[KLUG Members] Re: Heat Sink compound

[Bryan J. Smith]

[ HARDWARE anyone??? ;-p ]

Quoting Taz <htgage3@chartermi.net>:
> Am putting a unit together and have the following question: How much
> of the heat sink compound do I use on the chip?
> I got some from rat shack, and am wondering if I should use the whole
> tube (0.23 oz.) or just half of it?

Liberally drench the chip with it.  You want 0 air between the chip and your
heatsink, so make sure the compound is consistently thick but solid (no holes)
all over the the chip.  You want it to "goop-out" from pressure when you place
the heatsink on the chip.

You also want to make the following considerations based on the CPU package:

- Older ceramic package (PPGA), as well as newer flip-chip (FC-PGA) w/"heat
spreader" atop (Socket-423/478/603 Pentium 4s and very late model Socket-370
Pentium 3s, including many Celeron/Xeon models) -- make sure you cover _any_ and
_all_ surface area that contacts between the chip and heatsink.  Right out to
the outter edges.

- Newer, "bare" flip-chip (FC-PGA) like most Socket-370 Pentium 3s as well as
all Socket-462 Athlons (Classic, Durons, MP, XP, etc... models) -- make sure you
liberally _drench_ the _sides_ of the chip, don't just put it atop.  Make it
thick and not only extended several millimeters to the side of the chip, but it
also rises to the height of the heatsink.

Also note that different compounds have different thermal conductivity.  Many
people like Artic Silver and equivalents, which are sometimes twice as good as
the Rat Shack stuff.

-- 
Bryan J. Smith, E.I. (BSECE)       Contact Info:  http://thebs.org
[ http://thebs.org/files/resume/BryanJonSmith_certifications.pdf ]
------------------------------------------------------------------
Microsoft states Linux's GPL is "viral" so I guess all the authors
in the US who require you to pay royalties to print their books
must be the digital "black plague."  Copyright is copyright and
the GPL prevents commercial use without a license from the holder.