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[THUGSROOK]

 

[Mikki]

I'm so glad I decided to go with AS3 on my retail hsf. If my new cpu is a better overclocker (that is, if it ever get's here...), I'm gonna upgrade the hsf.
Great info, thanks Thugsrook!

 

[Banditbanger]

Good one, THUGS. Maybe one thing missing though: since many users don't put the retail HSF on by themselves and only later decide to switch, is there any advice you can give on removing the HSF and not destroying the precious CPU? I think this could help a lot of people.

 

[THUGSROOK]

great idea Banditbanger!

anyone out there had any 1st hand experiences cleaning up a very used and stubborn retail P4 HSF?

...or if you wanna write some tips on how to remove the thermal pad from a new P4 HSF, we could use that info too.

 

[SupermanCK]

what i did was to use a razor blade or something thin to scrap off that FREAKING STICKY thermal pad off the HSF...try not to made too many deep scratches on the HSF if possible...then rub it with rubbing alcohol or nail polish remover...then use some sand paper to smoothen the surface of HSF...then clean it off with the alcohol again...and apply some AC2/3...very thin layer...that's all you need...applying too much will only hinder cooling effectiveness...

 

[Skawttey]

Im not using the retail heatsink, but i did take the pad off so it would not get on anything when it is just being stored as a backup. Mine just came right off, i did not have to scrape or anything. On a friend's athlon retail heatsink, however, the thermal pad was extremely stubborn. We eventually just used paint thinner and it came right off

 

[Su1c1da1]

hmmmm am I doing something wrong? are you suppose to apply AS to both the Die and the HeatSink? I only did it on the Die...

 

[Mikki]

The instructions on the Artic Silver site tell you to 'tin' the heat sink (rub the compound into the hs, then wipe it off with a dry cloth to fill the crevaces in the hs), and apply the thin coat to the cpu itself. I don't know if that is how the pros do it, I did mine that way and my temps are good. HTH

 

[Acanthus]

wonder if changing from the stock HSF to an all copper solution would let me get 2700@1.7v, right now im running 2600, and i can post at 2700 but it wont load win2kpro

 

[AkumaX]

remember that there's 2 parts to the retail hsf; the hsf and the aluminum foil where the thermal pad is too. there's also another thermal pad under the aluminum foil, so that's a lot of cleaning!! i use goo gone/ goof off/ oven degreaser to wipe off the thermal crap, then 70% isopropyl to clean it off. works wonders

 

[THUGSROOK]

good point!

that aluminium foil thing should also be removed.

 

[Duvie]

acanthus....

Yes a copper core hsf should do a better job of transferring the heat to the hsf for removal by the fan....

 

[RalfHutter]

I've taken off about 3 or 4 retail Intel HSFs and I haven't had any trouble. What I have always done is to only take it off if it has been running for a while, i.e. it's "hot" or "warm". I figure the thermal pad would be less likely to stick to the heat spreader if it's all warm. So far, so good.

 

[John]

Originally posted by: THUGSROOK
great idea Banditbanger!

anyone out there had any 1st hand experiences cleaning up a very used and stubborn retail P4 HSF?

...or if you wanna write some tips on how to remove the thermal pad from a new P4 HSF, we could use that info too.

I use my fingernail to pull off one edge of the aluminum thermal pad, and then rip it off. It leaves a sticky "adhesive" residue on the heatsink, so I clean it up with Goof Off. I then give a final wipe of Isopropyl Rubbing Alcohol.

Apply the same cleaning method to the cpu core.

 

[prontospyder]

<<reason c) it can destroy your HSF and / or CPU during removal! (yes it can!)>>

You are absolutely right. I tried removing the heatsink attached to my P4 and it ripped the CPU out from the socket while the cpu was still locked in. It bent a few pins but luckily, it still works.

 

[DAPUNISHER]

Originally posted by: prontospyder
<<reason c) it can destroy your HSF and / or CPU during removal! (yes it can!)>>

You are absolutely right. I tried removing the heatsink attached to my P4 and it ripped the CPU out from the socket while the cpu was still locked in. It bent a few pins but luckily, it still works.

