*snip*
Washers are really unnecessary. There is a valid, but overblown, fear of overtightening. Most likely, the worst that will happen is it won't post so just loosen it. I'm not really sure how Anand managed to butcher his tray; to screw it that tight would be WAY beyond what common sense dictates. I've done this upgrade about ten times now, and it gets very tight way before you can realistically damage it.
[RANT]
This is exactly the sort of dangerous misinformation that I spoke of in my earlier post. There is much more to consider than overtightening, although that is a major issue.
The design and relative dimensions of the system (meaning the processor board with its socket, pins and mounting posts, the heatsink with its precision machined surface and mounting holes and the processor itself with its known thickness and connectors covering the entire lower surface) are such that it is
only assembled correctly when the securing screws are fully and evenly tightened.
This ensures three things:
- That the lower face of the heatsink is parallel to the upper face of the processor, such that the thermal paste is squeezed uniformly to its thinest possible state. This ensures the best heat transfer possible.
- That the processor is seated exactly in its socket with the correct force established between the pins and pads.
- That this correct force between the pins and pads is even across the whole of the connection.
If the stock processor is replaced by a thicker one, then the heatsink
must sit higher than its stock position to compensate for the difference in thicknesses. It
must also be mounted parallel to the top of the processor. The
only way to achieve these goals reliably is to use appropriately sized spacers and to fully tighten the mounting screws holding the assembly together.
If you tighten the screws without the spacers, then you
will distort and stress the processor board around the socket and you
will apply a connection force between the processor and its socket that is both uneven and too high. You also have almost zero chance of mating the processor top and the heatsink surface correctly.
Oh, you might get away with it and it might work OK for a while but it's a bodge and you're subjecting the assembly to stresses that it was never designed to accept. And to perform this kind of butchery to other peoples' Macs, as you seem to state is the case, is nothing short of foolhardy arrogance.
[/RANT]
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Hey, chap!
I need to make a point of grabbing a pint with you more often.
*snip*
With the previous out of my system, it'd be great to meet up again for a few more pints the next time you're over.
