heatsink-cpu contact point

[copaceticKid]

I just got a Volcano 9 and when i checked the bottom (copper insert) i found that it was not very smooth at all. All of the reviews i read on it said that the insert should be really smooth on the bottom, but instead there are a bunch of concentric rings that make it fairly bumpy!<BR><BR>what the hell!<BR><BR>does this really matter? will the thermal paste fill in those grooves? cause i don't want to f*** up my new processor...<BR><BR>and also, what should i use to clean it of (it's really dirty too)

[Avid6eek]

Sounds like a good example of a ************************ty heatsink you got there. The bottom of the copper base should be perfectly smooth. Yes, the thermal paste will fill in the cracks and it will work fine if you don't do any kind of overclocking, but it won't work as good as it would with a finished base. I've never run across this problem so I don't know how to go about fixing it. If I did I would probably go to the hardware store and buy the finest grain sand paper I could find that can sand metals. I would then hot glue the sandpaper to a flat board and gently try to sand down the bottom. The reason for not holding the sandpaper in your had and sanding the bottom is you won't make a flat surface on the bottom of the heatsink and that could be even worse that the groves in it now. My way is still half assed, but it should work, and if it doesn't, messin up a heatsink is no big deal....only $30 for a new one.

[copaceticKid]

************************! that's what i got the damn thing for...<BR><BR>i'm getting screwed left and right<BR><BR>thanks for the advice shiznit

[auld clootie]

<img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif" border="0"> At the site below,they are talking in terms of a "haze" of paste,and cleaning with isopropyl alcohol. Any more than a paper thickness of paste will actually impede the heat transfer. I think any visible roughness is a definiteno-no. Looks like your heatsink is sitting there saying "feeling brave?" - don't make his day! <BR>(Of course,it is only the area that actually makes contact with the processor core that needs to be smooth,that little square in the middle of the bottom surface) <BR><BR>http://www.arcticsilver.com/arctic_silver_compounds.htm