Thermal Compound Question

[pcassell]

Recently purchased an AMD 1600+ athlon XP with a coolermaster amd certified heat sink. I also bought some artic silver II.

I've never put on thermal compound before, but I have read the instructions at amd's site and on articsilver.com as to how to apply the stuff. I noticed that the coolermaster heatsink/fan does come w/ some thermal comp. under some plastic you peel off before mounting. Should I remove this w/ nail polish remover and then add the artic silver II to the heatsink and a small amount to the processor core or should i just leave the default thermal compound on the heatsink.

I've heard that you shouldn't mix compounds, and i've heard that artic silver really works well. But, i'd like to keep from having to do to many unnecissary stuff. I've heard too many horror storries about cracking dies, applying too much thermal compound, etc. Any opinions or info i shoudl know? Thanks

 

[Doh!]

Since you've invested $ in purchasing an ASII, you should get rid of the thermal pad and apply ASII (more effective than the thermal pad). However, if you're really paranoid about goofing up, then just use the thermal pad & sell ASII to someone who needs it (if you're not overclocking). However, DO NOT use both at the same time. It's either the thermal pad OR ASII, not the thermal pad AND ASII.

 

[Maverick319]

The crap attached to your heatsink is a Thermal Pad, and yes it needs to come off. You can use it in a pinch, but you stated you have Arctic Silver, so use that.

Take an old credit card and scrape most of the pad off, then clean with your favorite solvent, usually acetone, then use Isopropyl Alcohol to clean all the residue off.

Alcohol evaporates fast, so it speeds up your turnaround time. Follow the instructions at AS's site, and you should be fine. I have read numerous reviews stating that you should be able to almost see through the layer of AS that you apply to the CPU, and remember that it is used to fill the microscopic pits and valleys on the bottom of your HS. If your HS seems a little rough on the bottom and you don't want to Lap it, use a BIT more AS. You will get the hang of it, just don't slop it all over the ceramic top.