Brian Beesley wrote:
> The fact that your heatsink feels cool(ish) suggests to me that the
> thermal bond between the processor and the heat sink has failed.
> (If the fan had failed, you'd toast your fingers making this test!)
> Actually I'm not overwhelmingly surprised. When I installed my Athlon
> 650 (slot A variety) I noticed that the heatsink was supplied with a
> nasty piece of thermal tape which you were supposed to stick the
> heatsink to the CPU cartridge with. (Note, all Athlon processors are
> supplied as OEM packages, you have to supply your own heatsink if
> you're a system builder). I replaced this with a dab of thermal
> grease & haven't had any obvious overheating problems in the approx.
> 11 months the system has been operating. But I rather suspect that
> anyone using the thermal tape will be getting somewhat inferior
> cooling, which might fail more or less completely when the tape
> cracks - a known age-related problem.
>
Low quality thermal grease might dry up and crack also.
Tip of the day to Steinar is to remove the heatsink and have a look at the
grease/tape.
Excessive use of grease will also impede thermal transfer. Always use a
_really_ thin layer of grease.
Grease is always preferrable over thermal tape. (If you don't need the
adhesive qualities of the tape of course... :)
/Lars
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