Processor Heatsink

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ccskorn

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When ordering a heatsink w/ fan, do they usually come with a thermal pad? I'm kind of confused about whether I need a thermal pad or thermal grease. I'm intending on keeping this setup for a long time so whichever lasts longer I guess?
 
well... thermal grease is better. The best out there right now is artic silver. what it does, is it distrubtes the heat so its cools it off better. But as for it lasting along time.. it is reccomended that you change it every 2 or 3 months. So thats what you need to do in order to have proper cooling.
 
bump, i guess what i'm trying to say is should i use a thermal pad or thermal grease if i don't want to have to pull it out and replace every so often? Also does anyone know if this heatsink/fan would include a thermal pad?
 
careful with using a thermal pad if you ever plan to remove the heatsink from the cpu cuz I did and it pulled the cpu and all straight out of the socket without me lifting the little release lever, bent the cpu pins and had to do a careful re-straightening of the bent pins. Thought I'd f'd off a $100 worth of cpu.
 
Monster00 said:
...what it does, is it distrubtes the heat so its cools it off better.

I hate to be nit picking, but that is incorrect. Thermal paste fills in the microscopic gaps and ridges on the CPU core (or heat spreader if you have a P4 or AMD64) and the heatsink. You should use a silver based paste because silver has the best thermal conductivity out of all the metals. Spend an extra 7 bucks and get a 3.5 gram tube of Artic Silver 5. It is the best paste on the market. The thermal pads that come with heatsinks suck. Make sure you read the directions on how to apply it. It only takes a dab about the size of a grain of rice.
 
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