Okay I am building my first computer and my cpu fan has a black greasy sticker on the bottom. Is this a thermal pad?
It is an Intel fan made for a P4.
You can see it here - <A HREF="http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?sku=TC1-1026" target="_new">http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?sku=TC1-1026</A>
Sounds like a pad but they're only really good for one application. If you remove the heatsink again you'd be advised to clear the pad off and use some thermal compound.
<b>Vorsprung durch Dontwerk</b>.....<i>as they say at VIA</i>
Yeah, you'll probably want to scrape it all off now, clean the heatsink and start over with a fresh layer of thermal paste, preferably some Arctic Silver. On the flip side, it'll run if you don't start over; The thermal pad may melt to fill in the bare spot, but to be safe, you really should start over or else you're at risk for high temps and instablilty.
-Brett
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