Boxed HSF or not?

[spittledip]

Hi,

For an Athlon 64 3200, is the HSF that comes with sufficient to protect the CPU against normal ware and tear, meaning anything except overclocking (gaming, video encoding, office apps, etc)? Should one always purchase a better HSF than what comes with the CPU? What are everyones thoughts on this?

thanks

 

[JC]

I've found AMD's HSFs adequate for moderate overclocking by replacing the thermal pad with AS5.

 

[Triggerhappy007]

Originally posted by: spittledip
Hi,

For an Athlon 64 3200, is the HSF that comes with sufficient to protect the CPU against normal ware and tear, meaning anything except overclocking (gaming, video encoding, office apps, etc)? Should one always purchase a better HSF than what comes with the CPU? What are everyones thoughts on this?

thanks

Why do you think they box them with the processor if they're not adequate for normal use? Just use the one that came with your CPU and you won't have to worry about the 3-year warranty.

 

[F1shF4t]

Originally posted by: Triggerhappy007

Originally posted by: spittledip
Hi,

For an Athlon 64 3200, is the HSF that comes with sufficient to protect the CPU against normal ware and tear, meaning anything except overclocking (gaming, video encoding, office apps, etc)? Should one always purchase a better HSF than what comes with the CPU? What are everyones thoughts on this?

thanks

Why do you think they box them with the processor if they're not adequate for normal use? Just use the one that came with your CPU and you won't have to worry about the 3-year warranty.

The stock HSF works fine with single cores, i ve overclocked my 3200+ to 2.5ghz without any problems, stayed at around 46C full load.

 

[pulsedrive]

Just to add another voice, yeah the stock HSF is fine. As one other person pointed out, if it didn't work to cover it during normal use then why would AMD warranty their products. You will be just fine.

 

[PingSpike]

AMDs stock HSFs are pretty good. I also am running a moderate overclock on mine, with the addition of AS5. (3000+ venice @ 2.43)

 

[n7]

Aside from generally being kinda loud & whiney (though not in all cases), the stock HSF is perfectly fine, even for pretty heavy OCing.

As long as you aren't cranking up the vcore, you won't have much more heat output.

 

[spittledip]

good point about the warranty...

thanks for the input everyone

 

[Allio]

My 3200+ at 2.6ghz with 1.5v stays at about 40c load when it's a cool day and 46c load when it's warm. Plus the fan is quiet. And it's free!