AMD recommended?

[dpaige]

I want to get a heatsink for a 1.4ghz Athlon. Do heatsinks have to be recommended by the chip makers? Should I get one that they approve of or does it not matter. Any sugestions on which I should get?

Dante

 

[kevstev]

I am not exactly sure how extensive the list is, or how current they keep it, but in general it is a good idea to stick to the list. Especially in the case of a 1.4 ghz athlon, I would make sure that you have a damn good heatsink and fan, especially if you want to overclock it. If you read reviews, and you know you are buying a big brand name one (see the site's review on 46! coolers) I wouldnt sweat it too much. You *might* run into some warranty troubles if you do not though. But hey, youre reading this site, you dont need no stinkin tech support (or shouldnt). Then again, the list might be grossly outdated. Wait for some other opinions (you prob should have included a link to the list for lazy people like me).
-k

I pledge allegiance, to the flag, of the Corporate Republic of America...

 

[FatBurger]

The AMD approved list is pretty pathetic. Although it's a good reference, there are MANY more heatsinks out there that aren't on the list. My advice? Read plenty of reviews, especially ones that test a whole bunch of heatsinks at a time. Then get whatever looks the best
What do I have? A ThermoEngine with a 7k Delta fan from <A HREF="http://www.3dcool.com" target="_new">3Dcool.com</A>.
Course, I only have a 1.2

------------------------------
Apple? Macintosh? What are these strange words you speak?

 

[Guest]

To be AMD recommended just means that it falls within their certain standards. The standards are meant for OEM mostly so that a packaged computer with the "approved" heatsink there is little chance that the CPU will get broken. If they shipped it with say a cak38 that weighs like 500grams. Who knows what would happen. Most of the heatsinks on Toms 46 review probably are not approved by AMD. They are either too heavy or too big. But as many have said and Toms test shows they do a good job at cooling.

As far as warranty goes. AMD only gives you like a 30 day one if you buy an OEM chip. IF you buy a retail package that comes with a heatsink/fan they give you a 3 year warranty. The stock heatsink/fan work. That is about all I can say but I wouldn't say they work the best. I have one for a 1.33 and lets just say I am replacing it with a Thermoengine.

So to answer your question..they only have to be approved if you are building OEM computers for AMD to warranty the chips. Roughly anyway.

BTW the Thermoengine with stock fan is approved and will do an excellent job. Another one that is on the approved list that will probably work is the volcano2 (its cheap but if you are not going to overclock will work fine)


"Sorry Sir we can't replace your Toshiba cup holder....Toshiba does not make cup holders."

 

[Guest]

I recently bought an AMD processor in a box. It was an AMD athlon 800. The heatsink came with the processor was AMD approved. Now I must tell you first that all aspects of my case and power supply comply with the recommended AMD aspects. My power supply draws in air from underneath and so extracts air from above the processor. However under very high loads the processor has reached 61C. (Too High!) This may be due to the Voodoo 3 3500 installed below it. My case is a server tower case with an inlet fan st the bottom and outlet at the top. The motherboard runs at a temperatue of 30C. How could AMD supply such a bad heatsink and fan with one of their processors? The cooling around the porcessor is perfect no cables around it. I will soon be investing in better heatsink!