Heatsinks..

[Araemo]

My new opteron 144 is getting a little heat-stifled. I'm interested in a GOOD heatsink, but I am not willing to take my entire system apart to take the motherboard out again. What's a good heatsink that uses the Socket 939 plastic bracket?

I've been browsing the newegg reviews, but it's hard to get real info out of them, especially as most reviewers don't say what kind of CPU gets 99 degrees. ;P

Of course, with some bigger heatsinks, I might have mounting issues on my ASRock 939 DualSATA board, but I doubt it'll be a big deal, it looks like theres a lot of room on this board..

 

[BlueWeasel]

I think the new AMD X2/Opteron heatsinks (the one with the 4 large heatpipes on one side) cool very well and they can be gotten usually for $15-$20 off Ebay or the FS/FT forum. Depending on the fan you use, their performance is similar to the XP-90 heatsink.

I've got a Sempron64 3100+ running at 2.5Ghz with 1.55v. Previously, I had a TT Venus 7+ and my maximum load temp would hit 51-52C. After putting the heatpipe heatsink on, those same temps dropped to 45C. The only drawback is the stock fan isn't very quiet, but just replace it with a quiet 80mm fan of your choice.

Review here: http://www.madshrimps.be/?action=getarticle&articID=399

 

[F1shF4t]

Sonic tower, undo the bolts on the bracket keep the mounting bracket ther, put the mounting clip from thermaltake, put the bolts back in fully, and vola done.
I didn't use the thermaltake instructions as this is so much easier to do.
Plus this heatsink is great with a slow 12cm fan, keeps my cpu under 49C when room temp is 30C dual prime at 2.7ghz.

 

[Zap]

Retail boxed quad heatpipe HSF with 80mm fan, originally bundled with some higher end X2 cores and dual core Opterons. You can sometimes get those on eBay for under $20 shipped and the performance is close to Thermalright XP-90. Best thing is that it clips right in to the stock mounting.

BTW, when shopping for these, be careful when reading descriptions and looking at the pictures. There is a quad heatpipe unit with only a 70mm fan, with heatpipes arranged in pairs pointing opposite directions. There is also a dual heatpipe version, and of course numerous units sans heatpipe. The best one IMO is the quad heatpipe with all four facing the same direction with the 80mm fan.

Anyways, that's probably one of the best performers that still clip into the stock mounting.

BTW, I was able to mount a Zalman 7000AlCu without removing the motherboard (my HTPC with Tforce6100 board). I didn't even use the "proper" mounting consisting of the metal bracket and brass nipples, I just took the two screws out of the plastic bracket on the motherboard, took off the bracket, placed the Zalman unit on the CPU (with paste) and used the same screws to mount the heatsink to the original backplate of the motherboard. One caveat is that some boards (such as my Tforce) don't have the backplate adhered to the back of the motherboard, so if you aren't careful it can very easily shift out of place. Also, when tightening down there is nothing to stop the screw so you just have to guess when there's enough tension to hold it in place - pretty easy, basically if the HSF doesn't move when pushed with your fingers.

 

[Zap]

Gah, two posts since I clicked reply. Dark Cupcake's method sounds like what I did with my Zalman.

 

[Araemo]

Well thanks guys, I hadn't thought to peek around the FS forum. I'll see if I can get one of those good opty heatsinks, thats a good price compared to the $35-$50 I was seeing for decent-seeming after-market heatsinks.

One reason I wasn't too eager to use a big-arse aftermarket heatsink is worry about putting my PC in my car for a long drive - I don't want a big lever twisting the motherboard every time I hit a bump.

 

[potato28]

XP-90,XP-120,SI-120.

 

[Araemo]

Originally posted by: potato28
XP-90,XP-120,SI-120.

All three of those seem to require replacing the plastic heatsink bracket, which would require I remove my motherboard.

 

[CP5670]

You may be able to use those anyway depending on what the socket backplate on your motherboard is like. My old A8V board had the backplate glued on, so you could remove the screws holding the bracket and the backplate would stay in its place, but on the DFI board I have now the backplate has no glue and only held in place by the screws.

 

[WobbleWobble]

Check out the Arctic Cooling Freezer 64 Pro, it uses the standard retention bracket and is a good performer and silent to boot.

 

[Araemo]

Originally posted by: WobbleWobble
Check out the Arctic Cooling Freezer 64 Pro, it uses the standard retention bracket and is a good performer and silent to boot.

I saw that one, but I worry slightly about heatsinks that don't press on the plastic as well as the CPU, given how often I stick my comp in the car and bounce down the interstate.

That one is a possibility if I can't get an opteron heatpipe unit.

 

[nealh]

Hmm..I have Asrock and you need a backplate for the XP90, XP 120 and SI120...this is true...