Intel Core 2 Duo installation - Thermal compound?

[MonsterAar]

I've recently purchased the components for a new PC and went to start putting it all together today. I noticed that in the instructions for installing the processor there is no mention of thermal compound and on teh heatsink that comes with the processor, there appears to be thermal 'strips' attached. I have a tube of Arctic Silver 5 and am wondering if I should:
a) not use it at all
b) put it on the heatsink without removing the strips
or c) remove the strips, apply thermal compound.

Are the core 2 duo heatsinks designed to be used without a thermal compound?

Thanks!
Luke

 

[stduc]

a) not use it at all

NO

b) put it on the heatsink without removing the strips

NO

or c) remove the strips, apply thermal compound.

NO

Are the core 2 duo heatsinks designed to be used without a thermal compound?

NO



By remove the strips I assume you mean the protective layer covering the pre-applied heatpad the manufacturer has thoughtfully provided.

You have 2 choices.

When you are ready - remove the protective layer (paper?), leaving the thermal pad on the heatsink and assemble. Do not touch the pad after removing the protective layer. Forget the arctic silver.

OR

Remove all traces of the heat pad and use arctic silver. (Use Isopropyl alcohol to dissolve the heat pad)

 

[MonsterAar]

I don't think its a protective layer. They are actually 3 grey strips on the copper on the bottom of the heatsink. I'll try and get a photo up later.

 

[Nelviticus]

The grey stuff is thermal compound that's pre-applied by Intel. It's probably not quite as good as Arctic Silver but it'll do the job just fine. Make sure you don't touch it or mess it up though.

Regards

Nelviticus

 

[paparazi]

MonsterAar
Just so others are aware.
The recent retail heatsink/fan units (that are being shipped with Core2 Duo (and others) are pre-applied with grey thermal heat transfer pads.
The difference though! is that the shape of this material is not a complete footprint! there is a gap down the centre of the pad.
I can only assume therefore that this material (as with all thermal material) is designed to heat up and spread across the contact area to some degree (remember that the large square plate on both Intel and AMD CPU's is a heat spreader anyway)

Rest assured, the ones I've seen are all the same, this isn't a bad batch and Intel must have carried out vigourous testing to assattain the best pad design/pattern.
For your information: Core2 Duo run extremely cool even with the stock heatsink/fan so you really don't need to get too paranoid about this issue.

So in short: use the original pad, leave the grey "patterned" heat transfer pad intact BUT*
Note* can only be used once! so if you do part the CPU and Heatsink, clean the grey pad off and apply a thin layer of AS5 instead (as per AS application guide)

Martin

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[wahnula]

Agreed Martin. Many take the stock thermal paste off, claiming application of Arctic Silver or the like is superior. Well, it is, but not so anyone should notice or care. My rule of thumb is if it comes with a thermal pad, use it. If you are changing or removing HSFs then thoroughly clean the old stuff off and reapply a BB-size dab of your favorite goo, spreading it with your finger in a plastic bag for complete coverage.

I have seen several controlled tests to determine the value of quality thermal paste and the benefits were negligible over stock pads.

Tony

 

[cdogg]

An important point that Martin has made is how "cool" the Duos run. They are rated at a mere 65 Watts (about half of what some of the hot Pentium D's were rated at). Some tests have shown it hard to overheat a Duo even when the heat sink/fan wasn't attached (though this is not recommended!).

So it really shouldn't matter in this situation whether or not you use the stock thermal paste or decide to upgrade it to the Artic Silver compound. Upgrading is just going to be more work with no real benefits...

~cdogg
"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." - Albert Einstein
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