Why do processors have IHS's on them?

Cheesetogo

Diamond Member
Jan 26, 2005
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Why do proccessors have an IHS on them if it increases temps? Is it to prevent you from cracking the core or somthing?
 

BassBomb

Diamond Member
Nov 25, 2005
8,390
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exactly, so babies dont whine about they cracked their core from a cooler etc etc, and try to RMA it

helps for possible delivery damage

basically its to protect us from ourselves LOL
 

CP5670

Diamond Member
Jun 24, 2004
5,660
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The funny thing is they still often work perfectly in that condition. I have an old 1.4 Tbird that has heavily chipped and frayed edges but works fine.
 
Mar 11, 2004
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Originally posted by: Soviet
Originally posted by: WobbleWobble
It was so easy to chip off the edges of a Athlon/Athlon XP it wasn't even funny.

QFT! If you didnt see my pic of my poor athlon XP take a good look and then question the validity of an IHS.

No offense, but I can't tell what is going on that picture.

After removing the IHS on my X2, I have to wonder this as well. I mean, I know that its a little more difficult to put the HSF on without the heatspreader, but its not that hard.

Surely they could've tried to develop a better method for securing HSFs so that it practically couldn't damage the chips. Considering that the bulk of CPUs goes into OEM systems, it seems like they wouldn't have to worry that much about the average user damaging it.

Back when I built my first sytem, I opted to go with a P4 over an Athlon XP because of the way people talked about being able to damage the core. Now, I could care less and would prefer them not to have one.
 

Jeff7

Lifer
Jan 4, 2001
41,596
19
81
Originally posted by: Soviet
Originally posted by: WobbleWobble
It was so easy to chip off the edges of a Athlon/Athlon XP it wasn't even funny.

QFT! If you didnt see my pic of my poor athlon XP take a good look and then question the validity of an IHS.

1) Crop pictures before posting them
2) Get one with a focal length of less than 10km.
And I just checked Steve's-Digicam review site. The 5MP Olympus cameras ALL have macro mode.



It just amuses me the way the industry went.

Full ceramic - 286-Pentium era
Exposed core with heatspreaders - K6 line
Exposed core - Athlons
Exposed core with heatspreaders - X2's and such

So will the next generation of processors have fully exposed cores again?:confused:
 

TheRyuu

Diamond Member
Dec 3, 2005
5,479
14
81
They have IHS's on them because the stock HS applies so much force that it can crack the core?
 

JSFLY

Golden Member
Mar 24, 2006
1,068
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Originally posted by: darkswordsman17
Originally posted by: Soviet
Originally posted by: WobbleWobble
It was so easy to chip off the edges of a Athlon/Athlon XP it wasn't even funny.

QFT! If you didnt see my pic of my poor athlon XP take a good look and then question the validity of an IHS.

No offense, but I can't tell what is going on that picture.

After removing the IHS on my X2, I have to wonder this as well. I mean, I know that its a little more difficult to put the HSF on without the heatspreader, but its not that hard.

Surely they could've tried to develop a better method for securing HSFs so that it practically couldn't damage the chips. Considering that the bulk of CPUs goes into OEM systems, it seems like they wouldn't have to worry that much about the average user damaging it.

Back when I built my first sytem, I opted to go with a P4 over an Athlon XP because of the way people talked about being able to damage the core. Now, I could care less and would prefer them not to have one.


His chip got stuck on the heatsink and came off.
 

SparkyJJO

Lifer
May 16, 2002
13,357
7
81
to protect the core, I've seen so many chipped Athlon XP's it isn't funny. And for the way the CPUs are designed (not OC'd, no custom coolers ;)) the IHS doesn't affect temps enough to be a problem. For stock stuff the benefits outweigh the cons.
 

SonicIce

Diamond Member
Apr 12, 2004
4,771
0
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Originally posted by: Jeff7
It just amuses me the way the industry went.

Full ceramic - 286-Pentium era
Exposed core with heatspreaders - K6 line
Exposed core - Athlons
Exposed core with heatspreaders - X2's and such

So will the next generation of processors have fully exposed cores again?:confused:

next will be ceramique!
 

TheRyuu

Diamond Member
Dec 3, 2005
5,479
14
81
When I removed the IHS on my Opteron, I was suprised at how thick and how much weight it added to the processor. After removing it I was shocked at how light the processor really is.

I THINK that the next generation of IHS's should be made of a thin(er) peice of copper. I don't really care if it increases the cost of the processor by that much, just so that I don't have to remove it to get my few extra degree's back.
 

Maximilian

Lifer
Feb 8, 2004
12,604
15
81
Originally posted by: JSFLY
Originally posted by: darkswordsman17
Originally posted by: Soviet
Originally posted by: WobbleWobble
It was so easy to chip off the edges of a Athlon/Athlon XP it wasn't even funny.

QFT! If you didnt see my pic of my poor athlon XP take a good look and then question the validity of an IHS.

No offense, but I can't tell what is going on that picture.

After removing the IHS on my X2, I have to wonder this as well. I mean, I know that its a little more difficult to put the HSF on without the heatspreader, but its not that hard.

Surely they could've tried to develop a better method for securing HSFs so that it practically couldn't damage the chips. Considering that the bulk of CPUs goes into OEM systems, it seems like they wouldn't have to worry that much about the average user damaging it.

Back when I built my first sytem, I opted to go with a P4 over an Athlon XP because of the way people talked about being able to damage the core. Now, I could care less and would prefer them not to have one.


His chip got stuck on the heatsink and came off.

:cookie:
 

Griswold

Senior member
Dec 24, 2004
630
0
0
Originally posted by: CP5670
The funny thing is they still often work perfectly in that condition. I have an old 1.4 Tbird that has heavily chipped and frayed edges but works fine.

I can give a different view on this. A Tbird with a chipped corner that was barely visible with bare eyes never booted again.

 

Avalon

Diamond Member
Jul 16, 2001
7,571
178
106
I had over two dozen Athlon/XP/XP-M chips, and never cracked or chipped a core...I didn't think it was that risky of a business. I don't mind the IHS...makes it easier for me to apply AS. Just a drop, and clamp the HSF down....instead of back when we had to create this fine layer of AS on an exposed core.