[Cialug] OT: hardware question

[Nathan C. Smith]

> on the CPU and on the heat sink that both looked like they had a thin 
> haze on them. But other people really gobbed it on so the CPU looked 
> like a frosted cupcake and you could no longer see the actual CPU at 
> all. Which is right? 

I seem to recall reading something that indicted if you put thermal compound
on too thick you might get bubbles that could trap moisture in-between the
chip and the heat sink.  My guess is that it would probably dissipate and
escape slowly as the processor heats up, but the article I was reading said
the trapped moisture could pop like a little bomb.

"all things in moderation" I guess?

Has anybody actually gone to the trouble of polishing their heat sink?  I'd
like to try it sometime because I have the tools and materials but so far I
have not had a machine that is "worthy" of the extra attention.

-Nate