Help needed on X2 3800+ vs. 4200+

[dullbar]

I need advice on (a) which X2 CPU I should get and (b) what cooling to use with it.
Here is the detail.

I am not a gamer. I am not planning to over-clock. I want to get a retail
CPU instead of OEM. In terms of processor speed, I think an X2 3800+
will serve me well. However, I believe the 4200+ comes with a better heat-pipe
type heat sink and pre-applied thermal gease, where the 3800+ has the traditional
heat sink and a thermal pad.

I want to hear from you experts whether the stock cooling that comes with the
X2 3800+ is good enough. I heard that thermal pad is not all that great, and
once used, it becomes very hard to remove. If I end up spending time
removing the thermal pad from the stock heat sink, buying thermal compound
on my own, and perhaps still have to eventually buy a third-party cooling solution,
it may be better if I just go with the X2 4200+ which comes with better stock
cooling. If you folks tell me that the stock cooling that comes with the x2 3800+
is good enough, I will probably just go with the cheaper x2 3800+.

Please advise and share with me your experience.
Thanks in advance.

 

[stevty2889]

The heatsink for the 4200+ and up is better, however, the heatsink that comes with the 3800+ is more than enough for stock speeds, so nothing to worry about. No reason to get the 4200+ just for the better heatsink.

 

[dullbar]

stevty2889,

Thanks for the advice. So, I suppose using the thermal pad that comes with the 3800+
is not an issue, right?

 

[JSFLY]

If your not overclocking or dont intend on ever overclock the stock cooling is just fine. In addition it keeps your cpu under warranty. If you are going to upgrade to a 4200 from the 3800, do it because you want the speed not the stock cooling.

Then again, why arent you overclocking? You should be. Everyone is doing it.

 

[dullbar]

I do mostly audio recording and photo editing work. One, the extra speed obtained from
overclocking is not really necessary for me. And two, I really need to have a stable
computer so that I don't lose valuable work.

I was just worried about the mess that the stock thermal pad may create later on.
One way is to remove it up front and put in thermal compound. The other way is to
just stick the thermal pad in and not worry about it. I wonder which way I should go.

 

[Bobthelost]

Stick it in as it is. You can always clean it later if you need to, but doing anything else (arctic silver etc.) will invalidate the warranty.

Don't worry too much.

 

[Madwand1]

I'd heard that the 4200+ comes with a conventional cooler, and that you need a 4400+ from the heatpipe. Can someone confirm that a new 4200+ came with a heatpipe cooler?

 

[hclarkjr]

i just bought a 4200 from newegg and can confirm that it comes with the standard cooler and not the heatpipe type. that is why i bought one beforehand from the for sale forums here

 

[DrMrLordX]

the thermal pad on AMD procs has been good, if not great, since the early A64 days. It's Shin Etsu, and it works nicely.

The HSF + pad is more than enough cooling for a x2-3800+ at stock speeds.