First home-built computer, first problems

[Rahiyja]

Hi.
I have recently bought an Antec Sonata II chassi, with AMD Athlon 64 3500+ processor and ABIT KN8-Ultra motherboard.

I applied the processor into the socket and closed it, then I was about to apply the heatsink on it, but it wouldn't go down wholly, and when I removed it to check what was wrong, the heatsink had already touched the CPU and applied the phase change material. I now read in the manual that if the CPU and the heatsink have been in contact I need to clean the heatsink and apply a new phase change material.

My questions are:

Do I need to remove the phase change material from the CPU too, or only from the heatsink, and how should I do it? I read that you can use a credit card on the heatsink, but what about the CPU? At the moment my CPU is on the motherboard, without heatsink on it, but it has still got the phase change applied, should I remove the phase exchange on it so that it doesn't dry and get hard to remove? A fast answer for this one would be appreciated.

Seeing that the heatsink made full contact with the cpu, but didn't really slide in correctly, is there a possibility that the socket is not compatible with my fan?

Well, lots of beginner questions for you, I would really appreciate ANY help.
If you're wondering why the hell a newbie like me goes building his own computer, I'll tell you it's just out ot curiosity.

 

[LukeD1]

Hmmm, I think you should clean the processor off with rubbing alcohol, but make sure that the material your using to clean it with is almost dry with a little bit of alcohol on it. Did the heatsink come with your processor or did you buy it seperate? And if you bought it seperate, did it say it was compatible with the socket that you have? Post a detailed list of all your specifications please. That would help a lot.

 

[wozelbeak]

Ok, You Can Remove The Paste With An Alcohol Wipe. You Need To List All Of The Details Of Your Mobo And Proscessor And Heatsink. It Would Help People If You Did This.
And Dont Worry About The Paste.
Woz

 

[wozelbeak]

You Bet Me To It Luke Lol.
Woz

 

[Rahiyja]

Hmmm, I think you should clean the processor off with rubbing alcohol, but make sure that the material your using to clean it with is almost dry with a little bit of alcohol on it. Did the heatsink come with your processor or did you buy it seperate? And if you bought it seperate, did it say it was compatible with the socket that you have? Post a detailed list of all your specifications please. That would help a lot.

Hi.

The heatsink came with my AMD Athlon 64 3500+ processor. It came with a pre-applied phase shift. Btw I managed to successfully put the heatsink on the CPU when I tried the second time, so there's no problem with that. I'll still post the specs:

1. Motherboard: ABIT KN8-Ultra

Processor
- Supports AMD Socket 939 Athlon 64/64FX & Athlon 64 X2 dual-core Processors
- With 2GHz system bus using Hyper Transportâ„¢ Technology
- Supports AMD CPU Cool 'n' Quiet Technology

Memory
- Four 184-pin DIMM sockets
- Supports dual channel DDR400 non-ECC un-buffered memory
- Supports maximum memory capacity up to 8GB

Chipset
- NVIDIA NF4 Ultra single chip
- NVIDIA Gigabit Ethernet with NVIDIA Firewall

NV SATA RAID
- Supports SATA RAID 0/1/0+1

NV GbE LAN
- NVIDIA Gigabit Ethernet

NV Firewall
- Native NVIDIA Firewall

Audio
- 7.1-channel Audio on Board
- Optical S/P DIF Out Only
- Supports auto jack sensing

ABIT Engineered
- ABIT CPU ThermalGuardâ„¢ Technology
- ABIT SoftMenuâ„¢ Technology

Internal I/O Connectors
- 1 x PCI Express X16, 3 x PCI Express X1, 3 x PCI slots
- Floppy Port supports up to 2.88MB
- 2 x Ultra DMA 133/100/66/33 IDE Connectors
- 4 x SATA 3G Connectors
- 3 x USB headers

Back Panel I/O
- 1 x PS/2 Keyboard, 1 x PS/2 mouse
- 1 x LPT port, 1 x COM port, S/P DIF Out
- Audio Jack (Line-in, Line-out, Mic-in)
- Audio Jack (Front, Rear, Cen/Sub)
- 4 x USB, 1 x RJ-45 LAN Connector


2. Processor: AMD Athlon 64 3500+

Product Type Processor
Processor
Type / Form Factor AMD Athlon 64 - 64-bit
Processor Qty 1
Performance Index 3500+
Clock Speed 2.2 GHz
Processor Socket Socket 939
Cache Level 1 Size 128 KB
Architecture Features HyperTransport technology, AMD64 technology, integrated memory controller, Enhanced Virus Protection
Cache Memory
Installed Size L2 cache - 512 KB
Expansion / Connectivity
Compatible Slots 1 x processor - Socket 939
Miscellaneous
Package Type OEM/tray

Since the question concerns things that only has to do with the motherboard, processor and heatsink I take it I don't need to give GPU details and the like?

Another question I have is what to do now? I have put the fan back on the CPU, with the old, used phase change. I take it that as long as I don't start my computer there is no problem with doing this?

Btw, is the CPU and heatsink surfaces sensitive to smudges from fingers and dust particles. If they have gotten such on them, how should I clean them?

Do I need to remove the CPU in order to clean it with the alcohol absolvent. What type of cloth should I use?

More questions, and as before I am very thankful for help...

 

[LukeD1]

Use a non-static surface to clean with ALWAYS!!! you don't need to remove the CPU from the mobo as long as your extremely mindful of the surroundings. The dust particlses and such can be removed with compressed air in a can. Try not to handle the CPU at all if you can help it. Don't worry about the video card for now. All you need to know is if it is compatible with your motherboard. No Problem man, I enjoy talking about computers and helping where I can.

 

[Rahiyja]

Use a non-static surface to clean with ALWAYS!!! you don't need to remove the CPU from the mobo as long as your extremely mindful of the surroundings. The dust particlses and such can be removed with compressed air in a can. Try not to handle the CPU at all if you can help it. Don't worry about the video card for now. All you need to know is if it is compatible with your motherboard. No Problem man, I enjoy talking about computers and helping where I can.

The motherboard is safely in the computer, so there is no harmful surrounding for the CPU.
Thanks for the help mate, I'll probably be back if I get more problems.