Question on Heatsinks + Thermal Tape

[Guest]

I'm sure this question has probably been asked before...apologising in advance :-D

I'm getting a Coolermaster DP5-6J31C-A1 HSF for my Athlon XP 2000+. I'm also getting some Arctic Silver 3 thermal compund. Does anyone know if the above HSF comes with pre-attached thermal tape? I've never put together a PC before and I know that compound is better than tape. If there is tape attached what (readily available) solvent is best to help remove it?
Thanks a lot!

 

[Clarentavious]

I'm not sure what you mean when you refer to "tape" The contact point on the heatsink will likely be made of aluminum or copper (or in very high quality cases, pure gold or silver).

You can apply the Silver 3 there to there. Some heatsinks come with thermal paste already on them (it's like a white gooey substance, almost like thick paint). If you are referring to this, you can try and gently scrape it off, or use warm (not hot) water maybe. One thing is for sure, make sure it is COMPLETELY dried before attaching it and turning on your computer.

There is another post on this forum where a guy may have possibly toasted his processor because he used rubbing alcohol to remove already existing thermal paste which had melted onto his processor core. He may have left it damp or slightly wet when applying the Silver 3. For whatever reason, when he turned on his machine, his processor burnt out.

 

[jankphil]

in my experiance, fans ALWAYS come with thermal compound on the fan. I'm guessing it's for a all in one solution for putting a heatsink on your fan. My advice is just scrape it off. Try not to put any scratches on the bottom of the heatsink, but the Artic Silver is so much better than that crap they always have on the bottom of HSF's

 

[cellbiogeek]

The best way to ensure that you install the heatsink (and clean it) correctly is to go to the Arctic silver website and read the directions. Whether or not there is any compound/thermal pad that already comes on your heatsink, you should clean both the heatsink contact surface and proecessor die with an organic solvent (methyl-ethyl ketone, hexane, etc) and a lint free cloth. I used carburetor cleaner for mine and it worked great (If you use carburetor cleaner, choose one which contains only the solvents suggested by AS).