slk-800, dont know what im doing

[TweakageMan]

im a newbie to installing heatsinks and ive never installed one before. My slk-800 came today and im trying to figure out how it goes on. I want to mount it on an A7N8X Deluxe, with an 80x80x25MM Vantec Stealth fan. I'm thinking maybe something is missing from my package, cause I cant see it working with what I got, but someone pleassseeeee tell me im wrong. Here is what I got in the package:

(1) Heatsink
(2) Thin metal fan holders
(1) Packet of thermal paste
(2) Long rectangle adhesive pads (not 4 small round ones, like I seen in pics)

and then there is 2 plastic things sticking out of the heatsink, which im assuming is intended to attach it to the motherboard ( although, I dont see how.... unless im supposed to bend them alot? ). What I need help with is distinguising where to put the 2 advesive pads. There isnt enough room for them on the metal part of the heatsink and the core of the CPU, so do I need to cut them up into squares and put them in the corners of it? And how exactly do the metal fan things attach... do I need any screws to put the heatsink on? Im really lost, if someone could help me that would be great. Ive looked over all the manuals, including the official one on thermalrights site and i dont understand still. Please help

 

[TweakageMan]

please anyone help

 

[brucehao]

Not sure if you've already seen this, but try this

http://www.thermalright.com/installation_slk800.html

 

[Texun]

Originally posted by: TweakageMan
im a newbie to installing heatsinks and ive never installed one before. My slk-800 came today and I'm trying to figure out how it goes on. I want to mount it on an A7N8X Deluxe, with an 80x80x25MM Vantec Stealth fan. I'm thinking maybe something is missing from my package, cause I cant see it working with what I got, but someone pleassseeeee tell me I'm wrong. Here is what I got in the package:

(1) Heatsink
(2) Thin metal fan holders
(1) Packet of thermal paste
(2) Long rectangle adhesive pads (not 4 small round ones, like I seen in pics)

and then there is 2 plastic things sticking out of the heatsink, which im assuming is intended to attach it to the motherboard ( although, I dont see how.... unless im supposed to bend them alot? ). What I need help with is distinguishing where to put the 2 adhesive pads. There isn't enough room for them on the metal part of the heatsink and the core of the CPU, so do I need to cut them up into squares and put them in the corners of it? And how exactly do the metal fan things attach... do I need any screws to put the heatsink on? Im really lost, if someone could help me that would be great. Ive looked over all the manuals, including the official one on thermalrights site and i dont understand still. Please help

(1) Heatsink
Which one do you have? I have read that the new 800's have holes to mount directly to the board. Can't say since I don't have that one. Mine has a clip with three attachment points on each end, one for each lug on the end of the socket. If you need to use screws to attach it there are two things that are certain. The board must have 4 holes around the socket and you will need to pull the board in order to install it this way.

(2) Thin metal fan holders
Okay

(1) Packet of thermal paste
Okay

(2) Long rectangle adhesive pads (not 4 small round ones, like I seen in pics)
You got me here. I got the long rectangle pads but they had round holes pre-cut so the pads could be pressed out. Are you saying the rectangle pads do not have pre-cut holes you can press out??

I pressed out 4 of the round pads and placed them on the HS instead of the cpu. Instruction say to place them on the cpu, but the real objective here is to place the pads so they provide some protection for the cpu core. You may have noticed that the rubber pads on the chip are spaced too wide to make any contact with the meat of the HS. Use the pads included instead of depending on the rubber ones. Two on each side.

I used 91% isoproply (sp) rubbing alcohol and a lint free cloth to clean both surfaces- thoroughly! It's what I had.

Apply the thermal paste as per the instructions - a little goes a LONG way. It goes on the core, not the entire chip. Clean up any overage and watch your fingers. A little dab of that stuff on your fingers will get all over the cpu.

Thermal paste applied, you are now ready to mount the HS.

Look at the bottom of the HS. Notice one end is notched out? That end goes toward the front of the socket, the same end as the socket lever. This part is important - make sure the HS is not placed so far forward that the HS rides up on the front end of the socket. That notch in the HS is to allow room for the raised are of the socket. Somebody in here had a great picture of this. Wish I knew who or where the link was.

The HS can be mounted by attaching the rear clips over the socket lugs, then by lowering the HS flat against the cpu. Your pads should come in contact here. Do not press down on the HS. Use a screwdriver THAT FITS WELL and press the front clip down over the front socket lugs.

Attach the fan.

This of course is a fairly typical way of mounting your HS provided yours mounts with the retention clip and not with screws through the board. If the latter is the case then throw out the clip crap that I wrote and seek additional help as necessary.

