Hello guys! I had a important question. Im building a gaming computer for the first time, and I have already recieved all my computer parts from Newegg. Im a little bit nervous about putting in the CPU and stuff, b/c everyone say its so easy to jack it up. Anyways, My question is, Once you get the CPU installed and Close the Clip to secure it down Does the intel stock heatsink/fan come with the thermal paste already on the Heatsink or do I have to go out and buy some. I noticed that some intel processors dating back to the P4 and amd already have the thermal solution already put on the heatsink and all you have to do is pull off the sticker or covering? Does anyone know if that is true for the c2d 6750 retail box. I just would like to know b/c I havent really opened up my boxes and started putting things together. lol Still have to buy my Static wrist band! lol Dont want to screw my first build up especially since I spent alot of money on it.

Here are my Computer sPecs

evga 680i LT
2 Gigs of Patriot 6400 Gaming memory {4-4-4-12)
c2d 6750 (1333) FSB
XFX EXTREME EDITION 8800 GT 512BIT VIDEO CARD
LG DVD RECORDER DVD 20x
700Watt POWER Supply
320 GB Western DIgital HARD DRIVE 16 mb cache Sata 3G/B
24 bit Audigy soundcard ( just reusing from my gateway)

There will be pre applied paste on the stock intel heatsink. I would take it off and use artic silver myself but if you dont have paste around it will do.

I agree with someguy.

If you play to do heavy OverClocking and pushing the system hard, get some aftermarket paste.

If you will be running the chip at stock or only moderate Overclocks, you are fine with the stuff on the chip already.

CPU - As someguy said: The stock HSF (HeatSink/Fan) will have thermal material already applied. So all you need to do is place the CPU it the socket - it's keyed, so it'll only fit one way - and install the HSF. This is best done *before* you mount the motherboard. Line up the HSF, push the pins through, and give them their quarter turn. It is mounted correctly when it is secure and you can look underneath and see the 4 white tips of the pins fully/equally sticking out of the black cones. And yes, you pull the plastic cover off of the thermal material before mounting.

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Personally, I use aftermarket coolers every time - But my so-called mechanical "aptitude" comes from old cars and motorcycles. I understand "Righty~Tighty, Lefty~Loosey" just fine. But set pins are annoying to me, and hard for me to trust. This, of course, also partly explains my choice of motherboard...
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Scott's General Assembly Rules:

(1) Prep the place you are to put the thing first (i.e. install mounts for motherboard first - they're fairly cheap - Tight is good, but no need to get too happy.)

(2) CHECK FIT!! Line the parts up at least twice, and make sure it's right. (i.e. *COUNT* the mounting holes on the mobo - make sure there are *exactly* that number of mounting pins on the mobo tray, and that they line up properly. 1 hole, 1 pin, and in the right spot)

(3) Check to make sure you did #2 properly.

(4) Mount the CPU and HSF.

(5) This is the part where you cut me off in mid-sentence and go "Yeah... Yeah.... Yeah..... Check it again to make sure it's right" So do that, please.

(6) Place the mobo onto the pins - Snug is good - Make contact and maybe another half turn.

(7) Check to make sure you didn't miss anything.

Repeat similar steps for the following parts...

Basically - Take your time, and double check everything. If/when you get frustrated, drag the dog outside, wipe a stick in the mud, then throw it and laugh at the dog for running so hard just to pick up the dirty stick in it's mouth. Then when your puppy comes back, ask yourself why the hell you wiped the stick in the dirt when you have to take the dirty, doggie~slime~covered thing from your pet and throw it again. Repeat until you've calmed down. Then go back to work. The project is over your head and you should call help when the dog won't go outside with you any more.

Great post ... sage advice! LMAO ... well said!

I'm going to add my 2 cents worth to this. As well as using some Artic Silver or other good paste, I'd take the time to mount a good aftermarket heatsink/fan. If you do any overclocking, it will be necessary, so why not put it on the first time and avoid having to dismount the stock heatsink, clean it off, and then put on the aftermarket? Ok, I'm a bit lazy and don't like to do anything more than once if I can help it. Even if you don't overclock, a good heatsink will give lower temperatures, which will help with overall performance and better life of the cpu.

Alright, I do appreciate the advice, so if I do go ahead and buy that artic silver thermal paste, Im guessing I would have to remove the stock heatsink thermal paste thats already attached right? so whats the best way of doing that if thats the case? Anything special? would rubbing Alcohal work? or just a damp cloth and just make sure it dry after its been cleaned? hope those arent stupid questions, I just wanna make i dont make a mistake.

Rubbing alcohol contains additives that don't evaporate. Theoretically the leftover stuff can hurt heat transfer. So you're best off using the stuff labeled 'isopropyl'. That's just alcohol with a little bit of distilled water.

Use a clean lint-free rag - a piece of old T-shirt works perfectly fine. My wife has these cotton makeup pads which also work wonderfully. But for some strange reason she gets pissed off when she catches me stealing them for the computers. Go figure.

So would these be the a good Solution instead of using the stock cooler that intel provides? I read articles on tomshardware that you can overclock ur c2d with the intel stock cooler and alot of people seem to be getting it to atleast 3.4 ghz. I dont think i would go that high right away. maybe just to like 3.0 GHz.. I also seen a thermal paste remover by artic silver also on newegg. I guess the artic freezer already has some thermal paste on its heat sink to.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6835186134
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6835100007
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6835100010

For paste - Arctic Silver 5 wins the popularity contest hand's down. But know that http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] hin%2betsu really *is* better.

For any paste - Don't use more than a grain~of~rice sized dab. A little bit is good, since it fills the gaps. More just adds more material that heat has to work it's way through.

While the Artic Cooler Freezer 7 Pro is not the top cooler by any means, I think it should be adequate for 3.4 ghz. That's also a good price for it in the ad. It is supposed to come with Artic cooling MX-1 paste preapplied. If so, you wouldn't need to buy the Artic Silver paste. I wouldn't bother with the expensive paste remover. Just use some isopropyl alchohol and some tissue or other lint free cloth.

I agree with Scotteq that the Masscool paste is better than AS 7.

Saller i would do the same as you stated(aftermarket cooler) but you can get a nice OC on the stock intel cooler. You just cant push the cpu to its limits. The stock cooler should be able to handle any OC that doesnt need a vcore boost to be stable. If you dont overclock at all the stock cooler is fine also. not unless your case has just flat out terrible air flow. The cpu should idle in the mid 30s C and load in the 50s.

I suddenly remembered that I live in Nevada, where the summertime temperatures can get very hot and put high demands on heatsinks. Not everyone has to put up with air temps so high, so they might do well enough with a stock cooler at small overclocks.

Refering to someguy7 comment about airflow, my case has a 120 mm intake fan in the front, 1 in the rear and a 250 mm Fan on the side panel. I would think a 250mm fan would provide alot of air flow.

correct me if im wrong but wasn't the Intel thermal compound actually better then most after market stuff? Back in the P4 3.6 days

That may have been true at one time. The last testing I saw done indicted that the Masscool Shin-Etsu was the best. Haven't seen any testing that shows something better has come along, but maybe it has and I haven't seen it.