Thermal Paste

[Completenoob]

I have an AMD64 3500+ with the retail heatsink. I bought antec silver 5 thermal paste before i got the cpu in. When i went to put the heatsink on, it allready had this gooey junk on the bottom of it. Is that the retail thermal paste or do i put the antec 5 on top of that stuff, or do i take off the original paste and put the thermal 5 on instead?

 

[Nubius]

The stock heatsinks come with a thermal pad which melts to the processor once heated up and solidifies once cooled down. Using some 99% isopropyl alcohol and something with an edge, but is soft like a credit card, you can scrape off that pad. I suggest using something plastic with a good edge so you don't scrape your heatsink. You start putting scratches in your heatsink and it'll lead to warmer temperatures, so try to keep the base as smooth as possible.

AFTER you've gotten that thermal pad off, THEN you put on some of your Arctic Silver 5 and make sure to go to www.arcticsilver.com to read their instructions on how to properly apply it