Silly question

[Jeeebus]

Just wondering. Say I buy a retail e6400 and my aftermarket cooler/artic silver... I don't need to clean off the cpu before applying the artic silver, do I?

 

[Stillhouse]

There should only be paste on the stock cooler. At least that's how all my AMDs were.

 

[Hidden Hippo]

Nope. The paste will be applied to the heatsink, not the chip. You can just mount the aftermarket HSF as normal. At least, this was true for my E6600, so I assume it will be the same for all of them.

 

[Jeeebus]

thanks guys. having a friday afternoon brain fart here today.

 

[bjp999]

Remember, though, that if you are going to be OCing, it is not unusual to have to unmount and remount the CPU a couple times. Each time you do you have to clean off the old and apply the new. Reading between the lines of your questions, I'd recommend getting some isopropyl alcohol and qtips, if not something more exotic, to remove the AS5 as needed.

 

[Billb2]

Not Q-tips, coffee filters, they're lint free.

 

[bjp999]

I actually use lint-free chamois fiber optic swabs. They are on a firm but flexible plastic base, and work incredibly well with fiber optic cleaner (which is basically 99+% isopropyl alcohol). They're on the pricey side, so I use Qtips to get the bulk, then then use a couple of these at the end to remove all traces of the old AS5, lint, oil, and anything else from the CPU and HSF.

I did an experiment and was amazed that after cleaning until a fresh (isopropyl dipped) Qtip stayed pure white after a firm rubbing, that the chamois swap got almost black with just a few swipes back and forth. If anyone is interested ask and I'll go find the bag and post the specifics.

 

[PlasmaBomb]

Have you got a link for those chamois?

 

[bjp999]

Originally posted by: PlasmaBomb
Have you got a link for those chamois?

M.G. Chemicals Chamois Swabs
I bought the 810-50 because that's what my local store (Norfolk Wire) carries. I see they come in double head, which is what I'd probably order. Just be careful not to touch the chamois. These swabs are awesome at getting the CPU and HSF superclean (see prior post)!