Newbie Question: Artic grease + epoxy

[Blundar]

I have a 1.2ghz tbird, abit kt7a and FOP-38 HSF on the way, along with a tube of arctic silver heat transfer compound and arctic silver epoxy.

What is the proper procedure for attaching the cpu to heatsink with said yummyness?
Should I lap the CPU first?

Which gets applied first? thermal compund?
how thick?
What is the epoxy for? after you get it just right?

I'm not planning on overclocking it to the edge, although I have PC150 CAS2 memory coming too and I wanna take the FSB up a bunch... I'm willing to sacrifice topspeed for higher FSB however.
any/all advice and help appreciated.

thanks in advance
-Dave

 

[Poof]

Well unless you plan on leaving the HS on the CPU permanently, then you won't need the epoxy for that... I think people are using the epoxy for re-attaching existing or new HSs onto chipsets and/or video card processors... and those will pretty much stay there permanently.

With respect to the regular arctic silver, you can optionally lap the HS if it appears visibly grooved (although it's not really necessary per se - but would make a difference if you do it right)... But for application, make sure you clean off the CPU slug (ie., the "core" or "die&quot and HS surface with some type of solvent - eg., isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol or acetone (polish remover), then wipe with a lint-free cloth, and finally, place a small bead of it in the center of the CPU core. There have been various suggestions as to how to spread it over the surface of the die (some use a "gloved" finger, others a razor blade, etc). You then want to center the HS and carefully place it on, and clamp down.

The key is to have a nice thin layer... (even thinner if you lap), ie., without gobs around the side. You want to have the minimal amount of paste to allow for proper HS/die contact, with the paste acting to fill in any micro-irregularities in the HS and die surfaces. Too much grease and the grease itself will hold heat and make things worse.

 

[mechBgon]

Remember that if you use the epoxy to fasten the heatsink to the CPU, you are not going to be able to access the lever to remove the CPU from its socket! Think "permanent." Use your Arctic Silver thermal compound only. I don't recommend trying to lap your CPU. The risk/benefit tradeoff is not worth it. With the old Celerons it was not a very risky proposition.