Can I use the stock thermal stuff already on my heatsink?

patrick27

Distinguished
Mar 25, 2009
12
0
18,510
Hello. I was wondering if i dont plan on overclocking my new build, can I safely stick with the stock thermal on my AMD 965 proccessor? The heatsink fan looks solid enough but do I NEED aftermarket thermal? Theres already some pre-applied to the heatsink so is it safe to just go with that?
 
patrick your safe to proceed.

Monitor the temps carefully on your new build for the first few days to ensure it the HSF and thermal pad / paste are doing the job well enough.

So post your idle and max temps and get some advice from other 965 users in that regard.

Good luck with the rig.
 

patrick27

Distinguished
Mar 25, 2009
12
0
18,510


THanks reyond. THis is my first build in like 10 years so Im a bit rusty. Does it matter if there are tiny imperfections in the thermal covering on the heatsink? They are like pin head small..
 
nope ... the retention mechanism on the cooler will squash the pad and the dots will dissapear.

Make sure the cpu is firmly mounted and the HSF sits flat and is locked into place.

Boot into the bios so hit <del> after the POST beep ... goto the CPU temps area and make sure it doesn't go nuclear ... let it sit there for 20 mins to seat in the pad.

 

randomizer

Champion
Moderator
First, make sure you remove and plastic protective film if it's there, some people don't and wonder why their temps are high :)

Secondly, no minor imperfections are not an issue because when you apply heat and downward pressure on the paste it will be spread out nicely. Just don't re-use the stuff if you pull off the heatsink again after some use. You'll have so many air bubbles that it wouldn't be ideal.
 

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