grommets on cpu

[AC7]

when i had built my computer in august or so, i had (for various reasons) removed the 4 rubber grommets from the top of the cpu. Afterwards, i put on the heatsink and everything has been running fine. recently, though, a friend of mine told me that this could be a very dangerous thing to do. he thought that perhaps the heatsink might put too much pressure on the processor or something. does anyone know what effect the removal of those grommets actually has? Is it something that i should remedy very soon, or is it fine to leave things alone? Like i said, things seem to be fairly stable right now, but i don't want to find out this caused my processor to break in a year down the road. thanks.

[FrozenShadow23]

I'm gonna assume that your friend is wrong. Do you mean physical pressure? Or load pressure?

Either way, I'd guess that you're safe.

[Faithful Kato]

Asking safety questions without providing even a picture of that situation is like challenging the entire martial arts establishment. It takes balls but might not be the cleverest of strategies. The safe answer is yes it was foolish to remove them because we can't see what they were for. By the emperor, my iron left fist for a better explanation.

[Siskabush]

Im guessing those probably act like gaskets in cars. (Expand/contract when they are get cold/get hot and keep everything airtight). The grommets probably balance the little space between the CPU and the fan.

I would probably put them back on.

I also smell another "A-TEAM VAN" type poster

[cpugeniusmv]

well, you probably shouldn't have removed them...but there's also probably not an easy way to get them back on.

i'd just leave it how it is, and be careful when moving the machine.

[WE_DELIVER]

Are u talking about an athlon processor? I think those rubber things are supposed to distribute the pressure of the heatsink upon the rest of the processor, otherwise, you are putting too much pressure on the open core that Athlons have. You can crack it....

[AC7]

this isn't a picture of mine, but it's a pic i found which should explain what i meant anyway:

and yes, it is an athlon processor. i suppose i should try to correct this problem ASAP.

[WE_DELIVER]

you should be ok if u dont mess with it....although chances are if u put pressure on it, u might crush the core....I've heard of it happening even with those things on.

Just be careful

[AC7]

another dumb question: what exactly should i call those pieces? i've been calling them rubber grommets, but i'm pretty sure that's not the right description of them. anyone know a better or correct name for those pieces? *dodges rotten fruit*

[notbob]

another dumb question: what exactly should i call those pieces? i've been calling them rubber grommets, but i'm pretty sure that's not the right description of them. anyone know a better or correct name for those pieces? *dodges rotten fruit*

cpu spacers, or shims, or gaskets

[cpugeniusmv]

i think the technical term would be "rubber thingies"

[AC7]

after following the various leads you guys gave me, i finally found a load of info i needed. apparently, i am insanely lucky to have installed a huge heatsink on my cpu w/o any pads, resulting in a working and non-crushed cpu. thanks for all the help.