Swapping motherboard/cpu

[mrbanana]

Hi,

I am about to put my x2 4400 on another motherboard.
It's using a stock amd cooler.
When I take the cpu off the old board and putting it on the new board, will I be able to lift the cpu and cooler as one unit, or will I have to seperate them?

If I seperate them will I have to scrape the thermal pad residue off the cpu and cooler and use arctic silver instead, or I can I reseat them as is?

[NightshadowUK]

You'll have to take both off separately, as the CPU is removed by lifting a handle thingy which can only be gotten to after the HSF is out of the way.

With regards to the thermal paste, I believe the AMD stock HSF to use a thermal pad... in which case you MAY be lucky in that all of the thermal resindue remains on the pad attached to the HSF. However, if I were you, I just wouldn't risk it. Apply some more paste (arctic silver or otherwise) just to be on the safe side.

[mrbanana]

Sorry, just to clarify, clean the cpu if there's residue, use thermal paste, AND remove the thermal pad from the stock cooler.

[NightshadowUK]

Well yeah, I just assumed you weren't gonna mix them to make some thermal hybrid gunk on a pad... but I'm sorry for not making it clearer.

[mrbanana]

I knew what you meant. I was just double checking. Thanks.

[BUFF]

The stock AMD hsf uses Shinetsu paste not a pad.

When you are removing the hsf twist it slightly side to side to break the grip before lifting otherwise you may pull the CPU from the socket.

[obvious]

Be careful when removing the cpu from the cooler. Sometimes especially if it's got a really smal amount of dried up AS5 holding them together it can be a real pain prising them apart. I accidentally ripped a processor out of it's socket when removing a heatsink once. :O

[mrbanana]

The stock AMD hsf uses Shinetsu paste not a pad.

When you are removing the hsf twist it slightly side to side to break the grip before lifting otherwise you may pull the CPU from the socket.

The gunk on the bottom of the hsf was fairly thick and grey with like a slight square pattern on it, if I remember right. I just assumed that was a pad.

I guess I 'carefully' scrape off any residue with the edge of a credit card, right?

Thanks guys.

[NightshadowUK]

The gunk on the bottom of the hsf was fairly thick and grey with like a slight square pattern on it, if I remember right. I just assumed that was a pad.

As did I... well you learn something new every day!

[kalniel]

Well, there's little practical difference between a solid square of paste preapplied to the heatsink and a solid square pad preapplied to the heatsink (and yes, I thought mine was a pad as well )

Scraping the heatsink with a card is fine, but I used a solvent to get rid of the last traces, and the gunk on the CPU as well (my dell pentium 3 *did* use a pad and it was messy).