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Turns out my A7N8X Deluxe is coming in today, pretty sweet. Anyways, I plan on taking the nb heatsink off, to make te contact better. I have the following pastes to choose from:

Arctic Alumina Epoxy (thought I'd mention it, I don't plan on using this)
Arctic Alumina (a very small amount)
Arctic Silver II
Arctic Silver II (yes, I have two of these :rolleyes
Arctic Silver III

I'm probably going to put my ASII to use, or just use some of my ASIII. I don't have to worry about AS possibly conducting electricity, do I? Since the nb is protected around the edges with the plastic thing, whatever its called.

I may put a heatsink of my SB while I'm at it too, because I have the time. I'd most likely use AA Epoxy, cause its the only epoxy I have.

So, ASIII for NB and Arctic Alumina Epoxy for SB?

Opinions welcome!


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New topic:

Hmm, ok, now I'm having a few problems....

How do you get the pins off? I was going to try a small wrench type tool, or tweezers, but I think I'll just hold off until tomorrow.

Also, my CPU has a sticker on it, I took that off. I spent about 15 minutes carefully "Trying" to get the residue off with rubbing alcohol. However, some of that residue is on top of the L4 bridging, to the right of the core (when looking at the CPU with the AMD sign facing the right direction). I just wanted to amek sure that I wouldn't be easy to damage the L4 bridge. All I'm using is some paper towel and 40% rubbing alcohol. I got lots of it off, but there is still a ton around the L4 bridge area.

I think that's it, basically, what's the best way to get those pins off without damaging them (so I can put the heatsink back in)

So far, so good!

nb? Is nb North Bridge? Why not use the one that poses the least risk as far as conductivity. IMHO I would be amazed if it matters much which compound you use (as far as heat transfer is concerned).

Personally, I have become much more concerned about how stable the stuff is over time. Some compounds seem to dry out.

Yep, NB, means borth bridge.

I jsut got my mobo, dilivered at 12:50. And I am glad to say that it's REV 2!

So, now I just need to find some time to get my hands dirty!

Hmm, ok, now I'm having a few problems....

How do you get the pins off? I was going to try a small wrench type tool, or tweezers, but I think I'll just hold off until tomorrow.

Also, my CPU has a sticker on it, I took that off. I spent about 15 minutes carefully "Trying" to get the residue off with rubbing alcohol. However, some of that residue is on top of the L4 bridging, to the right of the core (when looking at the CPU with the AMD sign facing the right direction). I just wanted to amek sure that I wouldn't be easy to damage the L4 bridge. All I'm using is some paper towel and 40% rubbing alcohol. I got lots of it off, but there is still a ton around the L4 bridge area.

I think that's it, basically, what's the best way to get those pins off without damaging them (so I can put the heatsink back in)

So far, so good!

why bother with the sticker on the chip... the core is the only thing to worry about... and those pins just squeeze them on the backside and they shoudl just pop right through. at least they did on my Epox 8RDA have fun overclocking with that conservative Asus board though... :/

Dealing with those pins is a bit scary. Here is what I do - collect up all the ball-point pens you can scrounge in your house and car. Each different type is going to have a different size hole in the end. You want to find one where the hole is just large enough to squeeze the "wings" of the pin together and come just short of contacting the backside of the motherboard. Take the pen apart, put the insides off to one side and use the "hole" end to compress the "wings" of the pin. Sometimes you need to push on the "head" of the pin from the top side of the board to get the wings off the back of the board.

I like this method a lot better than using pliers, since it is pretty easy to have pliers slip off a pin and scratch a trace. It is just a pain finding the right pen. With the larger pins, I use a BIC pen tube with the insides taken out rather than a retractable "clicker" pen.

The sticker, if it needs to come off, should respond to any decent solvent. Pretty hard to damage a cpu with a solvent. I have used pure acetone without any problems. Takes the sticker right off and makes for a cheap buzz...

I tried that Pen idea, too big. I have a curved, SMALL, little pliers. Worked wonderfully. Also, the heatsink popped right off because the NB hasn't even been heated up yet. This will be nice and easy to clean too. VERY nice push pins.

So, my wrench worked fine. No scratches or anything. I'm almost tempted to hold off and get a bigger NB heatsink. The Zalman nb heatsink is bigger, which is what I have on my 7DXR...

One quick question, that green edge on the end of the nb and southbridge is made for protection, right? So if I had a VERY small amount (I cleaned as much off as possible) it wouldn't hurt it right? Right now, there is a bit hanging over the edge, no problem right? otherwise, I'm set to go!

this is what u do..grab a cup of water and spill it all on your computer....when it starts to smoke ...dont worry its ok...it happens. then u grab a nice cup of kerosene light up a match and light the bad boy!.....then go out and buy a MAC

[sarcasm] Thats a great idea PCWRECKER, thanks for your input [/sarcasm]

Hmm, there's a couple problems with that:

1. Mac's suck. Don't try to argue, they do, they really do.
2. They cost twice as much...I couldn't afford a MAC even if I wanted one.
3. Did I mention they suck? They're slow...

Besides, PCWRECKER, you didn't give any reasons.

The only good thing about a Mac is you can't find parts as easily to upgrade them as you can for a PC of normal designs. That means you can use more time waiting for them to compleat a task instead of all the time we spend having fun playing inside! Also when you can find parts to play with, you can't afford them.

I think the person that thought up Macs was also the person that came up with those great IBM MICRO CHANNELS and the TANDY 1000 series
All of which were losers durring thier own time as well as now!

If you got a Mac, that advice about a cup of water is good, use it on your Mac and get a REAL computer!

Nicely said!

looks like they do serve a purpose