Undone Clips on CPU fan,Trouble? Plz put my mind at rest!

[wannabgeek]

Hi there!

Yesterday i undone the 2 clips on my P4 cpu fan but i did not remove the fan it just moved a little bit,and now i am worried now i may of lessened the conductivity of the paste!Although the pc is running fine with no beeps or shut downs! "Your probally asking why i did this"! Well as i am going to update the fan soon i was curious to see if it came undone easily."Stupid i know"! Thanks in advance

[chriswood_7]

Possibly yes, id recommend taking it apart and giving it a clean... were u checking to see that it wasnt welded onto the HSF? LOL

Chris

[ytrebil]

Nah you'll be fine, alot of people don't even use thermal paste!!

Remember CPU's can resist a HUGE amount of heat, aslong as u have a nice fat heatsink and reasonable fan you'll be fine. Just being paranoid mate.

Your PC will restart itself before the CPU cooks itself, it's the way they're designed.

[Butcher]

I've never heard of anyone not using thermal paste sucessfully, that's asking for a burnt out chip. HSFs are specifically designed to be used with paste or a thermal pad, not bare.

CPUs cannot resist a huge amount of heat, it's VERY easy to cook one. You have 60-100W coming off a piece of silicon the size of your fingernail, it gets hot and it gets hot FAST.

PCs are not designed to reboot when overheated, they usually just crash (and sometimes burn, literally).

As it's a P4 it'll probably not be toasted as they're designed to slow down rather than overheat, you should disassemble it and clean then reapply paste though, for best performance.

[wannabgeek]

It def was'nt welded chris! lOl

Re yt; I dont think it had any paste as it moved without any resitance,very freely "if that makes sense"! Also the fan is just a stock P4 'Northwood'. "i think you call them that"! I am going to put a copper cooler/fan in there but still undecided on which to choose,"Any idea's ? The pc is not OC'ed at all,although i am getting a new 6800LE graphics card that will be OC! If that helps !

[ytrebil]

I've been using an XP 1800+ processor for 4+ years now without thermal paste. I actually forgot to put it on. My CPU temps are average, I think 2 years ago it was getting hot, CPU temps were 10 degrees higher than they should be, PC restarted itself a few times. Anyway, stuck 2 case fans in and upgraded my PSU (50w more, better brand). Never had a problem since. ATM ambient temps are below average.

Can't remember HSF brand but it was the most recommended at the time and fookin huge.

When I say can take a huge amount of heat, what I mean is alot more than what the manufacturers recommend. Remember readings tests of them a while ago.

[wannabgeek]

I've been using an XP 1800+ processor for 4+ years now without thermal paste. I actually forgot to put it on. My CPU temps are average, I think 2 years ago it was getting hot, CPU temps were 10 degrees higher than they should be, PC restarted itself a few times. Anyway, stuck 2 case fans in and upgraded my PSU (50w more, better brand). Never had a problem since. ATM ambient temps are below average.

Can't remember HSF brand but it was the most recommended at the time and fookin huge.

When I say can take a huge amount of heat, what I mean is alot more than what the manufacturers recommend. Remember readings tests of them a while ago.

Is there a program to run a to tell if it is getting too hot!

[skb3]

Personally I would clean the HSF and cpu of thermal compound then reapply a fresh amount. Remember the thermal compound is used to ensure that the 2 'flat' surfaces are conducting heat efficiently so that it can be dissipated by the heatsink and fan.

I have heard accounts where people have moved a HSF and not re-applied thermal compound and managed to burn out their CPU. They were probably oc'ing to the max anyhow.

[ytrebil]

God I've not been in the PC scene for a while, but I very much doubt that having a poor thermal compound connection will cause any major problems unless you've really f*cked it up.

I use Motherboard Monitor 5. Most probably something better now.

[wannabgeek]

What i did was undo the clips and closed them. I did not look under the cooler or even move it more than 3 cm! I am going to clean it up & reapply more paste but i want to get a good copper fan/cooler and do it then rather than do it twice. ANY IDEAS ON a fan/cooler? Its a P4 2.533ghz on a ASUS P4S8X Mobo! Cheers for all your help!

[ytrebil]

Could be well worth checking out what fans are about. A relatively inexpensive peice of hardware but can make big differences from what I gather.

I don't think you'd need to reapply mate.

Your CPU should be fine!! Check ur temps with a motherboard temp display. www.download.com

[rajagra]

Metal-to-metal contact is best. But since the surfaces aren't flat, you add paste to fill in the tiny air gaps. Paste conducts heat better than air (!) but much worse than metal. So you only add a tiny amount. Many people install without paste, but they're usually the type who "lap" the heatsink (sand it down to be real smooth & flat.) Paste probably only makes a few % difference to efficiency.
HOWEVER... some companies use thermal pads (TIMs - Thermal Interface Material.) These are easy to install, and when the CPU first gets hot, they melt, flatten & seep into the gaps. But if you later move the heatsink, you break the seal, end up with a rough surface, and get lousy contact. This won't kill a CPU, but might make it hot enough for the CPU (Intel especially) to slow itself down.
If I were you I'd check to make sure you have paste rather than a TIM. Be sure to understand the heatsink installation procedure before you do it though. If you have paste, just wipe over the surfaces with the edge of a credit card to leave a nice thin film. If it's a TIM, clean it off carefully (may need to scrape off with a fingernail or other soft tool) and use paste instead.

[wannabgeek]

50% of you say dont worry and the other 50% say do worry..well as i am obviously worrying i am going to check/change it. I may use the 'Tims' as suggested by Raj (good tips mate)...as it seems easier. And i was looking at the Vantec Aeroflow2 Premium P4 CPU Cooler (link below) as it seems a good cooler and its half price "although its not copper"! Any objectives on this?
Also i want to get a hot air 'sucker' as pc case is enclosed at the mo,dont know which though! Also the only fan on my pc is a small 'cheiftec' does that need upgrading aswell?


http://www.overclock.co.uk/customer/...roductid=17330

[Butcher]

God I've not been in the PC scene for a while, but I very much doubt that having a poor thermal compound connection will cause any major problems unless you've really f*cked it up.

I use Motherboard Monitor 5. Most probably something better now.

You can burn a cpu out pretty easily, especially an athlon without a heatspreader (tbirds and XPs). Unless your heatsink is very well lapped you're almost certain to get poor contact (and even a well lapped heatsink won't give great contact).

MBM is about as good as they come really.

I've not heard of cpus running over manufacturer specs for a long period without dying - the manuf specs them up to ~90C don't forget which is hot enough to burn you.

[rajagra]

MBM is about as good as they come really.

Yes, shame it's no longer being developed, and won't support future motherboards (sheds tear.)

[wannabgeek]

And i was looking at the Vantec Aeroflow2 Premium P4 CPU Cooler (link below) as it seems a good cooler and its half price "although its not copper"! Any objectives on this?

Any comms on the cooler guys!!