On 11 Dec 98 at 18:52, Bill Nussbaumer wrote:

> I went through them because they test the chips stability
> overclocked before sending it to you.  (Anyone think this was a
> mistake?)  They included a post-it note saying 464 Mhz @ 2.2 V.
>
> Also, the chip arrived with what appears to be an excess of
> thermal compound around the edges.  I'll try to describe this ....
> the main chrome colored plate is clean and surrounding it is what
> could possibly best be described as "caulking" on the edges.  The
> outer portion of the chip - that looks like hundreds of little pin
> holes -  in each of these "pin holes" it appears that there is a
> small amount of this compound - and around the edge of this "outer
> square" is a little more compound.  The main "board" part of the
> assembly is clean.
>
> Is this normal?  Can it do any damage to the chip or cause it to
> run incorrectly?  Was the compound applied incorrectly?  I
> understand that very little compound is actually needed when
> cooling the chip.  If it is a problem then is there any way to
> properly clean it or should I return the chip and buy it elsewhere?

  Presumably, this is compound they applied during their testing.

  There are two popular sorts of compound.  The type I prefer is
silicone-based, and stays soft.  The other sort dries and hardens,
and is often used to permanently attach heatsink/fan units.
  I don't know what will remove this.

  While I think I'd also be unhappy to receive this, they *may* take
the attitude that they were acting on your order and so be unwilling
to accept the return of the CPU.  Basically, if they don't want to
take it back, I don't think you're in a very good position to force
them -- yet.  If the presence of this stuff actually interferes with
cooling, you will not be able to achieve the 450 MHz you were
promised, and at that point you have grounds for a refund.
  The back-ordered fan becomes important, then, because they may
choose not to accept such a CPU beyond some time period.  If the fan
won't arrive within that period, you need to make other arrangements.

David G

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