Chrome Orb almost killed My mother board

[Bignate603]

Ok, i just built my first system from scratch. Before this, i've done upgrades, even scraping whole motherboards and stuff, but never from the ground up. I thought i would pick up the chrome orb because i heard a few good things. Mistake...
The thing was almost impossible to get on. then it let my normally clocked athlon t'bird get up to 50C i decided it was time to take it off and put on thermal compound. Only problem was that it wouldn't come off. They made the spring almost impossible to get off. It took about an hour and a screwdriver to get it off, but it took one of the plastic things that held it on the CPU off with it. Now my socket had only a little stub where that should be.

I went down to my local computer shop and they saved me. When i put the C'orb and my system on the desk he said "you broke the socket didn't you." Apprently he's seen a few of this. They had a heatsink that would work with that little nub almost not there. I could have found another better one but that would have taken time. I gave the guy behind the desk the C'orb because i had no use ofr it. He said he may put it on something, but not a CPU, didn't want to ruin a board.

Moral of the story is that the C'orb is a decent cooler, but make sure you get the thermal grease and compound on right the first time you put it on. You DON'T want to take it off.

Mental note: It was probably my stupidity, but i was pretty lucky to fix the prob under $15 bucks.

 

[BigToque]

I thought AMD recomended that you dont use thermal grease.

I've installed many of these coolers on TBirds and Durons at work, and havent had anything like that happen yet.

The only problem I've had is with the Abit KT7. The capasitors by the socket are too close and sometimes get dammaged when putting on the HS/F.

[edit]its possible that you put the cooler on backwards too. I saw someone who brought their system back complaining of crashes and a really hot CPU. Lo and behold, it was on backwards, and part of the core wasn't covered.[/edit]

 

[Bignate603]

Wasn't on backwards... the chome orb would have CRUSHED the core because the way it's bottom is made if i tried that. And the fans that some in the boxed processors come with thermal grease on em. I did what the guys at the shop told me to, they actually ran me through the steps and let me do it right there. I love that shop, they may have lost money because of taking a bit of time on me for a $15 sale, but i know where i'm shopping form now on.

 

[BigToque]

crushed the core?

I've installed many chrome orbs and gold orbs and have not had problem with them yet.

 

[noxipoo]

i can't imagine AMD saying no heatsink compound is recommened

 

[Bignate603]

if you put it on backwards it would have crushed it.

 

[flood]

how hot is your chip running now with the new hs/fan?

 

[hungrypete]

i've installed a couple of chrome orbs, anf never had any probs, except for the kt7, which it doesnt fit AT ALL. Mine come off as easy as they go on. No matter which HSF you use you should always bend the clips so that they have the "right" amount of pressure. STEFAN- did you actually get on of those things on a KT7? I almost snapped off one of the capacitors tryibng to get it installed.....

 

[DaddyG]

Bignate,

The ORB WILL go on backwards without crushing the core, In fact this is the only way to get it on a KT7 without damaging/bending the caps. The problem is that the hsf doesn't contact the core properly.

 

[ColdTech]

I Have a C'Orb & it goes on & off without a problem... As Long as I Use a small screw driver to wedge the clip away from the Socket

 

[silent tone]

I found out that the chrome orb doesn't fit the kt7 after I bought it. I didn't want to damage the caps that are way too close to mount the orb. So I popped off the four of the fins and it works just fine.

 

[Bignate603]

my cpu still goes over 50 degrees, ugh, it really bugs me. It has the thermal compund on and everything, the heatsink gets pretty warm.

 

[randomlinh]

ok, this whole "no thermal compound thing" is absurd.... where does AMD say NOT to use it?!?!?!? That's pretty much the basic ingrident in a HSF combo.. some good ass thermal compound. This is something you shouldn't skip out on (and put on properly).

 

[ride525]

I 've heard that AMD seems to recommend thermal pads...more than thermal grease...however here's info from AMD's recommended cooling for the Duron which doesn't say that at all.



<< This web page provides details of the cooling solutions recommended for use with the AMD DuronTM processor. These cooling solutions have been tested to ensure compliance with the thermal requirements of the AMD Duron processor. These cooling solutions will enable reliable operation provided they are used with a thermal interface material, such as thermal paste, necessary to establish an efficient and robust thermal contact. >>

 

[formulav8]

I have not had any problems with the original golden orb or the chrome orb. I think it has to do with the people putting them on.

 

[DaddyG]

Inguyen,

I sent E-Mail to AMD regarding Phase Change Thermal Compound (commonly referred to as 'pads'). AMD responded that they do recommend PCTC, most thermal grease can not handle the high temps of TBIRDS. Most AMD approved HSF's come with PCTC pre-applied, usually Chomerics T725.

Bignate, if your HSF is getting warm, thats a good sign, try a more powerful fan.

 

[Bignate603]

I may, see that was what worried me with the orb, it didn't even get warm when the chip got hot! at least i know it's transferring heat... I got thermal compound on now, is there a way to switch to a pad because i guess somebody said that you should use thermal pads instead of compound.

 

[randomlinh]

if so, you better be finding some AMD approved pads or something.. cause from what I've heard, better to use grease (pre t-bird at least... first i've heard of the cpu using a pad).

Now, what about some arctic silver? We're throwing paste and pads around, but aren't really saying much about where it'd be from

 

[DaddyG]

Inguyen,

Search the forums, I've posted the brands before that AMD recommended.
CHOMERICS T725 is the brand that many approved HSF manufacturers have chosen. AAVID has PCTC in a ''stick' form, kinda like a mini deoderant, two 'swipes' on the core and away you go.