Surprise! Koolance idle temp problems!

[cluelessguy]

You're covering the entire CPU with thermal compound before putting the block on? That makes me nervous already. Check THIS out for a good starting point for applying thermal compound. Bottom line, for most thermal compounds, use very little, and let the heatsink/waterblock do the spreading for you.

You need some pressure for the waterblock to work right. You've got a pretty solid backplate with that block, so you don't have to fear warping the motherboard unless you REALLY overdo it (i.e, tighten the screws until the springs are fully compressed, and then keep tightening some more).

Oh.

It kind of said in the Koolance CPU-340 cooling block instructions: "Apply thermal paste to the CPU directly. Spread the paste so that it evenly covers the CPU. A piece of thick paper (such as a business card) works well for this. Place the CPU cooler on top of the processor."

My CPU looked like this after I had applied the exact same thermal grease (Zalman ZM-STG1):


(Please note that's not my CPU in the image but it is the same grease used and applied in the same fashion).

Going to reapply it and tighten screws a little more and see what happens. Thanks.

Edit: Here are the results after reapplying compound (used the supplied Koolance compound instead of the Zalman one) and tightening the screws a little further:
http://www.airhostone.net/dump/cooli...pound-reapply/
Fan was on speed 10, got a lot further this time before the 'CPU too hot' message. Probably going to have to purchase the upgrade pump, oh installation will be a nightmare!