A few simple questions, I think!!

[cpt_damage]

Hi all, Im a bit new to the oc scene and Im starting to get a bit confused about a few things. i have just bought a 1Gig AXIA Y chip and a KT7A mobo. As of yet I have not tried to oc clock anything, as I need to get some decent cooling. From reading the forum and doing a bit of reserch I understand that it is a good idead to get a 'SHIM', some 'THERMAL Grease' and a good HSF. But can I use the thermal grease with a shim? Any help or advice anyone could give me would be really appreciated..
P.s
Does anyone know if a pencil can be used to permanatly unlock the multiplyer on the proccessor?

[Da Whip]

My personal opinion is that shims are not nessesary. IMHO. But a great HSF and Artic Silver are key to a good and stable overclock. There a lot of good HSF available but only a few that really excell. Here is a very recent review of HSF's;
http://www.extremeoverclocking.com/reviews/cooling/HS_Comparison_0701_1.html
Most of these are around $40. lots of luck.

[UnseenMenace]

Welcome to the Forum

There are great beginners guides to overclocking on the front of this site.. I would suggest having a read of these and then ask any question you have, and we will try our best to answer them

[Carmine_Paterno]

I have never used a shim before, and i doubt i will, as i don't see the need for it. Artic silver II and a good heatsink/fan is a very good thing to have.

I am not sure if a pencil can PERMANENTLY unlock the mulitplier, but mine is unlocked now for 2 days. I know people who have had their's unlocked for 5months+ using just a pencil. Just make sure you do it nice and dark, and thin.

For information on how to do it, look here.......

www.wildandyc.co.uk in the archives section.

[Ferg]

Shims really only protect you from destroying your core but they also lower performance sometimes. So say go without the shim. As for a good HSF I would get an OCZ Gladiator, or better yet a Golden Gate. It is the same thing but sold by a different company and a lot cheaper. There was a recent thread about it in the cooling forum. Go to SVC (http://svcompucycle.com/svcgoldengate.html) to pick it up with the delta fan. If you go back to their home page you can also get it with a quieter, and lower performance fan for 4 bucks less. They also sell artic silver paste. Here are some reviews of that HSF and some HSF roundups. They all refer to it as the OCZ Gladiator but it is actually the same thing as the Golden Gate. Overclockers (http://www.overclockers.com/) , Athlon OC (http://www.athlonoc.com/hsfroundup1.php) , AMD Power (http://www.amdpower.com/sections.php4?op=viewarticle&artid=38) ,Tweak Town (http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/ocz_gladiator/) , and Dan's Data (http://www.dansdata.com/coolercomp.htm) .

[CSaddict]

It also seems that some shims also add heat! Be careful of using shims. I could also suggest the millenium glaciator HSF. I believe it has the best bang for the buck.

[!-=sky=-!]

hmmmmm........my pencil trick wored 3 months now
nothing's wrong with it

[Cowtown]

My pencil unlocks have been working fine now. The one I did on my Duron (now my brothers) has been working fine for about 5, maybe 6 months now.

I also have a non conductive shim I bought from www.bigfootcomputers.com. I haven't noticed any difference between with or without it heat wise. You do have to be carefull because some shims can trap heat and that is obviously bad. If getting the artic silver just right wasn't such a PITA I would do some tests with or without. For me it was just the insurance with the protection for the core even though after building thousands of computers I know how to properly mount a HSF.

Shawn

[cpt_damage]

Cowtown (Jul 04, 2001 10:31 p.m.):
My pencil unlocks have been working fine now. The one I did on my Duron (now my brothers) has been working fine for about 5, maybe 6 months now.

I also have a non conductive shim I bought from www.bigfootcomputers.com. I haven't noticed any difference between with or without it heat wise. You do have to be carefull because some shims can trap heat and that is obviously bad. If getting the artic silver just right wasn't such a PITA I would do some tests with or without. For me it was just the insurance with the protection for the core even though after building thousands of computers I know how to properly mount a HSF.

Shawn

Thanks alot guys, with your help Im sure ill be overclocking my new machine very soon!!!
Thanks.....