One thing to remember. Check your temps at the earliest possible moment when firing it up. If anything is wrong you need to know before the cpu goes up in smoke. Sorry if my last words cause you to have chills but you need to know these things.

Good luck with it.

 

[TweakageMan]

Originally posted by: texun

Originally posted by: TweakageMan
im a newbie to installing heatsinks and ive never installed one before. My slk-800 came today and I'm trying to figure out how it goes on. I want to mount it on an A7N8X Deluxe, with an 80x80x25MM Vantec Stealth fan. I'm thinking maybe something is missing from my package, cause I cant see it working with what I got, but someone pleassseeeee tell me I'm wrong. Here is what I got in the package:

(1) Heatsink
(2) Thin metal fan holders
(1) Packet of thermal paste
(2) Long rectangle adhesive pads (not 4 small round ones, like I seen in pics)

and then there is 2 plastic things sticking out of the heatsink, which im assuming is intended to attach it to the motherboard ( although, I dont see how.... unless im supposed to bend them alot? ). What I need help with is distinguishing where to put the 2 adhesive pads. There isn't enough room for them on the metal part of the heatsink and the core of the CPU, so do I need to cut them up into squares and put them in the corners of it? And how exactly do the metal fan things attach... do I need any screws to put the heatsink on? Im really lost, if someone could help me that would be great. Ive looked over all the manuals, including the official one on thermalrights site and i dont understand still. Please help

(1) Heatsink
Which one do you have? I have read that the new 800's have holes to mount directly to the board. Can't say since I don't have that one. Mine has a clip with three attachment points on each end, one for each lug on the end of the socket. If you need to use screws to attach it there are two things that are certain. The board must have 4 holes around the socket and you will need to pull the board in order to install it this way.

(2) Thin metal fan holders
Okay

(1) Packet of thermal paste
Okay

(2) Long rectangle adhesive pads (not 4 small round ones, like I seen in pics)
You got me here. I got the long rectangle pads but they had round holes pre-cut so the pads could be pressed out. Are you saying the rectangle pads do not have pre-cut holes you can press out??

I pressed out 4 of the round pads and placed them on the HS instead of the cpu. Instruction say to place them on the cpu, but the real objective here is to place the pads so they provide some protection for the cpu core. You may have noticed that the rubber pads on the chip are spaced too wide to make any contact with the meat of the HS. Use the pads included instead of depending on the rubber ones. Two on each side.

I used 91% isoproply (sp) rubbing alcohol and a lint free cloth to clean both surfaces- thoroughly! It's what I had.

Apply the thermal paste as per the instructions - a little goes a LONG way. It goes on the core, not the entire chip. Clean up any overage and watch your fingers. A little dab of that stuff on your fingers will get all over the cpu.

Thermal paste applied, you are now ready to mount the HS.

Look at the bottom of the HS. Notice one end is notched out? That end goes toward the front of the socket, the same end as the socket lever. This part is important - make sure the HS is not placed so far forward that the HS rides up on the front end of the socket. That notch in the HS is to allow room for the raised are of the socket. Somebody in here had a great picture of this. Wish I knew who or where the link was.

The HS can be mounted by attaching the rear clips over the socket lugs, then by lowering the HS flat against the cpu. Your pads should come in contact here. Do not press down on the HS. Use a screwdriver THAT FITS WELL and press the front clip down over the front socket lugs.

Attach the fan.

This of course is a fairly typical way of mounting your HS provided yours mounts with the retention clip and not with screws through the board. If the latter is the case then throw out the clip crap that I wrote and seek additional help as necessary.

One thing to remember. Check your temps at the earliest possible moment when firing it up. If anything is wrong you need to know before the cpu goes up in smoke. Sorry if my last words cause you to have chills but you need to know these things.

Good luck with it.

Thanks alot for the help. I understand most now... one question I still have, the rectangle pads I got arent round. They are 2 small rectangles. I can cut them into small squares though, so I dont think it will matter. Where do I put them though? 1 in each corner of the rectangle "core" on the heatsink (or whatever its called?). Also, I got one other thing in the package. It's a little square thing, with a peel off table. It's smaller than the core of the CPU, but it looks exactly like the core. Do I put this on the middle of the heatsink or something? And also, im still not sure about mounting. On the A7N8X the socket lever is on the right side (closest to the front of the case). So which end points towards the front of the case?

Thansk alot for your help.!!!

 

[Texun]

Thanks alot for the help. I understand most now... one question I still have, the rectangle pads I got arent round. They are 2 small rectangles. I can cut them into small squares though, so I dont think it will matter. Where do I put them though? 1 in each corner of the rectangle "core" on the heatsink (or whatever its called?). Also, I got one other thing in the package. It's a little square thing, with a peel off table. It's smaller than the core of the CPU, but it looks exactly like the core. Do I put this on the middle of the heatsink or something? And also, im still not sure about mounting. On the A7N8X the socket lever is on the right side (closest to the front of the case). So which end points towards the front of the case?

