Goldfinger OC requirement questions.

[skybolt_1]

I just bought a goldfinger device off of Ebay. It seems to be powered by the chip itself, because there is no power plug, and I wanted to find out a couple of things. The chip in question is a 600mhz athlon.

1: How big a power supply will i need? Will a 230 or 250 be able to handle the added power requirements of the chip? (I dont know the exact power supply rating, its in a friends computer and i have to look at it.)

2: Should I be fine with a Thermaltake Golden Orb for my cooling device? I plan on filling the case with fans as it is, so theres gonna be some serious airflow.

3: How much do you think I can safely expect to get out of the 600mhz chip with the setup outlined above? I was told anywhere between 700 to 800 and up but I think that was sales pitch...

Thanks for your input. Peace!

skybolt_1

[drn]

YGM

[knucklebusted]

I have a 300W SparklePower PS and it works great on a KA7-100/K700 overclocked to 900mhz. The voltage is at 1.75 and temps are not that much higher. Maybe 2-4 degrees and that's with the temp probe now between the CPU and the heat plate instead of the heat plate and heat sink.

A 250W may be a bit low, especially if it is not AMD approved and you have any sort of high load perfs such as large video card, massive scsi drives, etc.

Good luck and go slow.

Good luck!

[randy48]

That GDF should work good for you, but...lots of variables as to what you'll get! CPU, mobo, memory, etc! Take you're time and go a little at a time and watch your temp! Take a good look at the contact between the Orb and the CPU, I had a gap big enough to drive a Mac truck through! Lap the sucker and add a touch of goop. Take the heat plate off also so the Orb sits on the core!

[skybolt_1]

Ok, just made an unbeleveably disturbing discovery... Turns out that the power supply, which is in a fairly new Compac (leave it to those ba$tards to cut corners) is a 145 watt!!!!! Whats up with that???? i didnt even know they made them that small! Did I just read the PS wrong or am i totally screwed and have to buy a new ps?? Also, a question in relation to randy48's reply: If there was a gap between heatsink and core, why did you take the heat plate off? Wouldnt that take up some of the room? (PS; ive already read the Tech Zone's guide to tearing down an athlon so i know how to remove the heat plate.)

Thankx!
skybolt_1

[samwichse]

Nope, you're not reading wrong, you just got suckered with a brand name computer. I can top that: an e-machines mid tower with a 135 watt(not a typo) power supply. Is it smaller than a regular atx supply? If it is, then it's a "micro atx" and 150 watts is actually the most powerful supply I could find to replace mine after it burned out one (1) month after the warrenty expired. You can always just buy a new case w/supply for 30 bucks.

[randy48]

The gap between the orb and core was caused from a warped orb. You want your heatsink to be perfectly flat and glass smooth. When you put them together with goop, you should feel a slight suction as you pull them apart. When you take the heat plate off, you're removing one more thing between the core and the heatsink, this way you'll get better heat dissipation...better cooling. When you have everything ready, put a very small dab of goop on and smooth it out with a razor blade-a very fine film!