Athlons R'Us

[vesther]

I am in the verge of going Athlon. I definitely need some clues. I've heard from several websites that the Athlon's die is extremely small and is easy to break. If you are not gentle while installing the HSF, then the Die will break and will void the warranty (That's sad). I'm thinking of getting the following (but keep in mind that I'm not planning to overclock my system whatsoever):

* Enlight EN-7237 with the AMD-Approved 300W Power Supply
* AMD T-Bird 1.33GHz 266MHz FSB (Revision C) Processor
* A Socket A Shim to lower the risk of breaking the Die during installation of the HSF.
* GlobalWIN CAK38 Heat Sink Fan
* ASUS A7A266 (With an Ali Magik Chipset)
* Two sticks of Samsung 256MB PC2100 DDR SDRAM
* Western Digital 40GB UDMA/UATA100 7200RPM Hard Disk Drive

I have several issues:

If this is the first time I'm going to "build my own system", then do I definitely need a Socket A Shim in order to reduce the risk of "killing" the rather fragile Die in AMD Processors? I don't want to void the warranty because the Die is crushed. If any of you guys have Shims on your computer, then do I have to make sure that the Thermal Compound is "touching" the Die? If I have to make sure the Thermal Compound is "touching" the Die, then do I need to use more Thermal Compound?

With a 7200RPM Western Digital Hard Drive, do I need a Hard Disk Drive Cooler?

I have a Radeon VE Video Card. Do I need any DDR SDRAM Cooling Kits (or any other cooling accessories if it applies)?

For the Samsung PC2100 DDR SDRAM, do I need to use a memory kit cooler?

Do I need a "Chipset Fan" for the Asus A7A266? Do I need a Back Case Fan for the Enlight EN-7237?

I am desperate about this because I have to know whether or not I need a Shim (and if so, if I need to install more Thermal Compound after checking to make sure that the Compound "touches" the die) and other cooling things. I would like some answers. Thanks.

[Kuasimodem]

Covering your questions...

Shim? Yes, and a non-conductive shim is best. The shim will not hinder the heatsink contacting the die with your Globalwin cooler. It's best to install the CPU and heatsink with the board outside of the case, and use patience.

WD 7200rpm drives? I'm running 2 30Gb Caviars in a RAID array, no cooling required.

You shouldn't need any extra cooling on either the vid card or the DDR RAM.

I don't think you need a chipset fan, but definitely put in an extra exhaust fan in the back of the case, and probably an extra intake fan in the front.

It sounds like you're going to have a kick **** system, and the Globalwin CAK38 should do a nice job of cooling your CPU.

[This message has been edited by Kuasimodem (edited 08-06-2001).]

[samwichse]

If you're looking to protect your AMD core, you might look into this: http://www2.apex.net/users/timwhita/protection.html
It seems like the best CPU protection scheme I've seen.

[Xeroid]

I have heard of people cracking the die on their Thunderbirds. I have also heard people say that "you need a shim". I just installed a Thunderbird 1Gig with a GLOBALWIN WBK38 CPU Cooler. This has been described as "difficult to install" because of the stiff spring clip.

This was my first Athlon. I used PIII's in the past. It realy turned out to be easier than I expected. Just make sure your HSF is sitting level on the rubber pads after you set the HSF on the processor. Also the process is much easier if you mount the CPU and HSF to the motherboard before installing the motherboard in the case. I used a screwdriver to attach the "stiff" spring clip (per AMD's instructions) and it went right on!

I ordered a shim, but, didnt use it. Seems like no matter which way I turned the darned thing, it ended up touching something. http://www.sysopt.com/forum/smile.gif

Check out AMD's HEATSINK INSTALLATION GUIDE:
http://www.amd.com/products/cpg/athlon/pdf/23986.pdf

Pretty good instructions! Even has pictures!

Mike

[thekingofpain]

I still think the shim idea is wacky---(AMD advises NOT to use a shim) id measure things out with a digital dial indicator first if you insist---you will have a topnotch system if you continue (id use a Swiftech MCX370 tho, no worry about core disruption and BETTER cooling) ventilate the case properly and (i'd) hold off on all the extra cooling frills till its up and running...

[elroy]

Consider the noise of the high rpm cpu cooling fans. The Delta fans are very noisy.

[Xeroid]

My heatsink fan doesn't seem too loud once I install the covers on the case. Globalwin lists it at 46.5 dBA. Of course I don't hear too well anyway! Too many years of Rolling Stones music. http://www.sysopt.com/forum/smile.gif "Made loud to be played loud!"

Mike

[This message has been edited by Xeroid (edited 08-06-2001).]

[NDC]

Moved to Technical Support