Aftermarket Heatsink/Cooling Installation Question

[ccubed]

Okay, this is embarassing, but if I buy an aftermarket heatsink/cooling component like the Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro will I be replacing the stock components on my CPU and installing the cooler right onto the CPU chip?

I feel dumb for asking but there's a deal on an E8400 CPU and motherboard but they call it a "tray unit" and said it doesn't come with a heatsink or fan. Still not sure what a "tray unit" is, but I was planning on using some aftermarket cooling anyway and realized I had never done so before and didn't really know the ins and outs.

So would I be replacing the stock heatsink/fan anyway if I was getting a new CPU and was planning to use the Freezer 7?

Thanks and please don't point and laugh or pat me on the head.

 

[DaveSimmons]

Tray unit = was sold as a tray of bare chips without heatsinks, like a case of soda or beer. As opposed to retail box where the chip is in a nice box with a heatsink. Also known as "OEM" or "white box" for other parts.

You'll put that bare chip onto the chip holder on the motherboard, then plop down the heatsink instead of the one that would have come with the retail box. The freezer has the push pins just like the retail CPU if I recall correctly.

 

[DSF]

Basically instead of installing the stock heatsink, you would install your aftermarket one. Motherboards come with mounting systems for the CPU heatsink - exactly what this looks like varies from socket type to socket type, but each socket has its own standard. For Socket 775, there are four holes at the corners of the CPU socket, and each heatsink has four pins that clip into those holes. (Some models use spring-loaded screws, but same idea.) Instead of mounting the stock Intel heatsink and fan assembly, you'll just pop the Freezer on.

Here's a video showing the CPU and heatsink installation using the stock cooler. All you would do differently is mount the Freezer instead, remembering to clean the CPU and cooler base and apply thermal material before mounting.

 

[faxon]

just some food for thought, the cooler you picked isnt designed nearly as well as some of the other HDT coolers on the market, though it is cheaper i will admit. one of the things to look for in an after market cooler is solid design, and if you can find them, thermal benchmarks. www.benchmarkreviews.com has some good reviews on a few of the top Heat-pipe Direct Touch coolers. based on their benchmarks, for only $10 more, you can get the Xigmatec HDT-S1283 (actually better than its big brother, again due to design flaws in the placement of the heat pipes), which is bested (arguably) by only the OCZ Vendetta 2, which is $50.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16835233003


as far as installation goes, most of the good after market coolers are easy to install and use the same mounting brackets, though usually they are more sturdy and secure when being fastened down than the stock cooler ever was