RMA'ing motherboard

[Josh7289]

Hey, I'm just about to disassemble my PC and RMA my mobo, but before I do, I need to know what to do to put my CPU back in the new mobo. Do I have to buy some thermal paste and reapply? If so, which kind should I get and how do I apply it?

Thanks.

 

[996GT2]

Arctic Silver 5 or Arctic Ceramique are two of the best thermal pastes out there. If you have an Arctic Cooling heatsink, AC MX-1 thermal paste usually performs a bit better than Arctic Silver. These pastes can be bought from Newegg or many other stores. To apply, put a small dot (rice grain size) on your heatsink and rub with a piece of plastic wrap until there is a circle of different color in the bottom of your HSF. Then put a similarly sized dab on your CPU IHS and mount the HSF. Try to wiggle the HSF a bit to spread around the paste once the HSF is clamped in.