Nice!

Couldn't get my AMD K6-II machine to compile kernel 2.4.18, it crapped out in random places. Many googles later this site introduced me to the wonder that is thermal paste/ heatsink gel. Now it blasts through that sucker. What struck me as funny was that there was no residue of any similar paste in the area before.

Here's what I did for those stumbling upon this post in a hot daze:

Opened case.
Blasted MB with canned air to rid of dust.
Grounded thineself
Took off heat sink
Cleaned heatsink with nail polish remover
Lightly used canned air on top of processor (careful - too close and the cold liquid can condense on the surface)
Applied some paste to the top of the processor - a few small dabs and lines
Rubbed heatsink around on top of processor - until I could hear/feel metal on metal contact (the paste is supposed to fill in the gaps between the heatsink and the processor - but the thinner the layer the better heat transfer)
re-attached heatsink
Closed up computer
Compiled!

This is funny, since the manual that came with my AMD Athlon XP said NOT to use thermal paste/grease... go figure--by the way, the kind folks who helped me build my computer blithely ignored this and it runs fine.

Maybe that's true with your new AMD - mine is 5 or so years old. I saw alot on the web that AMD runs hot and that the goo is the way to go.

BTW are thermal paste and heatsink gel the same stuff? If they're not I probably sound like a doofus by using them interchangeably. The stuff I used - got from Radio Shack - was labeled a 'heatsink gel'.

Probably are the same thing, they do the same thing .

I had the same problems with my freebsd kernel compile on my AMD k6 450. Got a massive heatsink on it and that fixed it. kernel compiles are great hardware stress tests.