Ceramic on a P4 ?

[2800CC]

Hi all,

Hope your reading the board today as I need an answer today as I'm installing my first CPU tomorrow.

I have a P4 and want to use something else rather than the standard gray pad on the bottom of the intel retail hinksink.

I went out yesterday and all I could get my hands on was some coolmaster ceramic paste.

Does anyone think this will be okay or is it so poop I should keep the standard intel gray pad ?

I've tried a "test smear" of ceramic on a peice of flat metal and it was damm near impossible to get a nice even thin layer, I don't wanna be messing the CPU up, getting gunk everywhere.

1.) Use the intel pad.
2.) Use the ceramic and just get on with it
3.) Wait and get some artic silver ?

HELP, HELP, HELP !!! lol

[blockers]

I dont think that you actually need any thermal paste on P4's as they have a heatsink type thing already attached. It may lower your temperatures a little bit, but probably wait for some artic silver as the intel pad is pretty poor, dont know how good the coolmaster stuff is. But artic silver is definatly the pick of the bunch.

Will

[Flash]

Some Artic Silver ceramic would be the one to go for

if not some AS5 or 3

[2800CC]

Place a blob and spread it

Or

Place a blob and sit the heat sink on top and let the weight take the strain ?

I'm sure I'm being FAR FAR to paranoid about this, it's the one thing that gives me the heebie jeebies when thinking about building a new PC

[Flash]

OK place a tiny blob in the centre of the CPU, use a old credit card or razor blade to spread it evenly

the flatter the better, not too thick though you need to spread the layer so thin that you can nearly see through it and some of the writing on the cpu


good luck

[2800CC]

Cheers flash, nice one !