anti-crushing techniques

[mark23]

ill be getting my first amd soon with a shim,i know that it should protect it a bit but does anyone have any tips on fitting the heatsink (thermalriight sk6) with minimal chance of crushing the core?

[UnseenMenace]

I personally dont reccomend any shim, as they effect cooling and some (the ones made from copper and other conductive materials) can create additional damage problems should they cross the bridges.
If you must run a shim ensure that it is a non conductive one. I personally have never used a shim and have never ever crushed a core. To this day I remove my heatsink with a little care and there is no problem.
Remember to place the heatsink flat against the core and move the clip not the heatsink ( ie :- dont press down on the heatsink ) and a remember if something does not want to go, don't force it

[Ormeskirk]

Unseen meance I love your signature. It made me laugh!

[Phil]

It is true that a shim will increase your temps, but only by 1-2oC and it's worth it to save your core. Until amd makes a tougher core it isn't worth risking not using a shim just to get 1-2oC lower temps, you can't always guarantee that you won't make a mistake installing a heatsink, and even when it's on bumping the case can be enough to crack the core so I definately recomedn a shim unless your house contents insurance covers accidental damage :D

[Rob Cork]

Shims are a pretty contentious issue - I personally wouldn't use one, but if you want to try then go ahead. I have no doubt it can help stop you crushing the core, I've just heard enough stories of people frying their chips when the shim lifted the heatsink above the core to make me nervous.

[mark23]

im really undecided about using one now,if i double check that the sink is touching the core then i should be ok shoudnt i?
why cant they make better clips for the damn heatsinks,is there any other heatsinks that have a really good clip that would minimise the chances of core crushing? i might try to make a clip for it that can be screwed down gently a bit like those ones that hold those copper water blocks on.

[Phil]

It's not the heatsink clips that do it, it the brittle amd cores that are made from corn flakes or something. I've not heard of many intel cores being damaged (about 2 people) and this obviously shows that nickel is better than what ever amd use. I've had some crazy accidents with my fc-pga corre, I've broken the socket before one time and the core was in tact which shows how tough they are.
As long as you buy a quality none conductive shim then you should be ok.
The thing with shims though is that you really need to lap the heatsink as if it is concave in the middle then theres a chance it won't have good contact with the core resulting in higher than usual temps

[mark23]

i know this is off the subject but my my power readings have been strange lately,their going up and down on my pc alert program,the +12 says 11.90/11.80 and the -12 says 11.90, the 5v seems ok and the 3v seems ok,the core voltage goes from 1.65 to 1.62 a lot,when i try and run it at 933mhz it just locks up under load,is this definately the crappy 250w cheapo supply,i think it is but i just want it confirming.
i run a p3 700 on an msi 6163pro (ive tried all the usual troubleshooting things like upping voltage,removing cards etc)

[Ferg]

I have never used a shim and I have chipped one core. But, I also learned my lesson on how to attach an hsf. You place the heatsink flat onto the core and maniplute only the clip, NOTHING ELSE. I hook the clip in on one side and on the other push down with one hand and manipulate it around the hook with the other.