Can I replace the thermal pad with grease on stock intel LGA 775?

Ack, I posted in the wrong forum. Here is the right spot.

I just built a new system. I had stability issues with the motherboard so I'm replacing it. First time situation for me.

I have a quad core, stock intel fan/heatsink. It came with a thermal pad.

When I get the new board, I bought some artic silver ceramic-based grease.

But I just wanted to make sure it is OK to replace the thermal pad. I noticed the thermal pad is kind of thick compared to a thin layer of grease. I don't want to have a gap in there if the heatsink from intel is designed to use a thermal pad.

Thanks for your help.

The answer you are looking for is, YES, you can take the thermal pad off.

As to the issue of thermal thickness....The thermal pad melts a bit when it heats up, and will become thinner. So, the thickness is not an issue to be concerned with. The heatsink will seat itself nice and tight even without the thickness of the pad.

Badge gave good advice on how to clean the stuff off. You would do well to follow it. If you have further questions regarding application, you can refer to the APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS FOR APPLYING ARCTIC SILVER 5 as application is the same as the AS Ceramic.