CPU/Mobo Did I apply the right amount of thermal paste?

[asingh]

@cranky @asingh
Finally, after mustering up the courage to dismantle the computer, I finally got a pic of the motherboard's back. I couldn't remove the power cable from the motherboard because it was too tight, so I had to stand it vertically inside the case.

http://imageshack.us/g/542/img201305141904111.jpg/

So can I use a custom backplate?

Think you can. As long as the back plate is shielded.

 

[cranky]

Yes.

10 characters

 

[kvikram]

@asingh @cranky
Cool! Is there a particular cooler that you would recommend that would be completely silent for this processor (AMD Phenom II X6 1090T) even while gaming?

 

[cranky]

Not sure of the current crop of air coolers, but the Noctuas and Thermalrights are always king of the hill though a little expensive. I was using a Coolermaster GeminII which was surprisingly quiet with the disreputable 9950BE and kept up with a pretty ambitious overclock, even though barely. Little warmer than I liked and that cooler is no longer in production. I prefer downblowing coolers wherever possible to keep motherboard airflow correct.

 

[bssunilreddy]

@asingh @cranky
Cool! Is there a particular cooler that you would recommend that would be completely silent for this processor (AMD Phenom II X6 1090T) even while gaming?

Not sure of the current crop of air coolers, but the Noctuas and Thermalrights are always king of the hill though a little expensive. I was using a Coolermaster GeminII which was surprisingly quiet with the disreputable 9950BE and kept up with a pretty ambitious overclock, even though barely. Little warmer than I liked and that cooler is no longer in production. I prefer downblowing coolers wherever possible to keep motherboard airflow correct.

For you this is the answer: http://www.ebay.in/itm/Cooler-Maste...pt=IN_Computer_Components&hash=item27d186a0cb

 

[kvikram]

My PC came with a 460W PSU, which is supposedly crap for my config (AMD Phenom II X6 1090T, ATI 5870 1GB). Would I need a more powerful PSU if I wanted a decent cooler to work properly? What specification should I look for in the cooler?

P.S. Don't mean to lament, but I made a big mistake going in for a Dell desktop. If only I had known better at that time.

 

[Crazy_Eddy]

The fan on your heatsink uses hardly ~5W of power. You don't need a fancy PSU to power the heatsink fan.

P.s.: Even branded Desktops like the Dell tend to follow the ATX standard, so swapping components like motherboard/PSU should not be a problem.

 

[kvikram]

@Crazy_Eddy Thanks!

One more question: Some after-market heatsinks don't fit into my case which is 15 cms high. But this is a microATX motherboard. Am I right in saying that the layout of all the components of the motherboard, including RAM slots, is the same in every microATX motherboard?

If this is true, if I were to change all the components to a larger case, am I right in saying that I wouldn't face any problems fitting another larger microATX-compatible heatsink in the motherboard and case, and that it wouldn't interfere with any other components on the motherboard, if it were particularly large?

Thanks for reading the long and rather confusing question. I hope I got my point across.

 

[Gannu]

Partially correct. The size of the board would be the same but layout may be a bit different. As in, RAM slots may be positioned differently, SATA ports, USB and audio headers etc. among others.

Yeah you can remove all the components from the stock Dell chasis and fit them in an aftermarket chassis without issues.

 

[Crazy_Eddy]

After-market heatsinks don't have any ATX type dimensions to follow, apart from the socket mounting specs - and most flout even mounting specs like maximum allowed weight. So you still need to check motherboard layout (usual interference is from RAM slots) and cabinet width to see if it will fit.

Another point to note is that if your motherboard chipset, PWM, etc. uses passively cooled heatsinks, it will rely on downward airflow from the heatsink to stay cool. Most large heatsinks have the fans mounted vertically.

 

[kvikram]

Another point to note is that if your motherboard chipset, PWM, etc. uses passively cooled heatsinks, it will rely on downward airflow from the heatsink to stay cool. Most large heatsinks have the fans mounted vertically.

Don't really get that part. What are passively cooled heatsinks and how does a heatsink affect anything other than the CPU?

 

[Gannu]

Don't really get that part. What are passively cooled heatsinks and how does a heatsink affect anything other than the CPU?

Heatsinks that do not have a fan. If your CPU heatsink didn't have one, that's a passively cooled one.

There are heatsinks atop the Northbridge chip, Southbridge chip and VRMs. Check out the image below:

The heatsink below the CPU socket is for the NB and a heatpipe leads to the SB heatsink down below and another pair to the VRMs adjacent to the CPU socket. They are all passively cooled which means they count on the natural airflow within the chassis to dissipate the heat off the fins of the heatsink.

So a vertical heatsink such as this:

may not effectively cool the VRM and NB heatsink. Whereas something like this one:

will blow air into the sinks below it thus cooling it better. That's the point Eddy is trying to convey.

 

[kvikram]

@Gannu Awesome explanation! Thanks!