Getting the heatsink on a motherboard

[IronOxide]

This is my first time building a computer and I'm having a little trouble. I can't seem to get the heatsink to properly fit onto the motherboard. I'm now not sure if my motherboard (I'm not sure if mine is a pro version) and my heatsink are compatiable since I'm using a athlon 2000 xp processor. I figured I could turn to you caring anandtechers for some help. Super-thanks in advance!!

Rus

 

[mechBgon]

Your intuition is correct... that heatsink isn't made to attach to that type of CPU socket. If you'd like a good one for a pretty good price, here's a nice copper-based Taisol for $9.95 and you probably should pick up a tube of good-quality thermal compound because I don't think that Taisol actually comes with the thermal pad that they're showing in the photo.

When you do install it, make sure that the end of the heatsink that has a step cut into it (the top edge in that photo) is oriented to match up with the raised, solid-plastic end of your CPU socket (on a K7S5A or K7S5A Pro, this is the end of the CPU socket that faces the memory slots). Have fun with your new system!

 

[IronOxide]

Thank you very much. I was going to ask about thermal compound, but I forgot to. I was just going to post a question and you had already answered it. I only have one other question. The case I'm building in has a window so do you/anyone know of a good heatsink that looks cool? One that has a colored fan on top or anything would be sweet. Thanks!

Rus

 

[mechBgon]

Hmm, well I see that most of the colored/lighted fans are 80mm fans, so that really narrows down the options. Not so many heatsinks are made for 80mm fans. Of the ones that are, probably the best bet is the Thermalright SK-7, a nice all-copper unit that goes for around $20 (fan not included). Pick the 80mm fan that you like best, and there you go. It's a fantastic performer too.

The 80mm fan does hang over the edges of the SK-7, so it may look a bit "top-heavy." At any rate, http://www.svc.com is a popular place for getting the lighted fans and Thermalright sinks, and they carry thermal compound too. The SK-7 does come with some thermal compound but I like to know that I'm using top-quality compound, so I'd get the Arctic Alumina or one of the other Arctic types, if it were me.

One other note if you do get an SK-7: it can slide back and forth on its clip. One end of the clip has no screwdriver-tip receptacle, and this would go at the left on your board. Get that end hooked on the CPU socket, then slide the heatsink to the left until it hits the clip, before latching down the other side of the clip. This prevents the situation shown in Figure 14 of this guide, which would overheat your CPU.

 

[IronOxide]

I found a couple I thought were pretty cheap and cool looking. This one at newegg and this one at svc caught my eye. What do you think? Is either one very good of a heatsink? Also, I would obviously want to me make sure it would work with my stuff (I'm sure they would, but I already messed this up once!)

P.S. Thanks so much mechBgon!!

Rus

 

[mechBgon]

The Newegg link isn't working out for me.

I'm philisophically opposed to all things made/marketed by Thermaltake, ever since they threatened to sue one of the Forum members for posting test results that showed that a Thermaltake heatsink was not very good at cooling CPUs. Kind of like when Suzuki decided to sue Consumer Reports for reporting that the Suzuki Samurai was prone to rolling over, instead of fixing the problem.

So make your own mind up whether you want to support a company like that. I'm sure not going to. The Thermalright heatsinks are the real deal, with excellent performance and construction.

 

[IronOxide]

Hmm.....that's too bad about thermaltake. I really like the look of their heatsinks. It's totally cool that it has the lights and all that jazz. I found this at svc (where I think I'm going to place my order), but I don't know what kind of fan I could put on there. But dang, they don't have any decent small fans. I may have to go with the better heatsink (sk-7) and get a bigger fan.

 

[mechBgon]

Some people put 80mm fans on the SK-6+ diamond-wise Never done it myself.

 

[IronOxide]

would it look funny or would it fit normal? Thanks again by the way.

 

[IronOxide]

oh and is this any good?

 

[mechBgon]

I'm not sure how it would look. The lighted fan would probably divert any attention from the heatsink itself. The Arctic Alumina is good, go for it

 

[IronOxide]

is that thermal compound any good?

 

[mechBgon]

Yeah, it's high-quality stuff that should hold up for extended periods.

(see how I got a five-digit post count...? )

 

[mechBgon]

D'oh, double post!

 

[IronOxide]

Ok, I'm pissed off. I spend like 4-5 hours trying to figure out what I want to buy at svc, and then right before I submit I read:

Note: If your billing and shipping addresses do not match:

The shipping address must be filed with the credit card company.
The credit card company's telephone number must be entered on the order form
If these two conditions are not met, your order will be placed on hold and will be delayed indefinitely.

I'm living elsewhere for the summer, and the address isn't on my credit card. Oh well.

 

[mechBgon]

You can call your CC company and add your current address, it's a nuisance but it gets the job done

 

[IronOxide]

Thanks dude for all the help. I'll probably need some more in a couple of days after I get the order and all that good stuff. Thanks!

Rus

 

[mechBgon]

Sure thing, have fun with the new rig