AMD HSF Installation Problem?

[dragonborn123]

I've been trying to install the HSF for about twenty minutes now, and I can not seem to get it to clamp. I'm trying to limit the amount of force I'm putting on the mobo, but it seems like it would take a serious push to get it on. Anything I'm missing? I'd rather not destroy my mobo.

Also, I pulled the HSF off a couple times to see if I was doing anything wrong. Do I need to reapply the thermal paste?

 

[someguynamedmatt]

Depends on what a serious push is considered to be. I know I was terrified of the last AMD heatsink installation I did, but it does take a serious amount of force to swing that lever around before it locks down. It isn't a gentle process. Of course, don't put so much pressure on that you think something is going to completely snap - if that's the case, make sure there aren't any obstructions or misalignment.

As for thermal paste, I'd say you probably should, especially if it's the stock thermal pad that AMD puts on their heatsinks... it may not be necessary, but it wouldn't hurt just to be safe. If you don't have any thermal compound on hand, you could always try it in its current shape and check temperatures, but chances are that they'll be a bit hotter than normal.

 

[dragonborn123]

Depends on what a serious push is considered to be. I know I was terrified of the last AMD heatsink installation I did, but it does take a serious amount of force to swing that lever around before it locks down. It isn't a gentle process. Of course, don't put so much pressure on that you think something is going to completely snap - if that's the case, make sure there aren't any obstructions or misalignment.

As for thermal paste, I'd say you probably should, especially if it's the stock thermal pad that AMD puts on their heatsinks... it may not be necessary, but it wouldn't hurt just to be safe. If you don't have any thermal compound on hand, you could always try it in its current shape and check temperatures, but chances are that they'll be a bit hotter than normal.

Thanks, it did just need a bit more force than I thought would be necessary.

Regarding thermal compound, I don't have any on me unfortunately, so I decided to just put my pc together and see how it goes for now. But how do I test the temperature of individual components and see if I need to apply more compound? And what temperature is recommended for the CPU? Sorry if this is a really ignorant question, this is my first pc build.