Hi Geminguy,
First off, let me agree with the others that the intel-supplied HSF obviously gave you a couple of years of good service and it would not be wrong to by one as a repair part to put on your CPU. I will, however, suggest that there are better coolers that can most often be purchased cheaper than the Intel part.
Copper based HSF units (like those for AMD) do cool the CPU better, but they are also heavier and have stronger springs in their mounting clips. They can put too much strain on the plastic tabs of a the S370 ZIF socket which was not designed for the added stress.
If you want a better-than-stock cooler for your CPU take a look at the Spire coolers. One of these should do a bang up job without making a lot of noise...
<A HREF="http://www.spirecooler.com/asp/fcc.asp?ProdID=74" target="_new">http://www.spirecooler.com/asp/fcc.asp?ProdID=74</A>
<A HREF="http://www.spirecooler.com/asp/fcc.asp?ProdID=72" target="_new">http://www.spirecooler.com/asp/fcc.asp?ProdID=72</A>
As with all coolers I strongly recommend removing the rubbery gunk on the bottom and using a good quality heat sink grease. Radio Shack (if they are in your area) has an excellent product they sell in small tubes, Arctic Silver is also very good (but far more expensive)...
Usage instructions for heat sink grease can be found here:
<A HREF="http://www.arcticsilver.com/arctic_silver_instructions.htm" target="_new">http://www.arcticsilver.com/arctic_silver_instructions.htm</A>
Although these instructions are for Arctic Silver, the same method should be used no matter what brand of grease you choose. (You may also find usefull information in my recent posting in the thread "Thermal Compounds", where I describe how I prepare the HSF and CPU for installation.)
Good luck... and don't leave this till you end up frying another expensive chip.
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