Thansk alot for your help.!!!

Someone may want to jump in here and correct me if this is wrong, but it still sounds like the rectangle pads you mention are for use between the cpu and the HS even though you say they do not have round punch-outs. Do they have a peel off backing on one side? The objective of the pad is to provide cushion between the cpu and the HS. Place them so they still allow the cpu core to fit between them.

Check Out This Link and notice the pads

Can't help you with the small peel off thing unless it is a thermal pad. Sounds like it is. If so, don't use a thermal pad and thermal paste together. Use one or the other.

Lever? Front of the case? I was referring to the "front" of the socket, the part where the hinge for the lever is. That is also the end where you will use your screwdriver to press down and attach the clip to the socket lug. The relationship to the case is irrelevant. Don't be surprised when you go to attache the clip. It's firm. Go slow and steady. Put your other hand in your pocket if you have to but don't press down on the HS while attaching the clip. If the HS is on correctly the clip will pull it down. Adding hand pressure while pulling it down with the pressure of the clip can be a very bad thing.

Hope this helps.

 

[TweakageMan]

Originally posted by: texun

Thanks alot for the help. I understand most now... one question I still have, the rectangle pads I got arent round. They are 2 small rectangles. I can cut them into small squares though, so I dont think it will matter. Where do I put them though? 1 in each corner of the rectangle "core" on the heatsink (or whatever its called?). Also, I got one other thing in the package. It's a little square thing, with a peel off table. It's smaller than the core of the CPU, but it looks exactly like the core. Do I put this on the middle of the heatsink or something? And also, im still not sure about mounting. On the A7N8X the socket lever is on the right side (closest to the front of the case). So which end points towards the front of the case?

Thansk alot for your help.!!!

Someone may want to jump in here and correct me if this is wrong, but it still sounds like the rectangle pads you mention are for use between the cpu and the HS even though you say they do not have round punch-outs. Do they have a peel off backing on one side? The objective of the pad is to provide cushion between the cpu and the HS. Place them so they still allow the cpu core to fit between them.

Check Out This Link and notice the pads

Can't help you with the small peel off thing unless it is a thermal pad. Sounds like it is. If so, don't use a thermal pad and thermal paste together. Use one or the other.

Lever? Front of the case? I was referring to the "front" of the socket, the part where the hinge for the lever is. That is also the end where you will use your screwdriver to press down and attach the clip to the socket lug. The relationship to the case is irrelevant. Don't be surprised when you go to attache the clip. It's firm. Go slow and steady. Put your other hand in your pocket if you have to but don't press down on the HS while attaching the clip. If the HS is on correctly the clip will pull it down. Adding hand pressure while pulling it down with the pressure of the clip can be a very bad thing.

Hope this helps.

Hey, It does help, thanks! I understand now. I get how to mount it. I also figuredo ut how to put the fan on. Just one thing is still making me a bit confused. The two strips I got are the same ones shown in this picture: http://www.lostcircuits.com/advice/slk800/1b.shtml - The two things on the top. They look small, but they arent! There is NOT enough room for both of them to fit on the bottom shiny part of the heatsink, plus have room for the core. So should I just cut some parts of them off then? Would 2 spots be enough to have the foam in?... thanks

 

[Texun]

Without seeing exactly what you have I can't say, but again, I will say that you need pads between the cpu and the HS, so if there is a peel away side just cut them to fit as per the picture in the link. It seems odd that the holes didn't cut so you could press them out.

 

[TweakageMan]

MKy fault, the pads did have little circles in them. Shows how big of a newwwwwwbie I am. So anyways, i've got the pads on the heatsink in all 4 corners, and I got the fan on perfectly (surprisingly too good!). Now I just need to mount it. I tried though and it seems like a REALLY tight fit. both 3 prong clips need to be secured into the motherboard? I notice there is a groove in the SLK-800, is the groove end supposed to be the part facing forward? Damn thermalright for not including instructions!

 

[TweakageMan]

well I must be doing something wrong, cuz the way im doing it, there is no way the prong will fit . I get one of the 3 clip things in, but the 2nd one is like an inch away from the last prong. Do I need to bend it??

 

[Texun]

Yes, the groove or notch is supposed to be toward the hinge. The 4 pads are on the corner? Sounds like they are spaced too wide if they are on the corner. As long as they are on the cpu and not on the rubber feet it is probably okay.

If you can avoid it, you should not install the fan until you have the HS installed.

