[phixgrrrl]

My last 3 questions have not gotten ONE reply on this site so I've pretty much been posting on another tech support site, but thought I'd give this ONE more try. I don't know if I've been blackballed or something... I used to come here for everything.
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I'm putting in a Corsair H60 and have never done this before. The system came w/the Cooler Master so I obviously didn't put it in and don't know how to remove it. All the tutorials I find are on removing the fan, which helps me NOT.

I assume after I remove the whole thing (and it's huge) that I have to clean off the cpu of the thermal paste? What do I use?
And the instructions that come w/the new cooler are just pics. I'm so pissed off right now I could kick a kitten (and I love animals).

Could someone please have the patience enough to walk me through removing this thing and putting on the new one? The ppl I've called that may be able to help, can't, due to distance or schedule.

(My system is overheating which is why the new cooler.)

This is my info:

OS Version: Microsoft® Windows Vista™ Home Premium , Service Pack 2, 64 bit
Processor: AMD Phenom(tm) II X4 955 Processor, AMD64 Family 16 Model 4 Stepping 2
Processor Count: 4
RAM: 4093 Mb
Graphics Card: ATI Radeon HD 4800 Series, 1024 Mb
Hard Drives: C: Total - 305242 MB, Free - 202577 MB; D: Total - 715401 MB, Free - 603887 MB; L: Total - 476937 MB, Free - 240876 MB;
Motherboard: ASUSTeK Computer INC., Crosshair III Formula, Rev 1.xx, 101600350000502
Antivirus: Avira Desktop, Updated and Enabled

[ETech7]

In order to remove V8 you will need access to the back of the motherboard, as soon as you do, you will see how it works (1 simple step 4 times). To remove thermal paste you can use something like http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835100010 Some q-tips with Isopropyl Alcohol should work also. To install H60 "utube" is your friend, try and there are some others.
Just don't hit kittens in a head.

[phixgrrrl]

Thank you for your reply. But for removal, am I just removing the screws that attach the cooler to the MB? And do I pull off the heatsink from the cpu (as in is the paste very strong or will it slide off or?) I don't have to remove any screws from the top of the heatsink (as they are hex screws)?

[ETech7]

Just unscrew the back-plate from motherboard. Pull the whole thing off. Thermal compound is not a glue, it will come off if you insist.

[phixgrrrl]

I have other ppl telling me now that water cooling isn't the way to go. Christ. So do I take the thing back or not?

[ETech7]

Listen to your heart.

[black-wolf]

Water cooling can be a pain and probably will leak eventually. Unless you do extreme overclocking you don't need water cooling.
Overheating comes from either poor air supply to the case, dirt and dust inside the case and fans, a fan has stopped working or the thermal paste has dried between the CPU and heatsink.
Let us know how you want to proceed. I suggest that you blow out the inside of the case and fans with canned air. Make sure all the fans are running and reseat the cpu heatsink. To get the heatsink off if it is stuck just turn on the computer for a few seconds the heat will break it loose. Don't try to force it as that is when pins get bent and ruins the CPU.
Clean with alcohol as suggested, find the 90% or better kind. Just a small amount of thermal paste is needed about the size of a BB.

[black-wolf]

BTW The cooler Master V8 should be more than adequate.

[phixgrrrl]

TY black wolf. I think I will take the corsair back and get a new fan for the V8. What do you think?
When I do clean out the dust (in the past) it does help the temps a bit. But I've gotten that error on bootup (cpu fan error) for many many months. The temps on the front readout on my case are apparently wrong (they usually say 45 highest). On speccy and in the bios, I get 50s and 60s. I had just been going by the case readings so I thought it was ok, even w/the error.

[black-wolf]

Perhaps a new fan for the V8 will help, you may need to remove the heatsink clean thoroughly and apply new thermal paste. The most common mistake is too much thermal paste.
Going above 60c with an AMD CPU is getting too hot for sure. Have you disabled the cool and quiet feature in the bios?

[crjdriver]

OK, something is not right here. An amd 955 runs pretty cool even with the stock hsf. I have one on one of my old "test" systems and it runs in the mid 30s. I am not a fan of water cooling simply because it adds extra complexity AND at some point will leak and need more coolant. Some of the water cooling systems are advertised as no maintenance; this just means you cannot add coolant when it becomes necessary.

Coolermaster coolers are not the easiest things to install however their performance is very good. I use a coolermaster 212 on an overclocked i2500k and it keeps it in the mid 50s when running prime95.

Here is what I would do for your problem.
1 Go to the coolermaster site and watch the video for installing your specific cooler.
2 Once done with that, remove the cooler and clean all parts with 91% or 99% alcohol. Do not use the 70% stuff you see in the store.
3 While the cooler is OFF check the direct contact heatpipes to see if they are flat and contacting the cpu squarely. If they are warped, it is not going to work very well. The only other reason why your cooler would not work correctly is a leak in a heat pipe.
4 If the cooler checks out ok, then reassemble with either the coolermaster thermal compound or arctic silver.

[crjdriver]

I just looked at a picture of your hsf and it appears that it does not use the direct contact heatpipes. It uses a contact block. Same basic thing; make sure the block is square and contacting the cpu correctly. With the block type, you can lap it using sandpaper if it is necessary. Start with something like 400 grit and finish with 800 grit or so. Use something you know is straight/square ie a mirror or other known flat surface.

[phixgrrrl]

Firstly I wanted to answer black wolf's question-cool n quiet is NOT enabled. I read if you don't use AMD's packaged fan (which I don't think I am) to activate Q fan (instead I'm guessing). I didn't look to see if that was enabled or not. Should I try it?
And can you (crj) explain the diff b/t direct contact vs heat pipes?
And is lapping like filing? Won't using the alcohol remove the paste ok and it will be smooth enough?
I've decided to take the water cooler back and get a new fan. It was suggested by someone else to connect the V8 to a system fan header. How do I know which connection is the system fan? I have connections for cha_fans, pwr_fan, opt_fan. Which do I use?

Thanks again

[crjdriver]

And can you (crj) explain the diff b/t direct contact vs heat pipes?
And is lapping like filing? Won't using the alcohol remove the paste ok and it will be smooth enough?

It may or may not be smooth enough; that is why you check it with a straightedge. Here are pics of a direct contact and a block type. You can see the difference. One the heatpipes contact the cpu heat spreader directly and the other the [heatpipes] are part of a block which makes contact with the cpu heatspreader.

[crjdriver]

The purpose of the thermal compound is to fill in the microscopic peaks and valleys between the mating surfaces. If the surfaces are warped, they are not going to make good contact hence poor transfer of heat energy. You need to make sure the two surfaces are as straight as possible ie not warped, etc.

BTW you should have Q&C enabled in the bios. This adjusts both speed and vcore [cpu voltage] on a dynamic basis ie as needed.