Originally Posted by
Red X
The thermal paste looks like its evenly spread, so I'd assume there was a heatsink on their previously. I don't see any mounting brackets or anything, so it could possible be a different type of heatsink.
Yea, that heatsink was mounted on the CPU at one point.
I've installed several of those heatsinks on Intel cpus. The mounting clips are on the heatsink, the motherboard just has 4 holes. They just push into the holes around the cpu. The last one you do is always really hard. I'd say you 'almost' have to bend the motherboard to get it to go in, but that'd be a lie. You DO have to bend the motherboard to get them to latch. Crappy design on Intel's part.
Some mounting pics:
http://www.virtual-hideout.net/artic...ng/index.shtml
Stock intel heatsinks use a '3 strips of thermal paste inside a sort of circular' setup on the bottom of the heatsinks. The heat and pressure spread it evenly.... like has been done on the CPU in the OP.
http://www.virtual-hideout.net/artic...king/C2D17.jpg
Fake? Possible. True? Possible.
But the CPU did have a heatsink on it for at least some time, because that thermal paste is pretty good and even.