:Q That would not be a fun time!

 

[DAPUNISHER]

1) do not have case fans blowing on your retail HSF!
reason a) they are temp sensative and need to be hot.

Could you elaborate on this point? or perhaps point me to a good source to read up on it?

 

[THUGSROOK]

DAPUNISHER ~ np, its very simple....

the P4 retail fans are temperature controled - like a smart fan.
now if you have outside cold air blowing on it - itll think its not hot and not spin up. sometimes even wind down to as low as 1800rpm!

(when hot the p4 fan can spin upto 3000-4500rpm)

if you have a case fan blowing on your retail P4 hsf, from say a side panel - just remove the fan but leave the grille there so the cpu will still get some fresh air from the outside.

i suppose this could be true for ALL smart fans.

HTH


prontospyder ~ i bet that was scary wasnt it? :Q

 

[DAPUNISHER]

Thanx for the info THUGSROOK I use the stock cooler with a side case fan blowing on it and the fan RPMs stay around 2800-3000 with a SETI load temp of 41c using 1.6A@2.371ghz, 1.6v so I'll try it without the case fan running and see if the temps and RPMs improve and post back later with results.

 

[R08]

Naive question:
Would switching the side fan to exhaust fix the problem? I've got an Antec Performance Plus case and kinda wanna take advantage of that sweet-looking side exhaust But my P4 just came today (5/20/02 pack date, same as THUGSROOK's guess I have big hopes for it)

 

[jhites]

Originally posted by: John

Originally posted by: THUGSROOK
great idea Banditbanger!

anyone out there had any 1st hand experiences cleaning up a very used and stubborn retail P4 HSF?

...or if you wanna write some tips on how to remove the thermal pad from a new P4 HSF, we could use that info too.

I use my fingernail to pull off one edge of the aluminum thermal pad, and then rip it off. It leaves a sticky "adhesive" residue on the heatsink, so I clean it up with Goof Off. I then give a final wipe of Isopropyl Rubbing Alcohol.

Apply the same cleaning method to the cpu core.

Same method as John but I spray a little WD40 on the remaining adhesive, let it sit for a few minutes and wipe it with a dry cloth. I then clean the area with 90% Isopropyl Alcohol. Works great.

 

[First]

I'm not sure how accurate some of this info is.

I've reinstalled the same retail P4 HSF at least 10 times with the thermal pad. Nothing was damaged, and CPU temps on the 2.4A P4 I was using never got higher than 45C, and usually were around 39-40C.

You probably don't want to overclock with the thermal pad, but regular operation (web, games, etc.) should do just fine (even after the HSF has been used multiple times).

 

[AkumaX]

Originally posted by: Evan Lieb
I'm not sure how accurate some of this info is.

I've reinstalled the same retail P4 HSF at least 10 times with the thermal pad. Nothing was damaged, and CPU temps on the 2.4A P4 I was using never got higher than 45C, and usually were around 39-40C.

You probably don't want to overclock with the thermal pad, but regular operation (web, games, etc.) should do just fine (even after the HSF has been used multiple times).

c'mon.. how could you not overclock

 

[Budman]

Originally posted by: jhites

Same method as John but I spray a little WD40 on the remaining adhesive, let it sit for a few minutes and wipe it with a dry cloth. I then clean the area with 90% Isopropyl Alcohol. Works great.

That's a very bad ideal to use wd40 (penatrating oil) on a heatsink,the oil will penetrate the heatsink and make it less efficient & you'll have to lap it to fix that.

 

[terminalmind]

Thanks for the warning. I am currently using the stock HSF on my 1.6A
but I am planning on replacing it tomorrow with a Thermalright AX-478
and some Arctic Silver 3. Now you have me terrified at the prospect of
removing it. I'll definitely run Prime 95 and get it heated up a bit before
trying to take it off. I would die if I screwed up my CPU. I am currently
running it at 157 FSB 2.51 Ghz using the default Vcore of 1.50V. Sweet.