Wee bit of basic assembly advice please.

[EffBee]

The point behind these questions is not to squeeze out the last few degrees of cooling from my system, but to ensure I don't accidentally fry my processor during initial system build and first switch on.

If these forums didn't exit I would just roll up my sleeves and get on with it. Since they do exist it is nice to get a bit of confidence building feedback.

I am going to put a Tuniq Tower 120 on an E6660 in the next couple of days. Both components are new and to the best of my knowledge have never been used before. However the Tuniq website talks about units being tested before despatch so you have to wonder if the base is dirty?

1) I have a tube of AS5. The Tuniq comes with its own grease. I presume it doesn't really matter beyond a degree or two which I use. I intend to use the AS5. Please comment.

2) The Tuniq has a slightly rough bottom. (Scope for a joke here - but I'll resist). There is NO WAY I am going to get into lapping either the Tuniq or E6660. Other Tuniq owners - was yours a bit rough too? Was it OK?

3) Cleaning the E6660. A few years ago I bought some Akasa Lemony smelling stuff from OC designed to melt through and clean up thermal grease. Assuming I can find it in my garage and it hasn't all evaporated I intend to clean the top of E6660 with it using coffee filter paper (saw that recommended somewhere once). Would this stuff leave any residue I should worry about?

4) Cleaning the Tuniq. A few years ago I bought some stuff from a hardware store called "Barman's Friend" if I remember correctly. Its used in bars to clean the brasswork to make it all shiny and remove the patina that copper and brass get over time. I intend to give the baseplate of the Tuniq a good clean with the akasa stuff mentioned above then give it a good clean with with "barman's friend". Then carefully give it a good rinse with with distilled water (Don't know what "Barman's Friend" does if mixed with cleaning alcohol).
Then dry thoroughly with coffee filter paper. Does this sound dodgy in any way to anyone?

5) Priming the Tuniq: Once dry I intend to immediately put the tiniest piece of AS5 on the heatsink at the point of contact with the E6600. I will then use a coffee filter paper to rub it in and effectively wipe practically all of it off again leaving the slightest stain of AS5 on the heatsink. I'm sure this was once advice from the AS5 website though it doesn't seem to be there anymore.

6) Applying AS5: As per current AS5 website instructions I will put a thin line of AS5 on the core heat spreader after aligning the core correctly to ensure the line of AS5 goes over the chip under the heat spreader. I will not smear it out. Looks like smearing is now bad advice. This will be hard! I am a smearer.
Has anyone had bad experiences with this way of doing it.

7) Then I apply the Tuniq as per instructions.

8) A bit later after building the basic system turn it on and, go into BIOS and watch the heat settings for half an hour or more. Hope it doesn't sizzle.

9) One thing I do wonder about though...
A processor powered up with no cooling dies after 5-15 seconds. A processor with a cooler and insufficient grease probably doesn't burn up but runs hot all its life. Does a processor with a cooler and NO grease get any benefit from the cooler. That is to say would an E6600 and a Tuniq with no grease allow the E6600 to run and not burn up catastrophically for a while? I assume there is mechanical contact of the processor heat spreader and the heatsink. Or does the thermal grease actually MAKE the thermal connection.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Nomisf]

Im not sure about the other points , but they seem ok. What i do know is you shouldnt be able to totally burn out the intel CPU as they have thermal control and should just throttle back when they overheat. That model included.

 

[w3bbo]

1. AS5 proven time and again to be the best thermal compound available.

2. Aslong as there are no deep grooves then it will be fine. The whole point of AS5 is to fill in these 'rough spots' not to provide a layer between the HS and the cpu.

3. Akasa TIM is ok but I am wary of anything that is 'perfumed' as perfume is generally an oil which could harm temps. Best to use 99% Isopropyl Alcohol - available from local specialist electronics stores or a chemist. Coffee filter papers are fine as is anything that is 'lint-free'. Tissue paper/kitchen towel can leave behind fine threads which again, could harm temps.

4. Don't use that m8. What that will do will fill in the microscopic crevices in your tuniq base plate and prevent the thermally conductive AS5 from filling them. This will hinder the heat transfer. It will make you base shiny but will affect temps. If you really need it cleaning then get a metal polisher and after cleaning it give it a good clean with Isopropyl Alcohol to remove any residue. Imo its best to not use any polishing/cleaning compound in the first place. Remember - shiny dosn't mean better.

5. Leave the tuning alone, you will probably do more harm than good (air pockets) by rubbing it in. Just make sure its clean and lint/fingerprint free before attaching to the C2D.

6. The line method is much better as smearing can cause air pockets. Also with the C2D IHS being concave more often than not it ensures that as much of the base is touching the core - with smearing there have been reports that only the edges have been touching resulting in poor contact and poor heat transfer.

...

9. The thermal compound acts as a filler for all the crevices in the cpu and HS ensuring as much of the 2 are thermally connected as possible to produce an efficient heat transfer. Too much = bad as this will insulate. None at all is worse as there will be air pockets galore - as we all know air is not a good conductor of heat.

Hope that helped.

 

[EffBee]

Thanks for that Nomisf.

w3bbo - I'll take your advice on leaving the Tuniq alone. I guess lots of people just slap on a bit of AS5 or whatever and whack on the cooler with no really serious bad results so perhaps I was trying to be overcautious.