Thermal Paste Even Coverage

[blasterfreak88]

When I bought this CPU the guy gave me two coolers one is Rocketfish™ - Universal CPU Cooler - RF-UPCUWR* and I have the stock cooler that comes with the Phenom CPU. Which of there two would be better to use.

[Hefemeister]

Never heard of that cooler but it looks ok and anything is better than a stock hsf.

[blasterfreak88]

I just got home and took the cpu cooler off and cleaned everything with some alcohol and then used a small amount of the paste and put it back together with the stock cooler. It now idles at 30C but i went to run the CPU test for the windows 7 assesment and the temp went up to 75C and the computer is shut off. I bought this CPU used is there a possibility that there is something wrong with the CPU. I need some help quickly because I could send this CPU back if this is the case. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

[Hefemeister]

That is a huge an unexpected delta from idle to load.

Are you sure the hsf is mounted correctly?

Try the stock fan to see if you get the same results.

[Antec-User]

Originally Posted by Hefemeister

Never heard of that cooler but it looks ok and anything is better than a stock hsf.

The newer Phenom heatsinks are pretty beefy. I ran mine to 3.6g with no real problems. Had similar temps to the OP, but yeah, an aftermarket cooler would be better.

Is AMD Cool & Quiet enabled in your BIOS? If you're not much into OCing, there's nothing wrong with having it on. Also, be sure the CPU fan is plugged into the appropriate socket on the board.

As far as the paste, I just use my finger and put just enough on to color the top of the CPU, but I rub it in really good and leave a VERY thin film. -If it oozes out of the side of the heatsink, it's too much.

Make sure the heat pipes on the heatsink aren't touching each other as they leave the CPU contact area.

What case are you using?


Unless the heatsink contact area is seriously warped, you may benefit from a newer unit.

[Antec-User]

Ahhhheeem... *grumble*..... Stock AMD Heatsink used in 4g runs.. (Other than DICE.. P2)
Asus M4a79 deluxe up close and personal - XtremeSystems Forums

[blasterfreak88]

After returning the processor that seemed to be defective I purchased a Phenom II X3 720 BE. I installed this with the same heat sink and fan. This CPU runs at about 25C idle when I overclock it from 2.8GHz to 3.2GHz with no voltage change and under load it maxes out at 45C. These temps seem much better. What should the voltage be for this CPU at the current speed. How well do the Coolermaster Aguagate Mini liquid cooling units work for just the CPU of a computer. Would I benefit from this unit because I found a friend who offered me one of these for 25$ ready to install.