Retail P4 HSF bending mobo

[Kjazlaw]

I just installed my new P4 with its retail HSF on an MSI 845 Ultra AR board and when it's clamped it seems to be causing a slight bend in that part of the board. (It looks like it's jamming the processor so much that it's bending in.) Is this normal, and will it cause any future problems?

 

[Texmaster]

<< I just installed my new P4 with its retail HSF on an MSI 845 Ultra AR board and when it's clamped it seems to be causing a slight bend in that part of the board. (It looks like it's jamming the processor so much that it's bending in.) Is this normal, and will it cause any future problems? >>



which Socket P4?

Either way, both the 423 and 478 socket ratil heatsinks SUCK.

Let me know which one you have and I'll suggest a replacement.

 

[Kjazlaw]

It's Socket 478. I looked around a bit for replacements but can't find many places that sell them...

 

[Texmaster]

<< It's Socket 478. I looked around a bit for replacements but can't find many places that sell them... >>



Sadly there isn't very many out there.

I too have the 478 socket and the Vantec GSN-7015 is really the only choice. FAR better mounting system than that plastic PoS.

The fan still stinks so if you are really going to push that cpu or overclock, I highly suggest doing what I did and replacing that fan with a 60mm black delta. You will have to buy some longer screws at a hardware store but it works well.

The new copper bad boy heatsinks are not going to surface until late Jan early Feburary. There is one copper solution but its not made for high performance.

 

[thermite88]

Intel standardized the P4-478 mounting mechanism. It is a big engineering improvement over previous CPU mounting. VR-ZONE described it as follow:

<< All the coolers we have tested are pretty similiar in installation and there is not a need to use screwdriver or any tools to install the cooler. Installation of cooler for Intel P4 478 processors is almost idiot proof as there is no direction to take note, not like for AMD processors where there is a groove and wrong placement will result in poor cooling that lead to CPU failure. Also there will always a lever or 2 levers for you to secure the cooler tightly onto the processor so there will not be any unbalance on either side. >>

The intel heatsink is big and heavy. It uses a 70mm fan turning at 2700 rpm, which is very quiet but efficient in cooling. My Pentium 4 is a 1.5G overclocked to 1.74GHz at 1.8 vcore. The retail heatsink keeps it at 35 deg C at idle and 51 deg C at full load. Unlike the P3, the Intel P4 is quite hot, but the cooling design and thermal protection from Intel is excellent. The retail heatsink cools efficiently and is very quiet. It is adequate for most overclock operation. Most aftermarket HSF does not perform much better. It may be a better deal for you to get the retail CPU and keep the 3-years warranty as a bonus.

Most aftermarket heatsink are conformed to the Intel mounting standard. So it will not make any difference. However, I do know of two, Globalwin and Dynatron, who use their own mounting bracket different from Intel's. These are the only two HSF that will require the user to remove the motherboard for mounting the heatsink. (The plactic bracket cannot be removed or mounted when the MB is installed.) Using the Intel retail heatsink or the ones meeting their standard will avoid this trouble.

pictorial instruction for heatsink installation on the Intel web site too. Unfortunately, the heatsink does bend the Motherboard a little. Intel said that it is normal.

If you still want to buy an aftermarket HS, here are some reviews:

Dan's Data

VR-Zone Hardware

The Sun Flower is one of the better option. The Vantec 7015 is a poor performer.