| thanks guys, already had read my manuals, hehe. those guides are great have answered a few of my little stupid question that tend to get over looked, for example, i was worried about what side of the mobo i would need to attach the little washers that came with the stud and screw pack in my case so i wouldn't short it out, and then i came across this "Some motherboards have metal plates around the holes to keep the screws from shorting the circuitry, and in this case, washers are not necessary" which is as my abit IC7 is so i dont need the washers.
one thing i'm not certain of though is if i need to use thermal compound on my cpu and heatsink as it's a 3ghz P4 retail kit which didnt come with any, and the 2 guides state "Heat sink compound is something that many do not use anymore, myself included. But, in some older systems, it will be necessary." and the other says "Coolers for modern processors will require some form of heat transfer material on the underside. This may be in the form of a small 'pad' about 1 or 2mm thick. This will help the heat to dissipate from the CPU core to the cooler.
Be sure to check the instructions that come with your cooler, as in some cases, a thin protective film will need to be removed prior to fitting the cooler to the CPU. Failure to do so will cause the CPU to overheat very quickly and destroy itself. If this pad is not present, it may be necessary to use a thermal paste."
the intel heatsink i have does have a small pad to make contact with the cpu so i'm guessing i don't need to use compound or would i be better off buying some and using it still as that seems to be what others suggest |