noob confused about "thermal interface material"

J

jazzwall

n00b
Joined
Jul 5, 2005
Messages
43
I making my own system (for the first time)... Just received the 4800+ retail (box) version that comes with heatsink/fan. The instructions say "Thermal interface material is required.. use only recommended thermal interface material..."

But then I read somewhere on the web that the heatsink comes with thermal stuff already on it...

So should I go ahead and install the cpu and heatsink/fan as it is or do I need to buy any grease or pad? If so, which one?

Thanks!

Jazz

Specs of the system I'm making:

AMD 4800+ box verson
ASUS A8N SLI Premium
Antec TPII 550 power supply
Antec p180 case
Corsair Twinx 2gb dual channel ram (4x512)... hope it works with my mobo
2x74gb WD Raptor drives - sata
320gb WD Caviar drive - sata
1 x evga 6600gt sli card (temp...got for $150... waiting for 6800ultra/7800 to become cheaper).
 
The heatsink comes with TIM. It's the greyish pad on the contact area of the hsf. If you want the best, take that off with rubbing alcohol and use Arctic Silver 5.
 
Thanks DejaWiz! I don't think I want to mess with thermal goop. I hope that AMD used something good enough in their stock heatsink... since they know their CPU's the best (I hope).

It's interesting to note that their literature says "Use only heatsink/fan provided... use of any ohter heatsink/fan will void warranty". Good thing I didn't waste money on getting one of those fancy fans! Plus the stock heatsink seems to have some copper-tubing going in and out of the sink... so I'm guessing they have some internal liquid cooling solution.... ?

-Jazz
 
That said, if you're worried about applying new thermal compound you can use the thermal pad that is on the heatsink without any worries about misapplying it.

 
Depends really. If you're going to run stock & have good airflow - you could stick with the supplied TIM. HOWEVER, if you're looking to get 'a little extra' from that CPU, you're best off with an aftermarket cooler and some Arctic Silver compound. I was worried when I 1st attempted to use paste (I used the supplied pad with my P4 before I overclocked it). Honestly, it's not too hard & the results are worth it :)

Cheers,

Jelly.
 
Shin Etsu makes the TIM for AMD's factory hsf assemblies. Really really good stuff for OEM.
 
As for the warranty comment - IIRC, the serial number for AMD processors is printed on the stock HSF's fan (or was that just with the Athlon XP's? :confused: ) so getting an aftermarket cooler would void your warranty, but as long as you keep the stock HSF around, you'll still have the serial number so they have no way of knowing that you swapped out your HSF.
 
I've heard that the stock TIM on the AMDs is good, but would the AS lower temperature much?
 
My xp-90 with panaflow should be fine :) I'm going to try for 2.7GHz with the original TIM without voiding the warranty first.
 
Thanks for all the help so far!! This website is awesome!!!

For now, I think I'll stick with the stock CPU speed (i.e. will not overclock)... it's a 4800+ dual core, so it should have enough juice for anything I throw at it for now.

I know some of you guys suggested swapping the heatsink/fan... but have you looked at the 4800+ heatsink?? it has some copper pipes going around it... me thinks there's some liquid inside!!!... I'm sure AMD made sure that the heatsink can handle all the CPU heat (at least at regular non-OC speeds).

-Jazz
 
jazzwall said:
Thanks for all the help so far!! This website is awesome!!!
it has some copper pipes going around it... me thinks there's some liquid inside!!!...
Click to expand...

those are called heat pipes, google will explain it all to you.
 
serbiaNem said:
I don't plan on overvolting, and won't be reporting my overclocking if the processor has any problems unrelated. I'm well aware of the laws of the land...
Click to expand...

Well U wont be seeing any large overclocks wothout overvolting :D
 
jazzwall said:
Thanks DejaWiz! I don't think I want to mess with thermal goop. I hope that AMD used something good enough in their stock heatsink... since they know their CPU's the best (I hope).

It's interesting to note that their literature says "Use only heatsink/fan provided... use of any ohter heatsink/fan will void warranty". Good thing I didn't waste money on getting one of those fancy fans! Plus the stock heatsink seems to have some copper-tubing going in and out of the sink... so I'm guessing they have some internal liquid cooling solution.... ?

-Jazz
Click to expand...


LOL @ NOOBness

Anyways they do know their CPUs but they don't give you the best. The best is Artic Silver 5 with actaually has silver specs in it that produce the best thermal interface around. Secondly the heatsink is fairly good but stilll not the best. The best would either be a what are they calle dliek pc-120 or pc-90 or a zalman heatsink I believe. You could also do watercooling or use vapochill. There are multiple ways.
Thirdly those pipes are called heat pipes. The heat travels through the pipes fast b/c it is copper and suck and is spread out fasater than normal. Imagine this....instead of having traffic all blocked up on the high ways....this would basically be like a helicopter picking your car up from the middle of the traffic and dropping it off at your exit and it does this for 80% of the cars.

The pipes in reality dispate the heat faster by taking the heat to every extrimity and it is disapated by more of the metal fans around the heatsink. THat means more surface area which means more cool air touches it.
 
The gray thermal interface material on newer AMD processors is most likely Shin Etsu.

Shin Etsu, Lord Thermoset, and Bergquist make the AMD approved compounds. But I've only seen Shin Etsu used.

The compound is , in my humble opinon, as good or better than AS5. I don't change it if I keep the oem heatsink, even though I sell Shin Etsu.

If I upgrade to a better heatsink I use Shin Etsu X23-7783D on the new heatsink.

And it is not a thermal pad that AMD is using on the chips I've seen...it is Shin Etsu thermal compound applied by automated process.
 
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