Installing your CPU

Hi there everyone

I am going to be building my computer myself soon so I would like to know more about the CPU installation. I have read duke's tutorial, "building your own pc, part 1 and 2" and other articles however I am still very nervous about doing the CPU, heatsink and fan part. I dont want to blow it or fry it as you guys say. Could someone explain in detail just the installation of your CPU from scrath. Also could you please specify what exactly you need, eg heatsink, thermal etc. Any comments will be a ppreciated.

Thanks :p

Hi Cider and welcome to the club.

First thing is to chill out and relax. Make sure you have a clear working area and your tools, components and instructions to hand.

#1. Make sure that you have an earthing band (wrist strap) or that you regularly touch the bare metal of the case. Static electricity kills CPUs :(

#2. The processor should be ZIF (zero insertion force) so if it doesn't just drop in, you have gotten it wrong. There should be a little dot and/or a corner cut off to show you the correct alignment.

#3. Make sure that the heatsink is approved for your make/model of processor. I do not trust the ones that come with the retail packs (OK I am an OEM builder) as they will be minimum requirements.

#4 Thermal compound. DO NOT use the white gunk that comes with the heatsink........ get some silver based compound (Arctic Silver, Antec or whatever) This is 2000% more efficient.

#5 You need a razor blade, stiff plastic strip or whatever. Apply a thin coat to the bottom of the heatsink and an amount about half the size of a grain of rice to the centre of the processor.

#6 Please remember that you can use too much, and that you can cause short-circuits if it gets in the wrong place. It is a lot easier to add a little bit more than to remove excess ;)

#7 Take your time, don't rush................

Good luck!

Thank you very much. I will let you know my results.

I'm assuming you mean my tutorials :)? About ZIF sockets, there will be a little lever on the side of the cpu socket, pull the lever out and then up and drop the processor in (you will see the little cut corner that nihil is talking about when you see it), then close the lever.

Heatsink and fan installations depend on the type of socket of the processor, follow the instructions that come with the heatsink and fan.

It would be in your best interest to follow nihil's advice, especially 4-6.

hi Cider,
welcome to AO.
As per Nihil instruction you can not go wrong.
In my own experience i was little bit scared to try to do it by myself first time.It would be great if you have friend who knows about building pc to help guide you.
I found a lot of sites which shows you to install the components in pictures. Reading a few of them helps you to be more and more confident. Goodle about specific components.Read, read and read.
Print the pictures of instaling the components and have them in front of you.This helps believe me.Here few articles maybe good to refresh the memory:
http://www.google.com.au/search?clie...=Google+Search
http://www.gen-x-pc.com/build4.htm
http://www.google.com.au/search?clie...=Google+Search
good luck

too much heat cream killed my first CPU... i used about... 2 grams worth on a K7 AMD...it stopped working shortly after

I have a question, what is the exact purpose of thermal paste? I'm confused about that. And is it entirely nesseccary? Because my current computer and my brothers computer neither have thermal past (his is socket 939, mine is so old i forgot the numbers but I think it's 370 or something) ..

Thermal paste or grease *should* be used sparingly. It's intention is to fill the naturally occuring gaps and imperfections on the surface of the CPU. This helps the heatsink and the CPU get maximum surface connectivity and thus thermal conductivity...if those gaps aren't filled with the paste or another heat conductor, the air in them can act as an 'insulator' and make heat flow from the CPU to the heatsink uneven.

You'll need to check the specs on whatever product you use (if you even need any...some heatsinks come with a pad of 'stuff' already in place for the CPU to moosh against (highly technical term there, "moosh"). Often, you will spread a THIN layer on the face of the heatsink and then scrape the excess of with a razor or similar item, then apply it to the CPU. But its been years, and the techniques may be quite different nowadays.

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some heatsinks come with a pad of 'stuff' already in place for the CPU to moosh against

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If your heatsink comes with a thermal pad then I strongly recommend you remove it with a Q-tip and Isopropyl alcohol. It's effectiveness doesn't even come close to good thermal paste.

You'll probably have to scrub it off with multiple Q-tips because those damn pads are not easy to get off :).

Well the computer will run perfectly fine without thermal paste right? (but more efficently with thermal paste)

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Well the computer will run perfectly fine without thermal paste right? (but more efficently with thermal paste)

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That is about right. I haven't seen comparisons between thermal pads and the "white gunk" but I can tell you that silver based compounds are around 2000% (twenty times) more effective.

There are newer products coming out that I hear are carbon based and even more effective, but I have yet to see any empirical data comparing them.

http://www.coolermaster.com/
http://www.overclockers.com/
http://www.tomshardware.com/

Some sites that may be of interest ;)

One point I would make is that silver is electrically conductive as well as thermally conductive. If you use too much, or get it in the wrong place you will fry your machine. If it is your first time you might get a more experienced person to show you how.

One might conclude that although the thermal pad is probably the least efficient, it is also the safest for a beginner. But never overclock a machine with a thermal pad.

:)

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One point I would make is that silver is electrically conductive as well as thermally conductive

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Not Electrically Conductive:
Arctic Silver 5 was formulated to conduct heat, not electricity.
(While much safer than electrically conductive silver and copper greases, Arctic Silver 5 should be kept away from electrical traces, pins, and leads. While it is not electrically conductive, the compound is very slightly capacitive and could potentially cause problems if it bridges two close-proximity electrical paths.)

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Source: http://www.arcticsilver.com/as5.htm

Hi Raion that is spot on. I use Arctic Silver myself, because it is the best formulation I know of to date.

They make the point that copper and silver compounds are generally electrically conductive as well. These were what I was referring to............the white gunk is safe but not too efficient by comparison.

AS may be the most expensive, but worth it IMO ;) My point being that not all compounds are equal, and even with AS you need to be careful.


:)

To add to Nihil post too much thermal past can also cause heating issues with the CPU. So do exactly what Nihil said and only use a little. Dont be scared of the CPU, there more robus than you think. If you do happen to bend the prongs on the bottom use a credit card to streghten them back up.