Copper Shims

[Mahimahi]

Hello guys,
I found this good looking copper shims on the site www.overclockershideout.com. It is a spacer that goes between the processor and the heatsink.
They are meant to avoid misalignment of the heatsink in the horizontal plane.
On the first look I tought, this is thé solution. But then came the doubts. How can anyone calculate the exact thickness of those things? Too thick means that the heatsink will make no contact with the CPU, too thin and the leveling function is zero.
Does anyone has any experience with these things?
Thanks in advance,
Roger

 

[Guest]

While I have no first hand experience, most serious overclockers I know are very big on them. They seem to do a good job of heat transfer and protecting the core and are essential if you want to keep heat down.

 

[Mahimahi]

Thanks for the reply Buckeye, but are you not confusing the shims with an heatplate? The shims have a cutout for the core so no heat can go from the core to the shim, in my opinion they are only meant for keeping the heatsink or the watercooler in a perfect horizontal position. Or am I wrong?

<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by Mahimahi on 12/18/00 02:44 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[yoda271828]

The cooling is improved. The core still transmitts heat to the chip carrier (which is in contact with the shim). Another point is that due to the fact that the heatsink is aligned better the heat transfer will be improved. The copper shims do help to cool the CPU as well as keep it aligned properly.

 

[Mahimahi]

Thanks for the reply Yoda, but what with the thickness? When the shim is a tenth of a millimeter thicker than the part of the core that comes above the chip carrier there will be no contact between the heat sink and the core. All the calories are then to be evacuated through the arctic silver paste which is less conductif than the metal of the heatsink.
In the other case, when the shim is a tenth of a millimeter thinner than the part of the core that comes above the chip carrier then the heatsink will rest on the core but will not be horizontally aligned by the shim. Can you see what my problem is?
Roger

 

[yoda271828]

I understand your concern, but I've never heard about any problems due to incorrect thickness. Both the CPU die and the copper shim will <i>give</i> a little. Silicon and copper are relatively soft materials (compared to aluminium or ceramic, etc...) and should correct any thickness differences. All I can say is to buy a good quality copper shim, and check the tolerences with calipers to make sure the difference isn't too great.

 

[Mahimahi]

Thanks Yoda!
I'll buy one and check it out, they are inexpensif anyway.

 

[Oni]

I could be speaking out of my @ss but I think they probably make shims specifically for your processor. Not really sure though