Athlon Fx-53, Thermal Compound, how much?

Just bought the FX-53, (o yeah), and I'm looking at it.... different than previous Athlons (obviously). One thing is confusing me... how much thermal compound do I apply? On previous cpus, you apply a 'dot' right on the cpu dye, being careful not to get any on the chip itself. The FX-53 is all metal... no chip? No way does it want me to cover the whole thing in compound. I bought it OEM, so no technical docs... and AMD.com I can't find any User Guides in pdf format (the ones I can find refer to older style cpus). Anyone know how much thermal compound to apply? Thanx. www.pokerman.net/images/athlonfx53.jpg <--- picture of cpu. Thanx everyone!! www.pokerman.net/images/athlonfx53(2).jpg <--- i took off the price sticker and a small black spot thingy (technical term) is on the back.. maybe that's the 'dye' ?

 

That metal top is called a heat spreader, and is designed to give a larger radiating area. You want to cover the entire surface, for best heat transfer. For a large area like that, a simple dot in the middle won't cut it. Put on a little, and use a straight edge to spread it around. Don't use your finger, as the oils in your skin aren't good for the mix. You want the thinnest coating you can get, but you want full coverage, so scrape it thin.

 

Thanx... I think I'm going to use the thermal pad on the heatsink... since it's certified by AMD. If the cpu heats up too much, i'll take off the pad, and use compound. Appreciate it!

 

As far as im concerned Artic Silver 5 has the highest conductivity vs rest of the conducters and help keep temps down

 

a bit late, I know, but check here:

www.arcticsilver.com

Arctic Silver is far superior to the normal thermal pads.