Termal Paste?

[Guest]

hi, i am building my mates pc tommoro for him so i went down to the shop a while ago and asked for some thermal paste, and they said not to use any because they get people coming back to the shop complaining that their cpu isn't working (they have put to much on) so are they just bongers or what? Is it safe to not use any? should i get some anyway?

Thanks in advance.

[debs3759]

You need to use a small amount to improve contact between the CPU and the heatsink/fan. Using too much can have an adverse effect on the level of cooling, although I never heard of it stopping the CPU from working unless there was so much applied that it got all over the pins or the board...

Ideally you want to use an amount about the size of a grain of rice (although some would say more), which you can put in the centre of the processor and just let the heatsink spread it out by pressure when the processor warms, although personally I would spread it about to form a thin film before applying the heatsink.

The only time I use a heatsink without paste is when I am just testing a processor, in which case it won't be in use long enough to overheat

[Guest]

keep em comin!

[Michael]

Yes, not using any thermal paste will quickly result in a processor either damaged or not working (if it shuts down from thermal protection). A proper amount of thermal paste is so thin it's sort of transparent, even though it's a layer covering the CPU.

[JAC]

I prefer a thermal sheet when testing cpus..... cleaner!

http://uk.farnell.com/jsp/endecaSearch/partDetail.jsp?SKU=681465&N=401



but when installing a cpu for use, I apply thermal grease. Just a small bead, and spread it out with a credit card or other flat edge.

[Guest]

so that guy was bonkers then?

[FDIV]

The fellow is not bonkers, he just wants you to burn up your processor so that you will buy another If you want to avoid this you will need to use thermal grease or a thermal pad. There was a time when grease wasn't nessecarry. I never used it when building 486's for instance. Times have changed though. With newer pentiums disipating more the 100 watts of power they need all the cooling help they can get and even then its not always enough. this is why Intel designed their pentium 4's to automatically slow down if their temperature got to high so they wouldn't burn up. Of course, they could have just engineered their chip better, like say AMD, and not worried about it.

[Guest]

Thanks for all your replies!

[Alcochaser]

Yes..... Thermal transfer compound is a must now-a-days but a little goes a lot, think of the size of a raindrop... no more. You can buy fancy silver paste. It often comes in syringe like dispensers.

Just remember, a LITTLE goes a LONG WAY!

[Guest]

Alright thanks everyone!