Buying my athlon 64 3200 90nm... OEM?

[Marktoloba]

If i buy the retail version and change the hsf will I still have the warranty? or if i by the oem and use a new hsf am i better off? Whats the warranty of OEM's?

thanks

 

[ts3433]

OEM processors are warranted for either 30, 60, or 90 days--I forget which.

You (technically) void your retail warranty by using a different HSF, though this is easy to cover up. Just don't RMA if the chip is fried by user error.

 

[Marktoloba]

so what would be my best bet?

 

[ts3433]

The stock cooler's actually pretty effective (it has pre-applied Shin-Etsu thermal grease), even for overclocking, so you can try that first. If you find you need something quieter or more effective, then look at an aftermarket unit.

 

[Marktoloba]

Also if i bought a retail and used the arctic silver 5 would it void my warranty?

 

[ts3433]

I know it did on Socket A processors, but I'm not too clear on whether or not it does on newer ones (I'm thinking maybe it doesn't because of the heatspreader). Regardless, you don't need to do that with the stock cooler--Shin-Etsu is pretty much as effective as AS5.

 

[TheGreenGoblin]

Originally posted by: ts3433

You void your retail warranty by using a different HSF.

The only way AMD would ever find out you were using another HSF is if you tell them. If you do decide to use another HSF , hold on to the stock one. For the Athlon XP's , AMD uses the sticker on the HSF to determine if your cpu is under warranty. Don't know if this is the case with the A64's.

And don't worry about Arctic Silver voiding your warranty. Just keep this to yourself if ever the time comes to RMA the CPU.

 

[Marktoloba]

So I should by the stock version, get Arctic Silver, Get the zalmon 7000alcu... Then just go from there... And i'd still maintain my warranty?

 

[Regs]

I would go with the Zalman only if you plan to overclock the A64 to 2.4+ with a 1:1 divider. Meaning you better have some good ram for it to keep up with the CPU bus. If not, you will be wasting money. Mine is running at a 5:3. Bus is at 240 and ram is at 200. Runs at 32c idle.

 

[TheGreenGoblin]

Originally posted by: Marktoloba
So I should by the stock version, get Arctic Silver, Get the zalmon 7000alcu... Then just go from there... And i'd still maintain my warranty?

Like I said , technically your warranty would be voided by using a 3rd party HSF but AMD would never find that out unless you tell them. I think the same applies for AS.

So stick with the retail CPU and get the Zalman + AS if cooling and noise are important to you.

 

[Marktoloba]

Thanks... I have 1gig of PC3200 Value ram.... Should that be enough to overclock quite a bit?

 

[MDE]

Originally posted by: Marktoloba
Thanks... I have 1gig of PC3200 Value ram.... Should that be enough to overclock quite a bit?

Yes, I'm at 2.5 on my 3000+ with PC3200 Mushkin value RAM.

 

[DoC91383]

You do not need expensive ram, read zebos STICKYED thead.

 

[sxr7171]

AMD Warranty Info

Is this still true?

 

[TheGreenGoblin]

If it is I don't see it as being much of an issue.