IMO, You can't use the rice grain drop method on HDT technology.
Try spreading a thin layer of TIM on the IHS.
See either it perform better or worse.

But still, i don't think the rice grain drop method is useful on HDT technology.

The reason why the rice grain method won't work on HDT based heatsink is because HDT tends to have some "longkang" on each side of the heatpipes, thus, it reduces the thermal transfer power.

If you use rice grain method, the TIM layer will be so thin, it won't go into those "longkang" which will result to a weaker thermal transfer.
On HDT, you need to spread the TIM all over the processor's IHS, with a lil bit more TIM on the IHS, some of the TIM will be pushed into those "longkang's".

Despite the high performance of HDT technology based heatsink, i found two weakness in HDT:
1. You can't use HDT based heatsink on naked core CPU & GPU.
2. You have to use more TIM compared to non HDT heatsink.

PS:
Sorry, i don't remember what's "longkang" in english. Sorry!

This post has been edited by sHawTY: Apr 10 2008, 05:33 PM

YES.
Indeed it is hard to secure all of the 4 pin.

What should you do is take out the motherboard and fix the heatsink to the board before you put it back into the casing.

PS:
This is why most hardcore users prefer bolt through compared to push pin method.

Well then, i'll just call the best minds and show that a processor can't be cooler than the room temperature.

No, you just have to accept that a processor will never run at a lower temperature unless you're using a cascade / phase change / dry ice or LN2.
Even watercooling can't cool a processor than the room temperature.

I'm using a high end watercooling kit on my Q6600 G0 [at stock speed] with my room cooled by a 2.5HP air conditioner set to run at 14°C that runs for 24 hours, my processor still runs at 28 degrees. If a watercooling kit can't cool a processor lower than the room temperature, it's impossible for an aircooling heatsink to do that.

By the way, my watercooling kit consits of a bowed D-TEK FuZion, Swiftech MCP655-B, Swiftech MCRES Micro & Cool-Trek DP1203.

This post has been edited by sHawTY: May 6 2008, 10:20 PM

You're missing the point.
There's zero possibility that you can cool a processor cooler than the room temperature using watercooling / aircooling. It's impossible.
It doesn't matter how many fans you're using, that doesn't make your processor goes cooler.

By the way, my 2.5HP airconditioner is set to run at 14°C 24 hours blows directly to the radiator. I only do this to test my watercooling kit. Because i can't sleep in my room if i were to do that kind of cooling 24/7/365.
I chucked in a temperature sensor in the watercooling tube and the temperature of the water coming out from the radiator after cooled by the fan and the airconditioner is 20°C, my processor still runs at 28°C.

If there's another guy getting an even lower temperature than yours, then that means he's getting the same problem as yours.

So, unless you're using a cascade / phase change / dry ice or LN2, there's no way a processor can run at a temperature that's even lower than the room temperature.

Those softwares took the temperature readings from your motherboard temperature sensor, so if your motherboard temperature sensor is crippled, so as the results.

Again, if your room temperature is 20.5°C, how can your processor goes 19°C?

No matter how bad you want to prove this, you still can't defy the rules of physics.
You can't prove anything just using software temperature sensors.
Wanna prove the real temperature? Get a laser temperature sensor and shove it on your processor, from there we'll see either you can defy the rules of physics.

Also, one important note, i have a Q6600 G0 that has a very low VID, my room temperature is lower than yours, which is 18°C, i'm using watercooling, but the temperature of my Q6600 G0 is still 28°C.