TBird850 and Alpha6035, remove pads from CPU?

[donross]

Sorry about the basic question, but just got my cpu and I was not sure if the four round pads that came on it should stay in place. I have never seen this with my other cpu's. Usually just add thermal grease and then HSF. It seems to me that the pads would keep the heat sink from making good contact and lower the the heat transfer. Thanks in advance.

------------------
Building Abit KT7A
TBird 850
Alpha6035 + delta fan
128 Meg PC133
Viper V550 (for now)
Aureal Vortex2
WD 7200 rpm 20gig

[AMDnut]

Do not remove the pads from your CPU.

Seriously, they will "squish" down to allow the heatsink to make good contact. Always check the contact though. If your ALPHA is new, it will come with stick on "feet" that should NOT be put on the ALPHA. If your ALPHA is older, make sure your clip is not weak. Mine had to be replaced before it would apply sufficient force to make good contact. My ALPHA had been used with peltiers in the past on K6/x series. This weakened the clip enough that it didn't make good contact. I ordered a new one from www.millisec.com which fixed my problem. Now, my ALPHA/Duron combo is humming along just fine!

You will like your ALPHA, they work well for Socket "A" CPU's!

------------------
Duron 700@920 (115FSB*8x)
Abit KT7 RAID
256mb Crucial @ CAS2
Asus v7100 GeForce2 MX 200/200

http://members.tripod.com/athlon100/index.htm]AMDnut's Tech Page

[donross]

Thanks AMDnut,
Second question. Since the surface of the Tbird is not uniform, it appears that the only place that thermal grease is needed is in the center raised square of the chip. Or should I apply grease to the entire surface.

------------------
Building Abit KT7A
TBird 850
Alpha6035 + delta fan
128 Meg PC133
Viper V550 (for now)
Aureal Vortex2
WD 7200 rpm 20gig

[AMDnut]

You are correct, the thermal grease is only needed in the center (the "core") part of the chip.
Remeber, the socket "A" processors like very thin layers of grease. The heat transfer will be better if you use a very thin layer, a lot of people use a razor blade to drag across the top of the core to "thin out" the grease. I use a credit card edge to accomplish the same thing.

Good luck!

------------------
Duron 700@920 (115FSB*8x)
Abit KT7 RAID
256mb Crucial @ CAS2
Asus v7100 GeForce2 MX 200/200

http://members.tripod.com/athlon100/index.htm]AMDnut's Tech Page

[bpratt]

Only on the center square and VERY THIN. Spread it thin with the edge of a credit card or even a razor blade. Do not put your fingers in it if it is Artic Silver (you will contaminate it).

Good luck, Bill

------------------
Duron 700@917 & PAL6035
MSI K7T Pro2a, 256MB Kingmax PC150
IBM 75GXP, 7,200 RPM, 20Gig HD
Fong-Kai FK603 case & 275W PC Cooling PS
Matrox G-450 & Iiyama Pro 17
Mitsumi 48X CD & 250 internal Zip
Linksys 10/100 Ethernet
Win 98 SE