quick compound question

[Guest]

Ok, I'm putting together my first AMD system and just have a quick question about cooling

I'll have a AMD TB 1.3 226 sitting on an A7M226. I have this great looking 'TT Super Orb Thermal Take' to sit on top. You get some silicone compound with the Orb.

Is it just a case of dabbing a little blob onto the central chunk of the processor? Or should be looking at a more heavy-duty compound / method? (I don't have any plans to o/c this setup.)

TT Super Orb Thermal Take, 25.45 CFM

Thx!

Mylex

 

[paulcalmond]

I have to tell you that your choice of heatsink fan (HSF)
the Super Orb is considered by many people to be not a very
effective cooler.

The same conclusion was drawn by a recent review of 24 coolers on Tom's Hardware Guide see this link

<A HREF="http://www6.tomshardware.com/cpu/01q1/010306/cooler-16.html" target="_new">http://www6.tomshardware.com/cpu/01q1/010306/cooler-16.html</A>

For a processor like your 1.3Ghz T.Bird, which even in non overclocked mode produces a lot of heat (approx 65W) you really need an efficient HSF.

Two good models are Swiftech's MC370 and the even better
Swiftech MC462. The only negative points about these,
particularly with the MC462 is that they are very noisy.
Also you would need to check that there was enough free space around the processor socket on your A7M266 if you were to consider replacing your Super Orb with either of these two.

Another excellent HSF which will fit an A7M266 (I have one on mine ) is the Silverado by Noisecontrol (a German company), this is also very quiet as well as good at cooling

As regards thermal compound I would recommend Arctic Silver II (about $10 for a 3g tube which is enough for several applications) its rated highly by many people.

To apply any thermal compound you put a small amount on the processor core (the small rectangle in centre of chip that has AMD Athlon written on it)
and then spread it out to form a thin layer using something like the edge of a credit card (cleaned first with Isopropyl-Alcohol )

See Arctic Silver's web site for detailed instructions

<A HREF="http://www.arcticsilver.com/arctic_silver_instructions.htm" target="_new">http://www.arcticsilver.com/arctic_silver_instructions.htm</A>


<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by paulcalmond on 04/25/01 09:42 AM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[Guest]

Damn! I thought the Orb looked really cool as well. Thanks for the link to the 23 HSF reviews, that's my afternoon at work taken care of nicely!

Mylex

 

[Tempus]

Ya, it looks cool, but it is noisy and sux at cooling.

- Tempus fugit donec vestrum relictus tripudium. Autem amor praeterea magis pretium.

 

[Crashman]

The Globalwin FOP-32 works well, as does the Thermaltake VolcanoII, and these are relatively inexpensive units.

Cast not thine pearls before the swine