Question about heatsinks and thermal grease

In regards to my last post about my system not booting, Lbyard said:
"You had best take care of that CPU first if the Thermaltake 6 did not have phase-change heatsink material on the bottom of the heatsink (the Thermaltake 5’s do; I understand the 7’s don’t)."
I wasn't sure if the Volcano 6 did have the material on it so I decided to email Thermaltake.
This is what they had to say:
"Hi,
Thank you for your recent inquiry to Thermaltake.
The Volcano 6Cu+ does come with a pack of Thermal Grease which has the same property as the T.I.M. You'll need to first apply a thin layer of Thermal Grease on the CPU Core (the square in the center of the procesor).
Regards,
Weller Chen"
Alright so my questions are:
1) Is the T.I.M. he speaks of the same thing as the phase change material?
2)Despite what they might say, my Volcano 6cu+ didn't come with any thermal grease. So is there a certain kind of grease I should buy or will anything do?
3)Since I did not have any grease applied to my system when I powered up, what are the chances that I permenantly damaged my CPU? The computer was on for no longer than 30 seconds.
Thanks
Shiro

1. RE: Question about heatsinks and thermal grease
Twinhead Apr-11-02 03:07 PM
In response to message 0

The damage meight be neglectable.
Since there IS a DIRECT contact between the CPU core and the cooler-body, this short running time had no chance to buid a high temperature in the CPU core.
But, NEVER keep on working with this configuration!
I do not know what he ment with T.I.M.
I once used a good mineral oil to be the thermal conductor when i did not have anything else.
It is only a temperal measure!
The oil must be completely clean, and free of airbubbles.
I used it with an AMD Duron 800 and a cooler that has no conductive material shipped with it.
The oil was of a kind to be used with high speed machinery.
Only ONE drop, a quarter of the size of the core EXACTLY in the middle of it, Then place the cooler-body and secure it without any twisting or wringing.
It can be used for about half a year, then repeat it or start using prescripted material.
Victor.

2. RE: Question about heatsinks and thermal grease
lbyard Apr-11-02 03:27 PM
In response to message 0

1) I don’t know for sure. The pads are usually solid and sort of melt into the microscopic scratches/imperfections (it’s purpose) on the cpu die. Grease is usually just that and has the consistency of grease; although, the viscosity may vary considerably between products—somewhat watery to thick paste-like. There may be a translation error here. Perhaps, he means they have similar functions.
2) If you are an overclocking game fanatic you may want to look at Artic Silver or something like that. For me, the stuff available at Radio Shack, etc. works fine. Monitor the temperature for an hour or so to be sure. I would demand that whomever you bought the heatsink-fan from ship you the stuff overnight. If you and others do that they will correct the problem for others.
3) I don’t know for sure, but I would guess that it is OK. It takes a while for the die to heat-up with a heatsink in contact and the CPU can take about 90 degrees C before failing. Without the heatsink in place, it is a goner—takes 2-3 seconds according to AMD (I haven’t the money to waste to verify that).
There is just plain to much emphasis and sweat on this subject on the Internet and people are worrying far too much about it than they should, and there is too overkill on CPU and chassis fans than there should be. I not saying that cooling and proper precautions are not wise and necessary; just don’t make a religion out it. Larry