thermal paste ???

[novice]

I am strugging to build my first PC without the help of my guru pal (who is trying to plan his wedding - he needs to get his priorities straight) Anyway, I have a GlobalWin FHP 308 cooler (thanks, Russ at compucheap.com) for my Celeron 600 and just purchased some thermal compound from Radio Shack, but I don't know how to install it. Previously I used the factory heatsink and fan, but this time I thought I would try to overclock the Celeron on the MSI 6309, so I went ahead and got the cooler Russ suggested. do you put the thin layer of thermal paste all over the bottom of the heatsink? Or do you only put it on the small square where the factory one has a bit of goo? Do I need to scrape off the factory goo? Should I just forget about the cheap thermal paste and install the fan and heatsink as it is? (The GlobalWin heatsink also has the small square goo with the tape covering it. Is that sufficient?) I really appreciate any help and also appreciate the lack of verbal abuse for my ignorance. Thanks,
chuck
PS Please don't make me install the factory heatsink and fan. According to Anand's test, the factory unit sucks and is also a bear to install.

 

[Viper GTS]

You should be OK with the pre-applied stuff. Basically the idea is just to put a thin layer between the slug & the base of the HS. The excess will get squeezed out. Go buy yourself a $2 package of foam hair rollers, & use that to apply the grease in a very thin layer. Then just put the parts together, & clip them in place. That's pretty much all there is to it. If you screw it up, you can wipe it off & try again.

Viper GTS

 

[Mikewarrior2]

if you are gonna use the grease instead of hte Pad, remove the pad with rubbing alcohol/degreaser(like butane), then put the grease on the cpu core. (the small center of the cpu pcb).


Mike

 

[DaddyG]

Celeries don't really get that hot at default speed but Radio Snack stuff is not that good. I prefer the PCTC 'pad' but I don't think a celery is going to cook the stuff to complete the 'change'.