Intel CPU Box Contents?

If its a retail box, then it should come with a stock cooler and a bit of thermal gunk on the bottom of it.

It's well worth your time to scrape that off and put a bit of Arctic Silver 5 on it though, even though it is expensive. Just lets the cpu run a wee bit cooler.

I'm not sure about that, I've never ran any Intels But I know thats how AMDs come packed, and I reckon they boht must be the same...

I'll wait till some Intel people come round before I say anything more.

Aye the posters above are correct.

Boxed AMD and Intel CPUs come with a stock heatsink and fan with a thermal pad pre-applied.

Heatsink compound is not necessary if the thermal pad is present and intact.

It is rumored the factory heatsink compound / thermal pad is as good as or better than 3rd party supplied heatsink compound.

If you choose to use 3rd party heatsink compound the factory applied thermal pad MUST be removed. 90 or 70% alcohol seems to work best for the task.

Hope this helps :-)

Ach! No no no!

The thermal pads are damn good. (At least the ones that Intel uses. I haven't messed with AMD enough to know if theirs are as good.) It's very difficult to beat them. AS5, once it sets, might give you a 1C difference, and probably not even that much.

AS5 is great stuff, but it's not worth it if you've already got the pad. I only use AS5 when I've pulled the system apart or am not using the stock HSF, so I need to use a new TIM anyway.

Pads are quick, easy, and very effective.

Yeah. If you're not using a stock HSF (and thus don't have a pad) then it's definately AS5 all the way. But while using the retail cooler, there's really no reason to scrap the pad.

'Tis why I said "might give you a 1C difference, and probably not even that much".

And I use AS5 too. But then I don't exactly have the stock HSF anymore. In fact my HS doesn't even have a F anymore.

Of course, come to think of it, I don't even know if I have a computer anymore. :? I wonder when I'll get it back and in what condition it'll be when/if I do.

The four corners of the die, or the four corners of the heatspreader? I'd be willing to bet the latter and not the former.