Why are there so many HSFs and cooling articles about Athlons?

[brucehao]

I'm pretty new to building computers, but I find it kind of strange that there are so many HSF's and articles about HSF's for Athlon mobos. That is relative to 478's. Is there a reason for this?

 

[Jacl]

Yes. Athlons run at considerably higher temperatures than the pentium processors. I've heard it said that even a modest overclocker can get away with using the stock pentium hs/f. The reason that there are so many athlon coolers out there is that, when running at those higher temperatures, necessary cooling depends on many more factors than a pentium based computer. That is to say, with a minimal configuration and a decent case, you are safe using the stock hsf as long as you run things at stock speed and have relatively good cooling in your case. For overclocking of any sort, an upgraded cooler is a must. All the same, you would do good to look into getting a better cooler than the stock supplied just for the sake of keeping your processor in good condition. As a rule, your processor temps on an Athlon should never exceed 50C and the lower you can get them the better, depending on your needs of course. One more thing, case cooling complements a good hsf. If your case does not have good airflow, spending money on a really good hsf is not going to do you as much justice as it's capable of.

 

[syberscott]

At stock speeds Athlons do run hotter than Pentiums. However, when both are overclocked their temperatures even out in comparison.

 

[OulOat]

Most pentiums sold are to OEMs, which sells their comps to people who don't care about the innards of their comps. However, the majority of people who build their comps get Athlons, since they offer more performance for the buck. Thus, more hsfs for AMDs. Also, the stock hsfs for Pentiums is quite good itself, quiet and powerful. The stock cooler for Athlons, on the other hand, is a pretty much a POS.

I think 50C is too low to set a max barrier, since it's still far from the burning point of an Athlon. I would say stay away from 70 Cs.

 

[Afro000Dude]

Actually, even overclocked p4's are cooler than Athlons. My 1.6a @ 2.4 never breaks 40C at full load using the stock cooler.

 

[Bookie]

The real reason for this is that the people who actually care about the products in their system use Athlons. The majority of the users in this forum are Athlon users.

 

[touchmyichi]

Most people use the stock intel fan anyways, since it does a fine job and intel's run pretty cool anyways. AMD's are really hot, so you have to put some ice on fire. So thats why there's a huge market for AMD fans

 

[OulOat]

Originally posted by: Bookie
The real reason for this is that the people who actually care about the products in their system use Athlons.

Lol. Let me guess, you are an Intel fanboy.

 

[Jeff7]

Originally posted by: OulOat

Originally posted by: Bookie
The real reason for this is that the people who actually care about the products in their system use Athlons.

Lol. Let me guess, you are an Intel fanboy.

Yeah, really. I think the reason that Athlons are so popular is because they tend to offer more performance for the price. It can just be more fun trying to squeeze out every last bit of performance from the "underdog" I guess. And the heat production issue - actually, P4's and Athlons are fairly close in terms of thermal emission. The P4's just handle thermal disaster a lot better - the P4 itself will slow itself down considerably if the heatsink falls off; the Athlon XP requires motherboard support to shut itself off. Otherwise, it just fries.

 

[syberscott]

Thank you Jeff; finally someone has agreed with my position on heat output. Reading temps off different motherboards is useless in comparing differences between Athlons and Pentiums. The only way to compare them is to use a thermal probe in the same heatsink on 2 different systems. Posting individual results proves nothing.

 

[arcenite]

My guess is it's because Athlons for the most part run a little warmer (or alot depending on what chip) than P4's.

Bill

 

[Doggiedog]

Originally posted by: OulOat
Most pentiums sold are to OEMs, which sells their comps to people who don't care about the innards of their comps. However, the majority of people who build their comps get Athlons, since they offer more performance for the buck. Thus, more hsfs for AMDs. Also, the stock hsfs for Pentiums is quite good itself, quiet and powerful. The stock cooler for Athlons, on the other hand, is a pretty much a POS.

I think 50C is too low to set a max barrier, since it's still far from the burning point of an Athlon. I would say stay away from 70 Cs.

LOL. The minimum my Athlon XP1700 would go was 50c. Near the end of it's life it was going around mid 60s.

After doing an autopsy, I found out why. I bought a preassembled MB combo and they didn't take off the thermal pad and it melted through leaving practically no contact.

 

[OulOat]

Originally posted by: Doggiedog

Originally posted by: OulOat
Most pentiums sold are to OEMs, which sells their comps to people who don't care about the innards of their comps. However, the majority of people who build their comps get Athlons, since they offer more performance for the buck. Thus, more hsfs for AMDs. Also, the stock hsfs for Pentiums is quite good itself, quiet and powerful. The stock cooler for Athlons, on the other hand, is a pretty much a POS.

I think 50C is too low to set a max barrier, since it's still far from the burning point of an Athlon. I would say stay away from 70 Cs.

LOL. The minimum my Athlon XP1700 would go was 50c. Near the end of it's life it was going around mid 60s.

After doing an autopsy, I found out why. I bought a preassembled MB combo and they didn't take off the thermal pad and it melted through leaving practically no contact.

Eh? XP1700 isn't that old, how long did your chip last?

 

[Confused]

Most P4's are bought Retail, and include a good, and reasonably quiet, HSF.

Most AMDs are bought OEM, which come without a HSF, and even those bought retail, most agree that the HSF is only just adequate.

Therefore, there is more of a market for AMD Heatsinks.

Of course there are some aftermarket S478 Heatsinks, but with such a good retail cooler, there just isn't really the need for too many models.



Confused

 

[Zap]

Confused, you choose the wrong name, hehe. I've also noticed that Intel chips are more often retail boxed (with HSF) than AMD, and yes the AMD boxed HSF is on the weak side.

I think the general consensus is that AMD chips run hotter MHz for MHz, and I'd agree with it. Look at the spec sheets to see how many watts need to be dissipated. Plus, the contact area is smaller making for less efficient heat transfer (as I recall, if you take off the heatspreader on a P4 the core underneath is still bigger than Athlon cores).

 

[Doggiedog]

Originally posted by: OulOat

Originally posted by: Doggiedog

Originally posted by: OulOat
Most pentiums sold are to OEMs, which sells their comps to people who don't care about the innards of their comps. However, the majority of people who build their comps get Athlons, since they offer more performance for the buck. Thus, more hsfs for AMDs. Also, the stock hsfs for Pentiums is quite good itself, quiet and powerful. The stock cooler for Athlons, on the other hand, is a pretty much a POS.

I think 50C is too low to set a max barrier, since it's still far from the burning point of an Athlon. I would say stay away from 70 Cs.

LOL. The minimum my Athlon XP1700 would go was 50c. Near the end of it's life it was going around mid 60s.

After doing an autopsy, I found out why. I bought a preassembled MB combo and they didn't take off the thermal pad and it melted through leaving practically no contact.

Eh? XP1700 isn't that old, how long did your chip last?

I think about a year. Not sure. But it wasn't the chip's fault really. It burnt out because of the thermal pad melting away. If I had known, I would have added some AS3 to it earlier.