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9419
September 25th, 2015 08:00
Should I Apply More Thermal Paste?
I received a new heat sink from Dell for my Studio XPS 9100 desktop (Intel i7 960 processor). The new heat sink came with a thin layer of fresh thermal paste completely covering the circular contact area. The new thermal paste was protected by a green plastic cap over the contact area. I had already purchased a tube of Arctic Silver 5. Should I:
1. Install the new heat sink without adding any Arctic Silver to the CPU since the contact area on the heat sink is covered? or,
2. Add a vertical line of Arctic Silver 5 to the CPU and then install? or,
3. Remove the factory thermal paste and apply Arctic Silver 5 to the heat sink and the CPU to avoid mixing two different kinds of paste?
I am leaning toward alternative #1 since I assume Dell would know best what paste to apply and how to apply it. Any ideas?
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RoHe
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September 25th, 2015 12:00
I'd go with #1 too.
You probably want to clean old thermal paste off top of the CPU before installing the new heat sink, but don't remove CPU from its socket.
You can google for various methods to remove old thermal paste. If you use a solvent (eg, isopropyl alcohol), do it carefully so it doesn't drip on the motherboard or into other components.
And be careful not to touch the surface of the heat sink after you remove that green cap.
Ronzero
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September 25th, 2015 15:00
Thanks Rohe,
I used #1 and installed the heat sink after cleaning the processor with 99% isopropyl alcohol. My computer has been running happily for several hours. I will get a program to monitor the temperature and watch everything for the next few weeks.
RoHe
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September 25th, 2015 17:00
Note: Not all (or many) Dell PC models enable the CPU thermal sensor, so you may not be able to read CPU temps. And even if it has the CPU sensor, some apps may not see it, so if one doesn't work, try another. Some apps will read hard drive, GPU and ambient air temps even if they can't read the CPU temp.
There are a bunch of free temp apps but be careful where you download them, and watch out for attempts to install junkware and/or malware along with the temp app. :emotion-5: