CPU Shim, necessary?

[Jombo]

i was just browsing through, and happened upon this link on a shim. now the reviewer states that a shim is a good insurance poilicy for the cpu, but just wanted to run it by you guys.

not sure if there was a thread on this before, altho i would imagine there had been one, but my attendance here has been spotty at best

the review also mentions that a non-conductive shim is prob better than a copper one. but the one mentioned in the link is $9 + close to $7 ups shipped, pretty expensive in my eyes, but is it worth it?

edit: of course, i do a search after i post, and run into the post w/ no need for a shim answers... it's late, and i'm not thinking too well... well yer opinon besides, "do the search" is still appreciated

 

[Blain]

"well yer opinon besides, "do the search" is still appreciated"

[Edit]... Well forget my 6 easy steps.

 

[Jeff7181]

The shim isn't necessary... in fact, most people would advice against it, I'm one of them. A CPU can fry pretty quickly with a shim that's too thick... making it impossible for the heatsink to make proper contact with the CPU core. The only purpose of them is to prevent you from chipping the core when installing the heatsink... some people say it helps aid heat transfer, but I doubt it makes much difference. And if you're that worried about chipping the core, maybe you should have someone else install your heatsink for you =)

 

[bgeh]

i agree, i've heard vhorror stories about the shim being too thick and then causing the processor to fry

 

[savx]

It depends, if your using a standard HSF then you really don't need a shim (if you're careful installing the HSF). But if you are going to install a cooling sink using four screws (for motherboards that come w/ necessary holes), then I would go w/ a shim from a reputable manufacturer and not home built! If the shim is too thick (even by a fraction of a mm) it will kill your cpu.

Because, as you start tightening the screws, you'll start wondering: is this tight enough, is the HSF touching the core, if i do one more quarter turn will the core break...

 

[Jeff7181]

Don't they give a torque spec for the screws? My 1-36 inch lb torque wrench would come in handy for that =)

 

[human2k]

Originally posted by: bgeh
i agree, i've heard vhorror stories about the shim being too thick and then causing the processor to fry