Heatsink issues

Mr_Pathetic · #1 10-19-2007, 10:11 PM

I have a P4 3.0ghz with stock heatsink and earlier this week I was blowing out some dust and must have tried to remove the heatsink and did not snap it back down tight. Fast Forward to this evening and my PC decides to up and shut off. So I open case and notice the heatsink is loose and I snap it down. However when turning on PC it starts to slowly heat back up. When I remove heatsink what is left of the thermal compound (I never added any, stock pad/compound) it is completely dry and no longer tacky like it once was. So is it safe to say that I need to go grab some Arctic silver 5 compound and clean it off and apply the Arctic compound to stop this or have I done some damage?

Beavis68 · #2 10-19-2007, 10:39 PM

you dont really need arctic silver but you need some thermal grease

Freakin · #3 10-19-2007, 10:41 PM

the older pentiums didn't really generate enough heat to kill themselves before they shut off. you probably haven't caused permanent damage.

make sure you fully clean both surfaces with rubbing alcohol before you put it back on. use a small amount (½ grain of rice) of thermal compound in the middle of the plate on teh processor

Mr_Pathetic · #4 10-19-2007, 10:42 PM

OK. How should I go about cleaning whats left of the old dried up stuff from heatsink and processor? Do I need to get some kind of cleaner? I am kind of shocked this hasn't happened before. Always has run a little on the toasty side (55C-65C) when under a decent load.

Beavis68 · #5 10-19-2007, 10:45 PM

he said use alcohol, however, I would use a much more grease than a 1/4 grain of rice, probably 2-4 grains. You want a solid but thin coating on the bottom sufrace of the fan unit where it mates to the processor.

Mr_Pathetic · #6 10-19-2007, 10:49 PM

Thanks for the replies. I just wondered bout damage since when I booted it earlier it was at 55C by time I got to bios. I should have got something on it when I built the machine but I though the stuff on it was good enough and I guess was till now.

LeapFrog · #7 10-20-2007, 12:35 AM

[ QUOTE ]
he said use alcohol, however, I would use a much more grease than a 1/4 grain of rice, probably 2-4 grains. You want a solid but thin coating on the bottom sufrace of the fan unit where it mates to the processor.

[/ QUOTE ]

I have found that using a credit card to spread the thermal compound works well.

Mr_Pathetic · #8 10-20-2007, 12:27 PM

Well I got some of the Arctic Silver 5 from radio shack and applied it and started up PC and temp quickly went from 42C to 55C and started steadily trying to go higher. Normal is around 45C at idle for me. Is there anything else I should try? I used the two grain of rice and twisted the heatsink like they specified.

Edit: Fan speed is normal on processor, chassis, and power supply in BIOS.

Chrisman886 · #9 10-20-2007, 12:43 PM

[ QUOTE ]
OK. How should I go about cleaning whats left of the old dried up stuff from heatsink and processor?

[/ QUOTE ]

Rubbing alcohol + q-tip. You will be amazed.

Mr_Pathetic · #10 10-20-2007, 01:59 PM

Well after several boot and cools it is still building up heat. Everything looks good in hw monitor in bios. Power levels are fine, fan speeds are fine, but it is slowly heating up and never seems to level off at any point. I removed the heatsink to make sure I got good coverage of the thermal stuff and it is fine. Anyone got any suggestions?

If it is any clue when I reinstalled windows last time I got errors and had to burn the I386 Folder to another disc to get it to install and when I shut down windows it tells me my A drive isn't connected correctly when it is. However everything I search online seems to suggest PSU or thermal compound or fans are the cause of this yet they all give normal readings.