Yeas. I got two questions.
I'm building my first computer in my life.
So here are my problems.
1st: Do I have to put a thermal paste on my Athlon 2400+ processor with an OK cooler?
If so, what kind? Silver? Silicon? Or something else...and don't forget. I'm not a Bill Gates No platinum paste, please

2nd: My motherboard (Shuttle AK38N) recognizes my CPU as Athlon 1800+ instead of 2400+. Is that a MoBo problem, or MicroCenter have lied to me, when they sold me a bare Athlon 2400+ processor.
Thanx a lot!!!

well for ur first question if ur cpu fan doesn't come with a thremal pad- its best to go with silver for me.

ur second i think u got a wrong one use less there asking you to overclock ur AMD

good job on build 2 comps.

Do not use silicon as it will insulate your CPU from your heatsink. Silicon does not conduct heat as a thermal paste will do!

Any paste specifically made for CPU's will work and conduct heat from the CPU to the heatsink above it.

808

Take a silver paste with a high silver percentage like Arctic Silver. It give a better heat transfer from cpu to heatsink.

About the wrong cpu readings I think your FSB is still set to default and just too low. Correct that manually!

Sounds like you've already got this thing running...what type of thermal material did you use? If your HSF came with a preinstalled pad & you used it as-is...you should be fine. Persoanlly, I ALWAYS use the pad for the initial installation. But if you ever take the HSF off in the future, you'll have to completely remove the old pad & replace it with paste. 808 incorrectly stated that Silicone shouldn't be used...Silicone was "THE" material to use at one time & tests have shown that silver based pastes are only marginally better. Radio Shack sells Silicone based "Heat Sink Compound" for about $2...part # 276-1372 A. Arctic Silver has excellent instructions for applying paste, regardless of what type you use:

http://www.arcticsilver.com/arctic_silver_instructions.htm

As for your speed...the 2400+ is suppoed to run at 1.93 Ghz (14.5 x 133 FSB)...double check your BIOS settings...my guess is your FSB is set at 100 instead of 133...either that, or your multiplier is set at 11.5x when it should be 14.5x

Thanks a lot. I figured out that I have a wrong fan. It is for Athlons but not for athlons XP...so it probable messed everything up! Plus! I didn't use any thermap pase or pads...
I'm gonna buy Coolmaster Aero 7 Lite. That's and awesome fan! But I'm not sure if it has thermal pads. Where can i get those?
thanks a lot again!

Thanks Jam,
Lets confuse this poor guy somemore,

Arctic Silver is more than just marginally better than Radio Shacks Silicon Based Zinc-Oxide thermal grease.

It has over 8 times the thermal conductivity of Radio Shacks thermal grease and 3M's thermally conductive adhesive transfer tape.

Check the spec's here;

http://www.thetechzone.com/reviews/roundup/thermal_compound/index.shtml

Silicon thermal grease IS NOT THE SAME as a tube of Silicone from hardware hank!

Silicon thermal grease MAY be used !
Silicone should NEVER be used !
Arctic Silver is what we ALL should use !

Dos dis cleere anyting upp fer U

808

You got one of the best mainboards, I have build several units using the Shuttle AK39N board. On the 39N, the FSB is bumped up by pulling off a small jumper close to the CPS, but I'm not sure about the 38, Check your manual, it's in there. Post back if you need help.

Processor: go here and download the single best free system analyzer out there:
http://www.sisoftware.co.uk/
scroll down a way, and click on "get the free shareware" link.

Next, go here and download the next best free system analyzer out there:
http://www.aida32.hu/aida32.php

In SiSoft, click on System CPU and BIOS for a complete readout, including what proc you have. Click on "Motherboard, CPU and CPU ID" If both agree, that's what you got.

Sorry, as I stated, I always use the pad for the initial install, otherwise, I use Radio Shack Heat Sink Compound...maybe it's Silicon, but I have a tube in my hand & it's clearly labelled as SILICONE-BASE...so take that up with Radio Shack. But on almost every site that I go to the speaks of thermal compounds, it's called SILICONE, not SILICON.

I can produce several sites to counter claims that Arctic Silver is God's gift to thermal transfer products, but I don't wana turn this into a pissing contest. You will use & pay what you want, & so will I.

I know that my overclocked 1800+ using the preinstalled thermal pad on my cheap Coolermaster HSF idles in the mid 20's & rarely gets into the 40's under full load. I also have an overclocked 1200 Duron using the stock HSF w/pad & it runs almost as cool (different design, therefore slightly higher temps). And my overclocked Athlon 1.33 T-bird, using the exact same model Coolermaster HSF w/Radio Shack paste idles in the mid 30's & has maxxed out at 65C after 30min of TOAST...once again, different design, different temps, but completely stable. I'm no novice when it comes to building a PC. I don't buy into all the hype about certain products either.

If you like, I'll post some screenshots, before & after running TOAST on my 1800+, to back up my claim.

Poposchmerz,

Buy whatever you feel comfortable with. I've read a lot of positive reviews about the Aero 7 & Aero 7 Lite :)

Almost all new HSF's either come with a preinstalled pad, or a small packet of thermal compound, so you should be all set...

Yeah. I'm gonna buy that Coolmaster Aero 7 Lite cooler. It is so cheap, looked good, and workes awesome. It's gonna be the best buy in my life:)
I'll see what kind of greese is available in that store.

Thanks a lot for saying that my Mobo is good. I thought that it sucks...yes! I have a close to the CPU, but if I take it off (this is the way to change it to 133MHz) my system would not even start...well. I'll see what my cooler and thermal paste would do. In the worst case I will change my FSB speed to 132 (in the BIOS).
Thanks a lot!!!

OK! Everything is working fine, even without a Coolermaster Aero 7 Lite. I got good Antec fan and everything seems working fime. I have 55oC max during playing games. Well, thanks everyone!
I'm done.

hey you say that you got a wicked aero 7 lite i have nothing personal against them but the only thing its good for is its looks, personally i would of gone with a volcano or a zalman, but hey its up to you , also you can buy pads or paste from nearly all shops try ebuyer or somewhere i recomend you go for the artic silver