Is the core making contact with the heatsink?

[Tru2ya]

I have a thermaltake copper shim and was just wondering if there was a way to tell if the core was making good enough contact with the heatsink because i cant tell by eye balling it. Also my shim came a little bent when it was delivered in a little envelope, so i had to bend it back the best i could. Do you think i should hammer it down just to make sure?

 

[Lt. Max]

well u shouldnt hammer wit a metal hammer that might dent it, but if u have like a raw-hide mallet (thats what they call it in school..) then that will b best.

 

[Yodums]

What heatsink are you using? If your shim came bent or dented, I wouldn't use it because with it bent it may lift the heatsink up preventing contact. It's either perfect or not. If you know how to apply a heatsink properly, you shouldn't need a shim anyways. Also another way to see if it's making contact is to take off the heatsink and see if there's an Arctic Silver imprint.

 

[kaltag]

i agree with yodums, haven't used a shim yet. just put it on and take it off and see if your thermal paste is making full contact with the base.