The clip is hard? You are on the right track. The clip, with one side attached to the back of the socket, should be roughly an inch above the front end of the socket. Insert the screwdriver in the clip and press down until it locks on to the socket lugs. Do NOT let the screwdriver slip and hit the board! The clip is FIRM. It needs to be this way in order to securely hold the HS.

 

[TweakageMan]

I DID IT! Installed!! The amount of pressure needed was sooo insane. i was probably putting down like 70lbs of pressure for a couple of seconds, till it snapped in, but I wasnt pushing down on the heatsink, just using the screw driver. I dont know if the core got cracked though (doubt it did, no reason to beleive it did) cuz I havent taken the heatsink off and NEVER wilL! Bad thing is, I didnt get a chance to put thermal paste on, but is it reeally that important? I cant power up my computer for a couple of days, still waiting on some good memory, a video card and a hard drive, so I dont know if my heatsink installation was successful... but for now I can act like it was! hoooooray! Thanks guys!

 

[brucehao]

Ummm... you can try to run it without thermal paste and see what kind of temperatures you get, but I'm pretty sure you're going to get better temperatures with a thin layer of artic silver or nanotherm xtc.

 

[amdskip]

Originally posted by: brucehao
Ummm... you can try to run it without thermal paste and see what kind of temperatures you get, but I'm pretty sure you're going to get better temperatures with a thin layer of artic silver or nanotherm xtc.

Never ever run it without heatsink grease. Take that baby back off carefully and put it on ASAP. If you fry the chip and come whining to us, don't say I didn't warn you.

 

[TweakageMan]

well I dont think running it without grease would fry it. Thermal paste doesnt take off 50C of heat, from what ive heard, artic silver takes off about 10C at most... so running it to see what kind of temps I got wouldnt be harmful

 

[amdskip]

Originally posted by: TweakageMan
well I dont think running it without grease would fry it. Thermal paste doesnt take off 50C of heat, from what ive heard, artic silver takes off about 10C at most... so running it to see what kind of temps I got wouldnt be harmful

Please, Please, Please don't attempt it. The bottom of a heatsink is never perfectly flat and it has some indentations too. The grease takes care of this. I'm sorry but you are an idiot if you run it without thermal grease.

 

[Texun]

I laid out the process as best I could and it really needs to be followed or you will regret it in the end, which might not be far off if you run it without the thermal compound. Thermal compound alone is not a heat remover, it is for the transference of heat from one device to another. The chemical properties of thermal compound combined with the filling of microscopic air pockets facilitates this process.

Grin and bear it. Remove the HS and do it right or you run a huge risk of being very disappointed once you have it all together.

 

[RalfHutter]

Originally posted by: TweakageMan
im a newbie to installing heatsinks and ive never installed one before.......Please help

You asked for advice and people are offering it. You should listen to them. They know what they're talking about.

Do not run without putting thermal compound on your CPU/heatsink!

Suck it up, take off the SLK-800 and put on thermal compound.

 

[Superself]

Originally posted by: brucehao
Ummm... you can try to run it without thermal paste and see what kind of temperatures you get, but I'm pretty sure you're going to get better temperatures with a thin layer of artic silver or nanotherm xtc.

You are attempting humor here....correct?

Sure he can see what temperatures he gets, but those high temps will probably fry his cpu....and I bet applying arctic silver after the fact won't save him from having to replace that fried cpu.

rgds

 

[FFactory0x]

DEAD PROC WALKING.

 

[TweakageMan]

Wel, I ran it without the thermal paste and i get temperatures of only 55c. I added thermal paste though, and its now at 40c. think i may have damaged the proc though, cause there were little spots on the proc core (not cracks, just spots), but it's working fine. I dont know if the spots are from the heatsink or running it withotu the thermal paste but its working good.

 

[mechBgon]

Running your CPU without heat-transfer material is about as smart as driving your car without oil in the engine. Listen to the advice, or you're going to be buying another CPU, my friend. In fact, it sounds like you already damaged it, judging by the "spots" you're reporting.

As a tip, try using your bare hands on the clip... it's wide enough that you can use both hands. I have no problem doing that with my similar SK-7, and it allows me to pull the clip out & away from the lugs to prevent stress on them (plus I don't risk damanging the motherboard by slipping with a screwdriver).

 

[Texun]

I think we have all done the best we could to help and it looks like the time has come to cut the strings.

T-Man, best of luck with your rig

 

[Mday]

the pressure i put on the slk800 was insane, i was so scared of cracking the core O_O

i put in some artic silver 3 myself. first time was not enough, i got like 99C, then i put a little more, and made sure the heatsink had a healthy seat on the processor. got it down to 30C

 

[DrumBandit]

Tweakageman,

You need to listen to the people here and put the thermal compound b/w your heatsink and CPU.

Thank you,
Christian