New system thermal protection

[Tifosi]

Just ordered a new system. My first time installing an intel.

P4 800FSB 512kb Northwood OEM
Asus Pundit -R

Will the cpu come with a thermal pad or paste? I assume not being OEM
Does intel supply thermal pads or paste with retail cpu's?
Does intel favour pads or paste?

Will the pad be more likely to be on the heatsink which comes with the Asus Pundi?

If i do apply thermal paste is it the same as if I was doing an AMD?

tia

[SilentDeath]

To apply paste on chips with heatspreaders, you should put a small blob in the center, and spread it a tiny bit over where the chip is (its about 10mm square in hte center of the heatspreader).

When you apply the heatsink it will squash it out nicely.

CPU heatsinks usually do not come with the mobo..?
If youve ordered a OEM cpu then you will probably need to by a seperate heatsink. OEM is usually intended for system builders.
Retail cpus come with heatsinks becuase they are intended for end users to install.

[Scarlet Infidel]

Yes, if its OEM there wont be a heatsink or any thermal compound.

If it is not OEM (ie its retail) then it will have a thermal pad on the heatsink itself already. If this is the case, id suggest you remove the pad if you have the equipment and apply some AS5 or similar thermal paste, it dropped my temps by 9 degrees centigrade with the stock fan! All for a few pounds.

[Tifosi]

Cool i've done AMD's before with thermal paste. The mobo is part of a barebones unit with HS+fan