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Is it safe to test my cpu without the heatsink attached?

gizmo1990

gizmo1990

gizmo1990

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Joined
1 Aug 2003
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833
I need to test that my new cpu and motherboard work.
The motherboard has a screw on heatsink which I'm very wary of over tightening and crushing the core with.

So, since I've got the case completely open anyway (and therefore it shouldn't get too hot) I wondered if I could just not fit the heatsink yet and turn on the pc to just see if I could get it to post? 10-30 secs max.

Anyone know if this is gonna fry (as in destroy) my cpu..?

The cpu is a Intel Core 2 Duo T5500
The board is a Jetway mini-itx
 
It should post for a few seconds before the board shuts it down.

The CPU shouldn't get damaged, but you do so at your own risk.
 
It will more than likely fry it unless the thermal throttling that intel cpu's have kicks in. More than likely the BIOS would see the high temp and shut the pc down to protect the cpu. But I would advise that you put the heat sink on, as if it works you will have to put it on anyway.
 
gizmo1990 said:
So, since I've got the case completely open anyway (and therefore it shouldn't get too hot) I wondered if I could just not fit the heatsink yet and turn on the pc to just see if I could get it to post? 10-30 secs max.
Click to expand...

the contact surface area of the CPU is so small that the case ventilation is irrelevant, the CPU will heat up to about 80 degrees in about 5 seconds after you turn the PC on if it doesn't have a heatsink.

Intel CPU's will automatically cut power entirely if the temperature exceeds a certain threshold, so if won't get damaged, but you won't be able to test it either.

you could put the case on its side and just hold the heatsink on by hand, which ought to give you enough time to see if it posts, but i strongly reccommend that you attach the heatsink properly first time.
 
Thanks for the replies guys.

It's really annoying as I cant find any useful instructions for how to know how tight the heatsink is screwed down!? :confused:

How the heck are you supposed to know? I don't want to end up crushing the cpu core!

Anyone any advice or know of any tutorials out there? :(
 
It is quite a common shortcut in pc repair lines to just hold the h/s on the processor for a quick test to establish if its doa or ok
 
i agree dont take the chance secure the heatsink on the cpu
as far as how tight it should be as mention previously srew it down to hand tight
which should leave a little movement that should be tight enough to test
if everything ok then tighten each screw in diagonals 1 turn each until there is virtualy no movment in the heat sink this should secure enough to run the system without crushing the cpu core.
 
Have a look at this video.

All modern CPUs should react like the Pentiums in the video and just throttle or shut down, because they have the capability to send an emergency shutdown signal to the mobo. All the same, I probably wouldn't try it in case your chip ends up like that AMD!
 
"How tight" is a common question, It might help You to consider it from the other way around...what's the minimum force needed to stop this thing falling off or loosing contact when it stands on it's side, Yet allow the 2 surfaces to move very slightly through their heat cycles.
 
Cob said:
It should post for a few seconds before the board shuts it down.

The CPU shouldn't get damaged, but you do so at your own risk.
Click to expand...


poor first reply mate..


if this was in 10th, fair enough


if the cpu throttling kicks in it'll be fine, i'd never risk it though
 
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