First build questions

brookes18

brookes18

brookes18

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20 Jul 2010
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63
Location
Sheffield
Hi all,
I'm after some advice as I'm about to build my first rig instead of going to PC World:rolleyes:
And as it being my 19th on the 8th Aug i thought now would be the best to start so I can get all the parts I need in one go. Anyways after a long time looking at motherboards and speaking to overclockers I decided to go for the Krypton Extreme Intel Core i7 930 2.80GHz @ 4.20GHz Overclocked Bundle with the Asus Rampage Extreme III.

The question I have is about thermal paste, from what I think is that thermal paste is used to disperse heat and should be applied on top of the processor to fill any surface impurities ready for the CPU cooler.

Now 2 friends say that the thermal paste should be put on the processor and NOT spread:confused:

Which is the right way? (if any)

I'll be posting a progress thread fairly soon about my build, so keep your eyes peeled:cool:

Thanks in advance
Tom
 
Youtube is your friend, search applying thermal paste. I've posted this not to long ago on a similar thread, i'll repeat for your benefit.

There is basically two schools of thought. You either apply a rice sized blob in the centre of the CPU and the pressure of the heatsink spreads it over the chip. Or you apply a thin line and use a bank card (or spreader if supplied with the paste) to smear a thin layer over the cpu then mount the heatsink.

Hope this helps
 
i always use the spread method myself but have tried the blob in the middle also and both work equally well in my eyes as long as you don't apply to much or to little paste.
 
In my opinion, just apply a "smarties" for lack of a better word, sized thermal paste onto the CPU.

Too much thermal paste will not dissipate heat effectively instead it will be counter productive and also when it comes to clamping on the CPU, excess thermal paste will spread around the outside and onto the components.

Hope that helps.
 
If you are using the stock heatsink supplied with the CPU there is a good chance the TIM is already applied to it.

The "rice grain" method is popular as it reduces the chance of the TIM finding it's way onto the mobo. If this happens you must clean it off! (TIM clean or isopropyl alcohol before you ask ;p)

Good luck with your build
 
Thats the package I'm seriously thinking about getting and would instead replace the CPU cooler with the Corsair H50-1 watercooler. Other than that, its a great bit of kit you'll have!
 
Cheers for all of the replys guys.

FMTopfan said:
Thats the package I'm seriously thinking about getting and would instead replace the CPU cooler with the Corsair H50-1 watercooler. Other than that, its a great bit of kit you'll have!
Click to expand...

That was one change I was thinking about because I heard the one supplied takes up ram space
 
Whats better Corsair H50-1 watercooler or Noctua NH-D14?

and I am not familiar with water cooling cpu fans are they hard to install?
 
nlr said:
Whats better Corsair H50-1 watercooler or Noctua NH-D14?

and I am not familiar with water cooling cpu fans are they hard to install?
Click to expand...

The Corsair H50-1 would be the best option and easiest to install.

Its a self-contained watercooled unit which requires no maintenance, and small enough where it won't be an issue with your RAM. Because its Corsair, you know you can trust them and I've never seen a bad review for the Corsair H50-1.
 
The way i see it is you want as much surface area of the CPU in contact with the heatsink base. When you squash a pea size round blob against 2 flat surfaces it didnt make anything like a square shape, therefore i use spread method. My temps appear to confirm this as ive tried both methods but the difference was only a couple of C.
 
If you go on youtube and search for the h-50 it will show you how to fit it (corsair has it's own video on there)

The water pump that fits over the cpu isn't large at all and won't hamper your first RAM slot. The cooling is done by a radiator, most users sandwich it between the exhaust (120mm) case fan and the 120mm fan supplied with it for a push/pull config.

Hope this helps.....good luck with the rig
 
coldfused said:
In my opinion, just apply a "smarties" for lack of a better word, sized thermal paste onto the CPU.

Too much thermal paste will not dissipate heat effectively instead it will be counter productive and also when it comes to clamping on the CPU, excess thermal paste will spread around the outside and onto the components.

Hope that helps.
Click to expand...

Smarties sized :eek:

Grain of rice sized. Smarties are massive in comparison, and would certinly be way too much!

The pressure applied to the CPU pushes excess paste outwards. If there is too little, it will not spread enough, too much and it will make a nasty mess!
 
Just looking at PSU's and have decided on a Corsair HX 750W. Would people advise against this? Just ordered the Coolermaster HAF X so my build should start soon :)
 
Well after deciding to go for the H50 to cool my CPU, I've now seen the thread on the H70 and am now drawn to that but with the price tag being abit steep I'm not entirely convinced. Has anyone bought one that could give me their opinion?
 
brookes18 said:
Well after deciding to go for the H50 to cool my CPU, I've now seen the thread on the H70 and am now drawn to that but with the price tag being abit steep I'm not entirely convinced. Has anyone bought one that could give me their opinion?
Click to expand...

I only heard about the new £85 Corsair H70 yesterday (Corsair's test temps are 13°C lower with a i7 920 @3.8GHz at 1.34V than the H50). A very nice upgrade that leaves me in limbo about getting this over a H50.

The H50 has a single 25mm x 120mm radiator, whereas the H70's radiator is double the thickness at 50mm x 120mm. Using push-pull config is ideal for optimal cooling to get your monies worth. The choice of case is important since the radiator and fan is going to be 75mm combined.
 
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