Michael Hennebry wrote:
On Wed, 27 Nov 2013, m.roth@5-cent.us wrote:
Michael Hennebry wrote:
On Wed, 27 Nov 2013, m.roth@5-cent.us wrote:
One thing I've never done, or thought of until now, was whether the thermal grease between the CPU and the heat sink had dried out. If it's running hot, that's a possibility, so you might clean that off
and put
on some new (a buck or so at any computer parts store). Doesn't need
much - the force of tightening the heat sink will spread it much
farther than
you expect it to, and you don't want it coming out the sides.
"the force of tightening the heat sink" frightens me silly, but I suppose that would be better than a dead CPU fan. My recollection is that that does not come off.
Not to worry. It will probably be a lever that you push down and it catches. I doubt it's like in some servers, where you screw it on... and even in that case, you screw it till you feel it stop turning.
I found my fans and am about to get some thermal grease and a megohm resistor for static discharge. Sometime today or tomorrow I will likely open the case with fear and trepidation. The sides and top of the case are metal, but painted with an insulator. The front is plastic. The back is metal. I expect I should touch that before opening the case. What about after? Is there something else I should touch before trying to edit its guts?
Don't worry. Things are a *lot* less static-sensitive. If you really need grounding, touch a water or gas pipe.
If thermal grease is the problem, how do I find out and how do I clean off the old stuff?
You can start with a paper towel. The FE who was in a month or so ago used an alcohol prep pad.
I've read that just adding more is not a good idea. If I add to much thermal paste, what do I do about it?
I'm still working on "how much". I'd say put a squirt in the middle. Make an
CPU ______ | | | OO | |_____|
Maybe a little more. Don't make a deep puddle - you're just smearing some on. Ever put anti-seize on your spark plugs? <snip> mark