Newbie Question Re: Arctic Silver and Chrome Orb

[kbm5]

Howdy all.

I just recently purchased an Athlon 1.2 Gig (266 FSB) and a Chrome ORB HSF. The people I bought the orb from suggested I apply some Arctic Silver II, but I was wondering if I need to. Will the compound on the Orb suffice? And if not, what will I need to do to make the CPU and HSF work with the Arctic (I.E. Do I need to clean the Orb's surface, etc...)? I'm not looking to overclock or anything -- I want just a stable system.

If you could offer some help, I'd appreciate it!

 

[Mikewarrior2]

Why bother with Arctic Silver 2 if the heatsink you haven't can't effectively cool a 1.2ghz chip. Core temperature wise, the chrome-orb would be running your chip at roughly 40-50C over ambient case temp during full load situations. While thsi is within AMD limits(provided that you have low case temps), another heatsink is highly recommended. Don't believe thermaltake when they claim it will work to 1.2ghz chips, the real max is 1ghz.


Mike

 

[kbm5]

Crud. I was afraid the Chrome ORB wasn't good enough for a 1.2 gig. What do you suggest I get? A super orb? I'm looking for something as quiet as possible. Thanks!

 

[Mikewarrior2]

Look at teh anandtech review for a day ago for noise tests... Do not get the Super-orb if you want quiet(or even good performance). I highly suggest the taisol CGK742092.


Mike

 

[dirkdaring]

Hey common now. If he is already using the cooler and it's under AMD temp specs and he's not going to overclock -- whats the problem?



<< Why bother with Arctic Silver 2 if the heatsink you haven't can't effectively cool a 1.2ghz chip. >>



What do you mean 'can't effectively cool a 1.2ghz chip'. It is cooling it, it's under the AMD specifications, he's not overclocking it. If the temperature is fine... it's effectively cooling it. Of course you could do better with a more expensive heatsink. But thats not really the question here.



<< Core temperature wise, the chrome-orb would be running your chip at roughly 40-50C over ambient case temp during full load situations. >>



Yikes. You're telling me then the core would be 60-75 deg C then? You serious? Cases (at least mine) run at 22 deg C. Maybe I read that wrong or something...



<< Don't believe thermaltake when they claim it will work to 1.2ghz chips, the real max is 1ghz. >>



Well perhaps... but if he already has it running on a 1.2 and it's under AMD specs than that is mighty impressive considering he still has the transfer pad on.

My opinion. Yes Artic Silver (I or II) is much better than that heat transfer pad. I used Radio Shack compound and dropped the temp 5 degrees off that pad on my Duron850. Artic Silver II should cut at least 3-4 more off that. Even if you buy a new great heat sink, you will most likely buy a small tube of Artic Silver anyhow. Why not give it a try on the Chrome Orb and see how it does? You're not going to overclock, and there is nothing wrong with the chrome orb lasting-wise and quietness-wise. And hey, if it doesn't drop the temperature enough that you feel safe then grab a Aplha or something.

And to remove the transfer pad, use a small bit of Nail Polish Remover Gel and a Q-tip. It will disentegrate the entire pad in 10 seconds flat.

My .02

Dirk

 

[ivanov]

get the taisol CGK742092... excellent cooler for a good price....

 

[baldy]

bottom line, Orbs suck, sorry to tell you this.

the number of CPU's destroyed by this ineffective cooler (compared to what is available today)is countless.

Don't use the sucker if you want really low temps.

Alpha, GlobalWin, Hedgehog, Taisol, all make very good coolers, all cool about the same, none are going to get a better clock than the other if set up properly. There are others, but these are some of the big mainstream players.

i stick with tried and true. sure, my Alpha's cost a bit more (I buy only the heatsinks anyway, add my own fannage), but i have NEVER had a problem with heat, never had to worry about a problem with heat.

in the scope of things, people spend $100's of hard earned dollars building a system, then want to skimp on one of the cheapest/most important components. i hate it when i see posts 'i can't afford' it because i spent all my $$$ on something else, jeesh.

sorry for the soapbox, i just wish i could get the word out to everyone somehow.

baldy

 

[Mikewarrior2]

Baldy,

Trust me, I try... then epople like DirkDaring try to attack me for saying the chrome-orb and super-orb are junk.

DirkDaring,

That is correct. With a 22C case temp, you'd be looking at a 60-70C core temp with C-Orb equipped 1.2ghz chip. Is that within AMD limits, yes. Is that waht you should be running at, absolutely not. Just because the socket-thermsitor isn't reading that high, does not mean the chip isn't running that high.

What about during summer when your case temp gets into the 30C range potentially, or even hotter.. Why bother with a sub-standard performing heatsink when you can simply return the chrome orb, spend the extra $10 and get a quality heatsink?


Mike

 

[baldy]

err, ditto on the summer temps.

while my systems continue to run (O/C'd to the max)in the summer, one will read countless posts as to 'why is my system acting strangely? why is it locking up&quot;, duuuuuuuuuuuuhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!?????

mark my words, it happens every year as the temps warm up, just watch the posts. i chuckle, so what if you saved $10-$15 bucks in the cold of winter, that fancy new fad like cooler doesn't work for sh.t when the chips are down, err, temps are up.

just because it sounds nice, looks nice and who knows whatelse.................it doesn't mean it is going to work. fads and fashion are hard to explain.................but the advertising world lives by that credo and many of us buy into it.

heat has always been the enemy and always will be. now, if you want to run the frickin' Orb, go ahead and find out for yourself.

a long time ago i made the decision that when it comes to cooling you are better off getting the ones that are proven performers. the one and only time i got an orb for a build (customer's request, hehe)it sucked bigtime, and it wasn't an overclocked system, just acted strangely from the getgo, and with a chip I had tested at quite a higher MHZ in my own setup with good cooling.

ended up losing my ass in untold time fixing the system and its 'little' annoyances. finally, i ripped the ORB off, replaced it with a good proven heatsink, guess what, i haven't heard from them since. hmm.............

i rest my case.

and while i am at it, anything over 43* to 45*C under full load, especially running the rated speed, it too much, period. now, if you have a clocked system with good cooling, running a bit higher with a pesky CPU is not the end of the world, as long as you stick with the good cooling i described, but lower is always better.

oh, one more thing, the crushed cores caused by the pathetic retention clips on the earlier ORBs and not completely solved yet.

baldy

 

[dirkdaring]

<< Trust me, I try... then epople like DirkDaring try to attack me for saying the chrome-orb and super-orb are junk >>



Geez chill Mike. I wasn't attacking you at all. I apologize if it came over that way. You have every right to say the orbs are junk and I 100% respect that.



<< That is correct. With a 22C case temp, you'd be looking at a 60-70C core temp with C-Orb equipped 1.2ghz chip. Is that within AMD limits, yes. Is that waht you should be running at, absolutely not. Just because the socket-thermsitor isn't reading that high, does not mean the chip isn't running that high. >>



Thanks for the info, that I did not know.



<< What about during summer when your case temp gets into the 30C range potentially, or even hotter.. Why bother with a sub-standard performing heatsink when you can simply return the chrome orb, spend the extra $10 and get a quality heatsink? >>



Another good point I did not think about. The temperature in my basement usually stays the same all year round (+- a couple degrees) so I never really thought about summer heat effecting the computer.

Anyhow, please don't think I was 'attacking' you. I stand corrected, he should definately replace the orb with a better heat sink in this case.

Dirk