First time build. AMD Athlon 64 3200+ heatsink (new heatsink that came with new CPU in one box) - Socket 939 I would like to install the heatsink onto the CPU. There is a piece of tape on the heatsink where it would contact the CPU core. It is dark gray color. I can't figure out if this is thermal tape or protective tape. Installation instructions make no mention of the tape. I found a document on the AMD Web site for Socket A CPUs to remove plastic tape on heatsink but I can only read the summary - apparently the document is currently unavailable to view. So it appears this tape needs to be removed. Is this correct? TIA

It will be a heat-sink pad. Usually it is protected by a thin transparent piece of plastic tape that should be removed leaving the thermal pad in place. If the pad has a smooth shiny look to it then the protective tape is still in place. If you later need to remove the heat-sink, this thermal pad should me removed completely and replaced with thermal paste. They are not re-usable. Stuart

Thank you Stuart. I had just left the tape on the heatsink, applied the thermal grease and slapped the heatsink onto the CPU...LOL It did not appear that the tape was to be removed. Figured AMD would have packaged it so that there would be free hanging corner or side of tape to allow easy removal instead of allowing possible gouging of heatsink by fingernail or tool to lift up a corner and also fingerprinting the whole thing in the process.

Heard back from AMD. They indicate it is a thermal pad and not tape. I'm glad I did not attempt to remove it. Hopefully adding that little bit of thermal grease to the pad will not adversely affect cooling. I don't want to remove heatsink and clean the grease off if it is not really necessary.

You shouldn't use both thermal pad and thermal grease... Remove the heat sink, clean the thermal pad and then reapply thermal paste. For instruction on how to apply thermal grease read here : http://www.arcticsilver.com/arctic_silver_instructions.htm Note: you don't necesarly need to use that brand of thermal grease. It's nice to be important but it's more important to be nice...