Is it necessary to apply a thermal paste?

[slicksilver]

I just ordered the athlon 1.4ghz retail box and was wondering if I have to apply a thermal paste..............the system will not be used for overclocking under any circumstances

Raj

 

[SEOTAIJI]

i think its a must to apply thermal grease

but my bro has a 1.4ghz tbird with no thermal grease that he doesnt overclock and he says it runs at 40c idle and 48c load...
but still.. kind of scary not to use thermal grease after watching the cpu frying video at tomshardware

edit: my bro just told me, no thermal paste, but he had thermal pad so yeah.. follow these guys advice.. you need some kinda thermal thingy between the core and cpu

 

[mstudd]

I think the retail heatsink comes with thermal tape, all you have to do is remove the sticker and fit the heatsink.
This is OK for one useage, but if you remove the heatsink, you will have to get some new tape, or paste.


Fitting the heatsink with no paste or tape would be potentially very expensive for you.

 

[MustangSVT]

if you run it at stock speeds and if the heatsink comes with thermal pad or such probably u dont need it. but you WILL NEED to have something in between heatsink and cpu! athlons burn out very quick.

 

[freebee]

The retail comes with a fairly good quality (hey AMD recommends it) pink bubble gum-like thermal interface material. I've noticed the idle runs a bit warm, but full load is reasonable.

When installing, don't take it on and off, and don't touch it...remember look with your eyes not with your hands. And with a small screwdriver, the retail heatsink is actually quite easy to put on, as the clip has a bracket for the screwdriver to fit into.

 

[Stealth1024]

thermal paste was even used on the old Pentium 120 line of processors... with today's processors it is a must

 

[WarCon]

I have seen a few people with the Retail Athlons that have heat issues. I am not sure if it the installer or the heatsink and pad that is the problem though. If your not sure what your doing installing the heatsink then get someone who is sure. Alot of things can go wrong, like touching the pink pad which leaves finger oil as a second thermal layer, which can really make for a bad thermal connection. I personally would opt for a better cooling solution than the retail heatsink, but I can't help my overclocking disease.............

 

[Wind]

No O/Cing...then just use the retail termal pad. U can also keep ur warranty alive.