what's that stuff on my heatsink?

[jcromano]

Hi guys,
I'm in the midst of my first ever system build. Do the AMD heatsinks come with thermal compound already applied? If not, what's that gray pastey stuff on the bottom of the heatsink? I bought my own thermal compound to use. I wasn't expecting the heatsink to come pre-loaded.

Thanks in advance,
Jim

 

[Amaroque]

It's a thermal pad. Unless you are going to OC, I'd use the pad.

This has been a topic of discussion lately... If you use your own TIM, supposedly the warranty on a retail CPU is void.

 

[akseli]

It's probably a thermal pad that comes installed automatically. But If you want just use some distilled alcohol and and knife / cutter to get rid of all the stuff that's on the heatsink now. That way you can use your own paste. Chances are the one you have will perform better.

 

[thirdlegstump]

defrag ti

 

[jcromano]

Thanks, guys. Got time for another question? My power supply (Antec 380W true power) has a 20 pin power cable, but the motherboard (ASUS SLI) wants a 24 pin connector. Any advice?

Jim

 

[Matthias99]

Originally posted by: jcromano
Thanks, guys. Got time for another question? My power supply (Antec 380W true power) has a 20 pin power cable, but the motherboard (ASUS SLI) wants a 24 pin connector. Any advice?

Jim

Attack your motherboard with a hacksaw until it fits?
























Get a 20->24-pin power adapter cable. Seriously, please think about things for at least five seconds before posting, or do a forum/web search first.

Also:

This has been a topic of discussion lately... If you use your own TIM, supposedly the warranty on a retail CPU is void.

Untrue. It only voids your warranty if you use a different heatsink (otherwise, how could you move your CPU from one board to another, since you have to replace the TIM?). However, silver-based thermal compounds (like Arctic Silver) *do* void the warranty on a Socket-A CPU with an exposed core (such as an AthlonXP), but not on anything else, including Athlon64s.

 

[thirdlegstump]

addition to 4 point

 

[Warrior Legolas]

Does that mean water cooling would void the warranty on a AMD Athlon 64???

 

[Matthias99]

Does that mean water cooling would void the warranty on a AMD Athlon 64???

Yes, if it is a retail CPU (with 3-year warranty), since that is pretty obviously not the stock HSF. On an OEM model it would not (although I'm not sure that water damage would be covered by the warranty), but they have a much shorter (90-day, maybe?) warranty.

 

[Ike0069]

If the retail HSF is not used on a retail AMD CPU, the warranty is void. (Don't have any idea about Intel's policy). If you plan to OC or use a different HSF, you're better off just buying the OEM version.

 

[jcromano]

Matthias (and anyone else who might help me),

I actually *had* read a bit in the forum here about 20 pin and 24 pin, but I was confused by what I read. I was hoping for a quick and clear (and non-abusive) answer when I posted. I apologize if my lack of expertise offended you or others in any way.

From what I've read, some people use adapters to convert 20 pin to 24 pin, but some claim that they can just use the 20 pin connector in the first 20 of the 24 slots. There didn't seem to be a consensus opinion. I've looked up the pinout diagram (why doesn't that come standard with the power supply?), and I think that the simple cable shift method should work. But this is my first build, and I'm more than a little shaky. I was really hoping to hear someone tell me to just shift the cable.

If shifting the cable doesn't work, the I suppose NewEgg or ZipZoomFly will carry the adapter I need. No?

Jim

 

[V00D00]

I just got a new motherboard, and I am using an old 20 pin power supply. The connector on my motherboard is 24 pins, but I'm only using the first 20. You don't need an adapter or anything.

You might want to buy a new power supply if you plan on using a high end graphics card (ie. GF 6800) but otherwise you should be fine.

I'm very sure if you use any other thermal paste besides what is provided you are voiding the warranty. A friend of mine fried his $600 dual xeon board by accident and he couldn't get a new one because he used other thermal paste than what was provided.

 

[walkure]

I have also read mixed reviews from people trying to power their 24 pin mobo (lately most of the discussion is specifically on the Asus A8N-SLI board) with an old 20 pin PSU. While some report no trouble at all, some seem to run into some problems. (can I use the word "some" some more times?)

As posted above, if you plan to run a high-end (read: power-hungry) video card, I'd buy a 24 pin PSU, or at least buy the 20 to 24 pin adapter.

I just bought all new compoents (had nothing from a previous rig to recycle), and getting a solid 24 pin PSU was high on my list of priorities (why risk any trouble buying an old 20 pin). Though you already have your PSU, so maybe you just want the adapter.

 

[dev0lution]

Depends on the mobo I guess? My board has a 24 pin plug (plugging in the 20 pin connector to the 1st 20 pins), but also an additional square 4 pin that you only need to connect if you're using an older 20 pin PSU.

 

[jcromano]

I'd like to thank you all for the advice. The build seems to have gone ok. Windows is installing itself now, and nothing seems horribly broken yet.

For what it's worth, just shifting the cable seems to have worked for me. I'll keep it in mind that when I upgrade the processor and video card in a few years that I should look into a 24 pin PSU as well.

The building itself was very fun. I wish I had another to build, still.

Peace,
Jim