northbridge cooling

I just took off the passive cooler on my Asus P4T533-C (i850e i believe...?) and there was a big square spot where the thermal pad is, and it is all melted on there.

Should i try to scrape it off and put Arctic silver on there? If i put it back on the way it is will it be hotter since the thermal pad lost contact the once time i took it off? thx for any help

It's a good idea to replace the pad with some quality paste. In general, re-using thermal pads is not advisable.
Just make sure you remove the pad remnants properly- remains of the old pad may impair the heat transfer.

Clean the heatsink with 99% ISopropyl alcohol. Use white coffee filters. DO NOT use anything with lint like cotton swabs or q-tips.
If you have to scrape the pad off, use a very SOFT piece of plastic. Do not put any gashes of any kind in your heatsink.

Go get some Artic Silver Ceramique then go here http://www.arcticsilver.com/instructions.htm

I prerfer ceramic instead of the silver paste because it is nonconductive.

Forgot, you may need to use Nail Polish remover to get off any real stubborn pieces of thermal pad. Just remember to clean it off with alcohol.

Do not use nail polish remover on your CPU core. Just alcohol.

If you can't wait to get Artic Silver Ceramique , you can get regular whtie dieletric grease/thermal compound at CompUSA or Radio Shack

thx, i'll just use my ASIII, now should I put the AS on the "core" of the northbride (unlike athlon boards, this actually looks just like a cpu core, hard, metalic, and quite small) or rub it on the heatsink?

everclock said:

thx, i'll just use my ASIII, now should I put the AS on the "core" of the northbride (unlike athlon boards, this actually looks just like a cpu core, hard, metalic, and quite small) or rub it on the heatsink?

Click to expand...

The answers to many application questions can be found here:

http://www.arcticsilver.com/instructions.htm

PS Instead of a coffee pad you could also get a "lint-free cloth" at your local opticien- they sell those to clean lenses.

Arctic Silver 5 is now available.