[The Computer Hardware Technician] Re: Application of thermal compound for processor

Hi Carol.

There are a few conflicting ideas round about how to apply thermal compound, generally as thin as possible.
It is i would think impossible to manufacture the two surfaces that meet to be perfectly flat (or would cost a lot :)), the compound is to fill in any imperfections, metal to metal would be ideal.

http://www.techpowerup.com/printarticle.php?id=134

From what i have just read, the cpu speed varies according to load
because of a feature in bios called "speedstep", but that should be between 800 and 2300.

http://www.bay-wolf.com/speedstep.htm#1

http://forum.notebookreview.com/dell-inspiron-dell-studio/482806-dell-insprion-9300-cpu-wont-run-max-capable-speed.html

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/281965-10-dell-insprion-
9300-capable-speed

http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/laptop/f/3518/p/18036171/18160467.aspx

I found a paragraph in that last link that says that it may be throttling down due to overheating, this is possibly because of the thermal compound being being applied incorrectly, or it could be the
cpu fan not working or clogged with dust.
The first paragraph said they had a cpu temp of 85 C this would definitely be a problem as you would expect between 30 and 50 at
a guess. It seems to be a common problem. Try downloading "speedfan"
to check the cpu temperature, or i think i saw that "cpuz"does that
also, if the temp is 30 to 50 it's not the thermal compound or the fitting of the heatsink.

It could be one of a number of things i wouldn't pay to get it looked
at, seeing you managed to get this far without help :), and i'm sure that others on here will reply with ideas to try also.

To summarise:

check the cpu temp, if it's ok then the thermal paste is ok.

try enabling or disabling "speedstep" in bios (F2 for setup)
(only change one thing at a time in there and take care :))

try different memory if possible

try different power management options in windows (i think xp and above already have a speedstep driver)

It seems to be a very common problem.

kind regards.

--- In thecomputerhardwaretechnician@yahoogroups.com, "carolt62" <carolt10@...> wrote:
>
> I have disassembled (using Dell's online service manual) two Dell Inspiron 9300s and combined them into one. Because I had to separate the heat sink from the processor (2.13 Intel Celeron), I had to reapply the thermal compound to the processor before putting the heat sink back on. Everything works great except that the computer now runs at 233 mhz instead of 2.13 ghz. From what I know about computers and the heat sink, I am pretty sure the problem is my application of the thermal compound.
>
> Before I spend big bucks to take my machine to a shop, I need advice about how to apply the compound correctly. I've read and printed out several online places where it tells how to do it.
>
> I know the problem doesn't lie with my had drive, as I have a new hard drive and I have a home network with an AT&T gateway and I have a computer firewall and I have constantly running anti-virus software and anti-spyware.
>
> Can you give me some advice? How thin does the application have to be?
>
> Carol
>