How can i tell if thermal greese is on my heatsink

[Guest]

my amd2+ processor came with a heatsink in the info that came with it it said that thermal greese is on it but it's so flat and smooth it's hard to tell without touching it if it has any or not could you advise please

 

[ibemad]

my amd2+ processor came with a heatsink in the info that came with it it said that thermal greese is on it but it's so flat and smooth it's hard to tell without touching it if it has any or not could you advise please

There should be a big grey patch on the heatsink. If there isn't, you can be picky and return the cpu, or you can spend four dollars and buy some arctic silver.

 

[Starges]

It'ld be better to apply it yourself

 

[moody89]

As IBeMad said it should be pretty noticeable if there is any thermal compound on there already. If you're really not sure try and take a photo of it and we can have a look and say for definite.

Although it wouldn't hurt to apply new compound yourself, you need to make sure any residue from the old application of compound is completely removed.

 

[Raidur]

Its a good rule of thumb to apply new paste whenever you remove the heatsink.

At least for me it is.

Is this a new or used heatsink?

Used: If it doesn't look like clean/smooth metal on both the cpu and heatsink then there is likely thermal paste. I would always do a good cleaning and apply new paste if I ever bought a used cpu. (I'm a 'new only' type of guy)

New: Some new heatsinks come with a thermal pad on the bottom. These will look perfectly square are usually a dark gray color. They're safe to use instead of paste.