A piece of advice asked

Bad Reviewer · Post by **Bad Reviewer** » Thu May 27, 2004 11:36 am

I have the following situation: I just bought some parts to build a new computer. After living here in the US for two years, in one month I will be going back to my country. The warranties for all the parts I have bought have no validity in my country. So, I need to test all of them to make sure they at least seem to work fine.

On the other hand, when it's time to move, I need to have some of the parts disassembled, because it's too risky to take an assembled PC. Imagine the weigtht of the Thermalright SP-94 heat sink if it's attached to the CPU/Mobo.

Is there an easy way to test all the components without fully assembling the PC?
The biggest problem is the heatsink and the CPU. I believe there is no way to test them and the Mobo without applying the thermal paste, and when it's time to disassemble, I will have to clean CPU and heatsink and do everything again when in my country.

Is there any better way?

I have these new parts to test: a case (not really necessary to test), a CPU, a heatsink, memory, a PSU, some fans and a Mobo, basically. I can use HD, monitor, CD drive, video card and input devices from my old system.

What would you do?

Post by **Ralf Hutter** » Thu May 27, 2004 12:02 pm

I would assemble the components so you can check them here and just clean up the TIM after you take it apart again. It's really not that big of a deal. It just takes a few minutes and it could save you from a lot of headaches down the road.

burcakb · Post by **burcakb** » Thu May 27, 2004 12:22 pm

If you have an existing machine, you could plug most components in, run benchmarks/whatever on them & see if they work. But, always, always, always, TEST THE MEMORY. This is one computer part I've seen fail the most. run memtest

Bad Reviewer · Post by **Bad Reviewer** » Fri May 28, 2004 12:05 pm

I have decided to test it using the stock heatsink, because so I hope I won't need to open my artic silver V small tube, and I have a question: the boxed version of the Pentium came with this stock heatsink, and then there is something grey already applied to the heatsink, where it should touch the processor. I thought that was some sort of a protective tape that should be taken out when installing it but it seems more of a cheap thermal paste.

My question: this gray thing that came in the stock heatsink, is this the stock thermal paste or is it something that's supposed to be removed before installing?

Thanks.

Sardaan · Post by **Sardaan** » Fri May 28, 2004 12:15 pm

Someone smarter than me might disagree, but if you are only testing your parts and the computer will only be running on the short term...I see no need to use the Artic Silver. Put everything together, crank it up make sure it all works to your liking and take it apart. I doubt the computer will be up and running for more than a couple of hours and the heat sink is more than capable of cooling it well enough even at full loads without any AS. Your CPU will run a little hotter than without the AS, but should be well within the limits of the CPU.

Someone please correct me if I am wrong

miyagi_ · Post by **miyagi_** » Fri May 28, 2004 3:29 pm

i wouldn't suggest ever running a cpu + heatsink without thermal grease, the standard stuff works well - AS works better.

Beyonder · Post by **Beyonder** » Fri May 28, 2004 4:26 pm

As long as the chip is getting decent contact with the heatsink, you could run it for a short amount of time without TIM. You'd want to make sure that the heat sink was in fact connected firmly, but it shouldn't be a big deal.

That being said, personally I would just apply some TIM and test it, and then clean it up again when you're done. It isn't that hard to assemble a computer and see if it boots, and then clean it up again.

greeef · Post by **greeef** » Fri May 28, 2004 5:44 pm

yes, that gray pad is a heaper thermal interface, but it comes with the cpu because itis able to run it at stock voltage, with that thermal interface.

So just slap it on to test it, and worry about your good heatsink when you get home.

griff

hydroxyhydride · Post by **hydroxyhydride** » Sat May 29, 2004 1:15 am

For quick application and cleanup use Arctic Alumina. From the official website:

Clean Up :
Arctic Alumina Compound cleans off easily from CPUs and heatsinks. In most cases, simply wiping with a dry cloth will easily remove the compound from the CPU and heatsink.

Trust me on this. Build the machine now. Run it through all the stablility tests you can while you are here (memtest, 3dmark, prime95, etc) and verify that it all works now. It is much easier to troubleshoot problems after moving if you know how the parts of your system interact with each other. All the parts may test out fine individually but may have quirks when assembled. Discover these while you are here.

I've shipped my rig back and forth overseas a number of times. If anything is loose, remove it or support it with tape. Hanging hard drive cage? Expect it to come loose if jolted so tape that sucker up. PC Speaker? Tape that down!

I recommend removing the heatsink for transit--especially if it is heavy. I neglected to do that once and my Athlon core got slightly chipped (still works!). If you have a ginormous VGA cooler like a Zalman ZM80C, pull out the video card too. If you are really worried, remove the hard drive and optical drives and place them in your suitcase. My hard drives have survived a number of trips in the case though. Of course, the TSA may have some questions for you if you have lots of drives in your suitcase!

Just get a nice box (like the ones OEMs like Dell use to ship systems) and label it fragile. You should be ok. Of course dealing with customs may or may not be a hassle for you too.

Make sure that you find a nicely grounded outlet to plug the into. Some countries don't make grounding a requirement and computers can shock you! If you don't have grounding available be creative. I ran some old CAT5 cable from the ground prong of my UPS cable to a big metal rail on my balcony once to solve my grounding problems. Pick up a nice UPS when you get home. It will help you rule out power as a source of trouble. Make sure the power supply is set to the correct voltage if necessary.