just got a question

[Rami7007]

i got the retail amd athlon 64 4000+... it didnt come with any thermal paste... to make sure i looked a tutorial on installing an A64 CPU... they didnt say put any thermal paste on... I guessed so too cause it looked to have a thermal pad... But my motherboard which was designed for socket 939 CPU's had some themal paste... do A64's need thermal paste?? cause i installed it without any and its run fine for 2 days now...

my question is: Do A64 CPU's need any thermal paste and am i screwing the hell out of it now by not using any?? is is burning to hell now?? (no pun intended )

 

[sswingle]

Your heatsink probably has a thermal pad or themal paste on it already. Most come that way. While not as good as applying your own, it works just fine, especially at stock speeds. If there was none, your computer woudn't be running right now.

 

[biostud]

apply cooling paste NOW!

 

[The J]

If you left the thermal pad on the bottom of the heatsink there when you isntalled it and the CPU, you'll be fine. You can check your temperatures as well in your BIOS to make sure they aren't too high (75C or so).

 

[Rami7007]

well im going to be getting back inside my pc soon to rewire (make it look nicer cause ive gat an acrylic case) and i will put in a black light cause the case is UV sensetive ...

so would you guys suggest puting on my thermal paste that came with my mobo??

 

[Waylay00]

No, not with the thermal pad. You can only have one. It's paste or pad.

 

[Icepick]

If you really want to use the thermal paste then you have to scrape off the thermal pad first. I wouldn't bother, though. The thermal pad that came with the heatsink is efficient enough for most people's needs. People are even overclocking with nothing more than the thermal pad on the retail HSF.

 

[Zepper]

You void the retail CPU warranty by using anything other than original equipment TIM (thermal interface material) - read the fine print. I would give it at least three months of hard riding before changing it to something else if you want.
.bh.

 

[JediJeb]

If it is running stable then it is cooling enough to work. Maybe not optimal but enough. First check what the temps are to see if you need more cooling, if they are in the 50's or below then don't worry about what is already in place. If you are going to be overclocking then by all means make sure you have a good thermal pad or paste in place. I have see HSF's cool good enough at stock settings even without paste or pad, though they will run a little hot.