WARNING- If you or someone you know is using a Cooler Master HSF on their Duron/Tbird, please take note. I just removed a Cooler Master DP5-5G11 from my 800 MHz Tbird and discovered, much to my horror, that the HS had chipped the ceramic die of the Tbird! I know I installed the HS properly (no side loads, no rocking during installation) and this HSF is approved by AMD for Tbirds up to 850 MHz. Upon further inspection, I discovered a small ridge approximately 0.001" tall (I could barely detect it with my finger nail)
and very narrow running the length of the heat sink contact surface. This ridge just so happens to line up perfectly with one of the long edges of the die, and is where the ceramic dust was sticking to the thermal compound. One thousandth of an inch doesn't seem like much, but a defect like this could create serious stress oncentrations where it contacts the die!
I am hopeful that this is an isolated manufacturing defect and that this is not a systemic problem for these very common coolers. If I had to guess, I would say that this ridge was created by the machining process (a two-pass end mill operation will produce this kind of ridge) and was not removed by any final surface finishing. If any of you have a Coolermaster HS, please check the bottom for flatness and defects before installing on a Duron/Tbird!!! My solution was to remove the ridge using a small flat/square
sanding block and 340 Grit garnet sandpaper. When I first started sanding, the defect became very apparent, and was obviously a high spot, not a low spot. After 5 minutes or so the contact surdace was flat (Do NOT remove the small ridges on either end of the HS- sand around them) and I finished the job by sanding with 440 grit for a relatively smooth surface.
In the past, this type of defect would go unnoticed because the HS was not in direct contact with the relatively fragile die. Now that they are, caution must be exercised. Fortunately, the damage to the ceramic die did NOT kill my CPU, but it easily could have. And I can tell you just how much responsibility Cooler Master would have taken for a dead $200 CPU- NONE!
A final thought- since the Duron/Tbird die is so (relatively) fragile, I would check the bottom of ANY heatsink for flatness/imperfections prior to installation.
If anyone else finds the same defect, please post so that we can determine if this is an isolated instance, or a real problem. Thanks.
and very narrow running the length of the heat sink contact surface. This ridge just so happens to line up perfectly with one of the long edges of the die, and is where the ceramic dust was sticking to the thermal compound. One thousandth of an inch doesn't seem like much, but a defect like this could create serious stress oncentrations where it contacts the die!
I am hopeful that this is an isolated manufacturing defect and that this is not a systemic problem for these very common coolers. If I had to guess, I would say that this ridge was created by the machining process (a two-pass end mill operation will produce this kind of ridge) and was not removed by any final surface finishing. If any of you have a Coolermaster HS, please check the bottom for flatness and defects before installing on a Duron/Tbird!!! My solution was to remove the ridge using a small flat/square
sanding block and 340 Grit garnet sandpaper. When I first started sanding, the defect became very apparent, and was obviously a high spot, not a low spot. After 5 minutes or so the contact surdace was flat (Do NOT remove the small ridges on either end of the HS- sand around them) and I finished the job by sanding with 440 grit for a relatively smooth surface.
In the past, this type of defect would go unnoticed because the HS was not in direct contact with the relatively fragile die. Now that they are, caution must be exercised. Fortunately, the damage to the ceramic die did NOT kill my CPU, but it easily could have. And I can tell you just how much responsibility Cooler Master would have taken for a dead $200 CPU- NONE!
A final thought- since the Duron/Tbird die is so (relatively) fragile, I would check the bottom of ANY heatsink for flatness/imperfections prior to installation.
If anyone else finds the same defect, please post so that we can determine if this is an isolated instance, or a real problem. Thanks.
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