Help with E6850 and Zalman CNPS7000

[htwingnut]

I recently just updated my machine from an E6600 to an E6850. I am using a Zalman CNPS7000B cooler. With my E6600 I seemed to have decent thermal paste coverage between the chip and the heatsink (Arctic Silver 5), with TAT temps never exceeding 60C.

With my E6850, I can't seem to get close to 100% thermal paste interface between the chip and the heatsink / fan. There doesn't seem to be contact near the outboard sides. Both the chip casing and heatsink appear to be perfectly flat (based on a straight edge held over it), and have all fasteners secured all the way down. My temperatures also are running about 65-68C during TAT running, which is about 5-8C above what my E6600 was running.

Any comments or suggestions? Thanks.

 

[htwingnut]

After doing some searching, and removing and replacing my HSF a couple times, it appears that my E6850 has a somewhat slight concave heat spreader. Judging from the posts I've been reading, many have lapped both their CPU heat spreader and their HSF surface. I think I may give that a try.