For those who were following and assisting the *EMERGENCY* build problem.

[Nigel Henry]

On Saturday 15 November 2008 17:58, Bruce Marshall wrote:
> On Saturday 15 November 2008, Jonas Norlander wrote:
> > No i have never seen that. Some times the thermal paste would make it
> > stuck some but never so much that it will pull a "locked" CPU out of
> > the socket. Can't think of any suggestions right now. Sorry.
>
> Aren't they using a 'thermal tape' these days?  Sticky on both sides to
> tape the heat sink to the cpu.   But I wouldn't think it would be that
> strong.

I forget the name of this thermal tape, but believe that it goes through some 
chemical change when heated, which may explain why it is so stubbornly 
sticking to both surfaces.

How to separate the 2 components, I'm not too sure. Certainly a sharp bladed 
instrument would cause possible scratching of the surfaces on both 
components. Perhaps something like an artists paint spatula, that doesn't 
have sharp surfaces. Then you have to remove the remains of the pad off both 
surfaces. I read about what to use ages ago, but have forgotten. Probably 
alcohol.

I also read that thermal pads are preferable for a permanant connection, 
rather than using thermal grease, which was suggested to use on temporary 
setups, where you may want to easily separate heatsinks from cpu's.

The basis for this was that thermal grease over time tends to spread, and the 
thermal contact may be reduced between heatsink, and cpu. How much that 
applies now, using the latest thermal compounds, I've no idea.

Comments welcome.

Nigel.