste.
 
I like this better than regular Arctic Silver.

Cools just as good, and is easier to apply and clean IMO
Click to expand...

I thought the main reason for using ceramique over AS3 or AS5 was just that it's neither capacitive or conductive, while AS3 and AS5 are both slightly capacitive. I don't know what sort of difference this makes, other than that if you spill the ceramique all over your case, you don't have to worry as much as if you had spilled AS3/AS5 all over your case.
 
tweekah - what is retail HSF?

Skyhanger - the bottom of the heatsink has a shiny surface except for the square in the middle that looks to be the size of the CPU, which is a matte finish, and it looks pretty dry. I don't want to touch that, I bet.

So you apply the grease just to the inner square? Looks like the rest of the heatsink surface on the bottom doesn't touch anything.

Thin layer, thick? How much to apply???

See what a rookie I am?
 
Retail HSF is the HSF or heat sink fan that came with your CPU when you bought it. This is only if you bought your cpu in a retail package. If you bought your cpu OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) it doesn't come with a so called retail hsf. Anyways, it sound like you already have a thermal pad on your hsf. This is like a tape underneath the hsf. Before using it make sure you peel off any paper covering from it. The thermal tape is actually gummy if you feel for it. If it feels like paper or plastic, then there is a paper or plastic cover on it and has to be removed before using it. If the HSF does not have a thermal tape (meaning the underneath of the hsf is shiny or polished) then you can use Arctic Silver. Applying the arctic silver only requires a film over the underneath of the hsf and on the cpu surface that mates with the hsf. Remember thin film only.
 
Skyhanger - the bottom of the heatsink has a shiny surface except for the square in the middle that looks to be the size of the CPU, which is a matte finish, and it looks pretty dry. I don't want to touch that, I bet.
Click to expand...

Yes, that's the thermal pad, definately don't touch that unless you want to completely remove it and replace it with something different.

So you apply the grease just to the inner square?
Click to expand...

If you're leaving the pad intact, you do not apply grease or anything else, at all. If you are applying grease, you must completely remove the thermal pad. You cannot/should not use both at once.

Thin layer, thick? How much to apply???
Click to expand...

If you decide to use the grease, you want a thin layer. Apply it to the top of your CPU. I find that what works well is to put a small amount in the center, and then use the edge of a credit card to spread it around. You want to make it as thin as you can while still getting even coverage (it takes very little to cover the entire CPU surface like this).
 
Yep, actually for the A64, there doesn't seem to be any protective film. Instead, they protect the thermal pad with a clear plastic cover that's raised over the preapplied square. I think that materal is closer to a preapplied square of thermal grease instead of a wax pad.
 
Yes, there is a clear plastic cover over the bottom of the heat sink. And directly over the "pad" area the plastic cover looks like a waffle iron, raised away from the pad so nothing touches it.

So why does the installation guide not tell me that "pad" is to be the interface? It ONLY talks about using a recommended interface material. I know the English is a little off base at times in these docs, but that should be in there, I would think.

I knew this was going to be a game of learning curve balls
 
Originally posted by: Felecha
I got an ASRock 939Dual-SATA2 and an AMD Athlon 64 X2. First time I ever tried to do this. I know there's this thing called thermal grease for the heatsink. The Athlon manual says to go to the AMD website and get the Thermal Cooling Guideline and use only a recommended interface material for the specific processor you have

Well, the pdf Guideline is from 2002. My new processor is of course not on the list. I've searched the AMD site and not yet found a newer guideline.

There is a list of brands and numbers like Bergquist HF225UT

How important is it to find exactly the right one?
Click to expand...


Okay moving right along......

I have done extensive tests using stock thermal grease that has com ewith my heatsinks--thats right I have several....only one installed at a time..lol

No matter wehat anybody tells you about using AS5...AS Caramique...Shin Itsu....etc.....
It does not matter at all!!
The temps on my XP120....as well as the Zalman 9500 using as many as 5 different thermal pastes...varied by less than 1c........
More important in my opinion is that you have proper airflow from front to rear in your case.
As well as using the proper fans to move the air!!

Good Luck!!🙂


 
Thanks, that sounds good to me.

And I'm new at a lot of things, like lingo

I keep seeing lol - what does lol mean?
 
Thanks, I like that site

And I finally found some info from AMD. Thermal Interface Material Comparison: Thermal Pads vs. Thermal Grease

In there it clearly says lidless processors should use thermal pads, lidded processors like mine (Athlon 64) should use grease. So . . . why would they pack a heatsink with a thermal pad in the box along with my new processor?

And a google on "AMD heat sink thermal pad" got me to this webpage of videos. There I found a video that plainly said for production purposes use a pad, for short term or lab use, do the grease.

So I'm not sure it will be a big deal, either way, but it sure is confusing.
 
Oh, here I go, Nervous Nellie.

Thought it was settled - go for the grease (would have to remove the pad first of course).

Now getting back to reading every line of the paperwork, I find in the CPU installation sheet where it says I have to use the heatsink they give me or I void the warranty. Realistically, would I risk the warranty if I did grease when they sent me a heatsink with a thermal pad on it?

"You idiot, why do you think we put the pad on? That's what you use!"

"But, but, . . . I found this document on your site that said for Athlon 64's I should use grease."

"Yes, Athlon 64's. You bought an Athlon 64 X2. These things are very tricky, you gotta pay attention. Sorry, no warranty for you, buddy!"

Sorta like that.
 
Sorry to be a bumper, it feels kind of rude. But the only issue I have left to resolve before starting to rebuild my machine is this one - shall I do the pad or the grease. Anyone got a final say?

And thanks to all for helping

F
 
Originally posted by: Felecha
Sorry to be a bumper, it feels kind of rude. But the only issue I have left to resolve before starting to rebuild my machine is this one - shall I do the pad or the grease. Anyone got a final say?

And thanks to all for helping

F
Click to expand...

Use the thermal paste. Pads are ok (especially the new ones that come on Athlon 64 heatsinks), but I like Ceramique better.
 
So if I finally have to do one or the other without absolute certainty, neither choice is going to be disastrous? I still feel the rookie anxiety, and the chip is not cheap.

Leaving the pad on would be easier, of course, and I could also rationalize it by saying hey I've never done paste or seen anyone do it, what if I put on too much or too little or unevenly, at least the pad will perform the way it's designed to.
 
um

The pad is Shin Etsu stuff, and it works very well on its own. Only use a thermal grease if you're using some other heatsink. Removing the pad just isn't worth the effort, especially not for the stock heatsink.
 
Let's get to the bottom of this and please feel secure that nothing will burn as long as you use a hsf on your CPU. since the pad is already there, please use the pad. When the time comes and your confidence is 10X more then switch over to grease.
 
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