Zalman 7000 p4 heatsink not sitting tightly on processor?

[jhbball]

Yo guys, I'm having some trouble with my Zalman 7000c p4 cooler. When I removed it the other day, I noticed some dust had gotten onto the core while I had been using it. This worries me a bit. I tried to reattach it today, but I noticed that it can "swivle" pretty easily when I turn it left or right while it's on the processor. My question is, is anyone else having a similar issue? My temps seem really hot for default cooling/speed (~46/47 and alot higher under load).


Please help if you can


~Joe

 

[Yourself]

What mobo? My 2.4@3.3 at default voltage is running at 25c on my P4P800(yeah I know the board reads low). I'm using the 7000 ALCu.


Self

 

[jhbball]

is7. i think have it installed correctly... but i could be wrong? can you swivel your hsf at all? or is it really snug?

 

[RalfHutter]

None of the 7000's that I've installed on P4 systems will swivel without quite a bit of force being applied to them.

I'd recheck your mounting procedure.

1) The screws that bolt the hsf to the aluminum mounting blocks should be tightened down completely until the steel frame of the HSF is fully bottomed out against the aluminum blocks. If it's not, it's not tight enough.

2) Also check the position of the aluminum blocks in the plastic retention frame. They should be centered up so their raised lips are completely outside of the plastic frame on both sides. If the block is too far off to one side the lip can get caught in the plastic frame and put too much pressure on one side of the HSF, causing it to not be sitting square on the IHS of the CPU.