Thermal glue for CPU

MargeB | 15:01 Fri 22nd Jul 2005 | Technology

6 Answers

do they all need this to connect to Heat sink fan, or can i just press them together til i get some?

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Sligachan14

It's to fill the tiny gaps between the heatsink and the cpu to aid heat transfer. If you don't use this the chances are the cpu will overheat.

MargeB

Question Author

Thanks. You've just set me off on long trek :-)))

bobjim1705

Some heatsinks already have a thermal pad on the bottom - not as effective as thermal paste (I'd recommend Arctic Silver V) but gets the job done.

MargeB

Question Author

Thermal pad...like a kind of black paint, very thin?

bobjim1705

Thermal pads are usually smack bang in the middle of the bottom of the heatsink - it's not particularly paint like. More akin to a very thin piece of material stuck to the bottom of the heatsink.
They're generally found on the underside of the heatsinks that come with processors.
If what I've described sounds similar to what's on your heatsink, but you still want to go for thermal paste, you'll need to clean the thermal pad off with some kind of alcohol based cleaning solution to break down the adhesive.

MargeB

Question Author

Thanks a million all.

By the way, does anyone smell burning?

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