Simple Tbird Socket A question

[Roddd]

I was putting a heatsink on my new Tbird Socket A and noticed that there are 4 rubber "feet" on the top of the CPU. I assume that's normal.

Question is: How does it conduct heat from the chip to the heatsink? It seems like they barely touch. Is there a better way to get more contact from the chip to the heatsink? Is it worth it?

 

[Peter]

The rubber feet are there to keep the heatsink from wobbling on the tiny little CPU surface, and thus assures that it makes good contact.
Regardless of that, using some sort of thermal conduction aid (tape, grease, whatever) is absolutely mandatory.

Regards, Peter

 

[Doctorweir]

Anyway never remove that rubber feet!
The processor dies are relatively bare on the tbirds and coppermines and without this feet, the cooler can cause lethal damage.
My Alpha cooler also uses rubber feet to keep a distance of 0.2mm to the processor. With a big portion of good thermal compound this gap is bridged perfectly.

 

[Technonut]

<< My Alpha cooler also uses rubber feet to keep a distance of 0.2mm to the processor. With a big portion of good thermal compound this gap is bridged perfectly. >>


If that is how your HSF is installed, it is not installed properly. There should be no gap to be bridged with thermal compound. There should be only enough thermal compound to thinly cover the core. Not too much, not too little. I am surprised your CPU is not overheating. It will run cooler installed properly.

The thermal compound aids in transfering the heat from the core to the heatsink. The core must be in contact with the heatsink to be effective.

 

[Doctorweir]

<< If that is how your HSF is installed, it is not installed properly. There should be no gap to be bridged with thermal compound. >>


Ok, perhaps 0.2mm is said to much. Its not like you can look through cooler and cel like trough a window if no compound is applied
If pressed together by the attaching-bracket the gap isn't a real gap anymore.
My temps are perfecly within spec at the moment. And I also replaced my 6cm YS-Tech (Noisemaster-)fan with a smaller one. With the incredibly big Alpha cooler its even possible to run win/office/internet without active cooling