old p4 3.2 w/ HT Prescott question

[ViviTheMage]

2 quick questions, what type of ram does a 3.2 Prescott with HT want? Pc2700 or Pc3200?

Also, what is the best way to apply the thermal compound when seating it? Do I want thermal paste all over the cpu top, or just a tiny bit in the center? Because at the moment the CPU can reach upwards of 80 celc.

 

[stevty2889]

Hmm, well if it is using DDR, then PC3200, PC2700 is for 333mhz FSB, and that chip uses 400mhz FSB. For thermal paste, usually a rice sized blob in the middle. Too much thermal paste is an insulator, and will trap heat in. 80c is a bit excessive, but Prescotts were known to run hot.

 

[PeteRoy]

1. It uses PC3200
2. You want to spread a thin layer, you can do that with your finger behind a nylon.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

Please confirm this with your motherboard manual, but if I am not mistaken, you can still use DDR-333 with a Prescott or Northwood that defaults to 800 FSB, 533 FSB or 400 FSB.

We currently have a Northwood FSB=533 utilizing DDR-333 PQI RAM modules -- running 24/7/365 for about 4 years now.

But check the mobo manual. As I recall for that particular Intel D865PERL board, you could use the slower RAM. You just couldn't use a CPU with an FSB exceeding 800. That was with the 865i Intel chipset . . . .

 

[ViviTheMage]

ATM I am using a pc2700, and a pc3200...I should grab two 1gig sticks of PC3200 + for this bad boy.

Thanks for that tidbit, time to reseat it and grab some better ram!

 

[BonzaiDuck]

On the thermal paste issue -- a matter of personal preference. This is not something I made controlled tests for. On other cooling matters, such as choice of "best" coolers, lapping IHS and cooler-base to bare copper, and the choice of thermal paste -- I have hour-long CoreTemp log-file samples of 8-second-interval sample core-specific temperature values loaded into Excel, analyzed with statistical functions and used to create Excel bar-graphs with different colors for each core.

If the IHS and cooler-base are not near-perfectly flat, spreading around the paste on areas that do not make contact wouldn't help much. That's why I recommend lapping unless a very straight metal ruler applied in various positions and angles across the IHS and cooler-base shows they are flat as can be . . . .

After verifying that situation for yourself or lapping the surfaces, I believe that covering both surfaces completely with a thin layer of paste will help at the margin.

You are better -- even with a perfectly flat IHS and heatsink base -- to lap off the nickel-plating on both (unless the heatsink base comes stock as bare copper.) The thermal resistance of nickel is significantly higher than that of copper, or conversely, the thermal conductivity of nickel is lower. Thus, removing the nickel should result in a measurable reduction in both idle and load temperatures.

 

[ViviTheMage]

The shuttle I use has this thing called an ICE COOLEr, it is basically the only thing you can put in here that'd be efficient...its not copper at all, I would say steel if anything.

I am kind of SOL when it comes to the cooler.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

NO PC-PARTS MAKER -- OEM or otherwise -- would make a CPU cooler out of STEEL.

It would either be Aluminum or Copper or a combination of the two. Ideally, they'd use silver, but it's too expensive.

The Intel Stock coolers have a copper core, and [I'm only betting] that you can lap them down to copper. If not, then lapping the CPU IHS cap will still net you between 3 an 5C improvement on load temperatures.

Steel has a thermal resistance that is three times that of aluminum. All it would do is get hot along with your CPU. It's the LAST thing anybody would use to suck heat of the CPU IHS.

And -- I'm not deriding you or making fun. I think I'm "hot stuff" on computing -- even the software angle, and I have "good intuition." But there are holes in everyone's understanding on this technology. Recent posts I've made in panic and frustration around the forums make me look pretty silly. And . . . . in wisdom and humility . . . . I probably AM silly!

The "hole-filler" for you or anyone is "out there" on the web. You just have to do the research, or take advantage of those of us who have.

GEEZ. You're an old hand and veteran!! Fourteen thousand plus posts?!!!