SHIMS, whats the point?

[Speed_Freak]

okay, i've never understood the point of using shims, i mean i use one but only becasue it was $8.95. somebody wanna fill me in?

[KamikazeTomato]

Coz u can break the CPU when u put on your hardcore HS - esp if u need to use some pressure to put it into place!

[Speed_Freak]

touche!

[earthdick]

Isn't there a problem with shims retaining heat?

[Speed_Freak]

i dunno, im hoping to get some feedback about these things through this thread

[cowanrg]

ive heard that shims retain heat.

personally, if you take great caution putting on your HSF (take entire mobo out of case!) and just go slow, and dont use brute force, you should be ok.

[RangerJoe34]

alright, i have an annodized shim as you can see below, this kind does not retain heat pretty much at all, and i have tested with and without the shim, and i think that the shim actually gives the HSF more stability on the chip or something like that because my temps were lower with the shim there. the annodized shim does not conduct and can be found at www.hardcorecooling.com they are like $7.99 or something like that are look neato too. i think that these are very good things for beginners and expert HSF "putter oners" is you will.......id say they are a good buy.

lata

[Kingslayer]

$10 insurance on a $200 chip.

What else do I need to explain.

If you don't like that, talk to my 800EB keychain.

[Speed_Freak]

thats why i asked, thanks guys.

[UnseenMenace]

A shim can has to be perfectly flat, any imperfection could lift the heatsink away from the CPU and thus cause as much damage as they are supposed to prevent. Some shims are conductive and can damage the CPU if they short out the bridges on AMD CPU's. All shims effect processor temperatures and worse of all they inspire confidence.. Most people I see who use shims remove the heatsink without a care in the world, and those that do not have shims take exceptional care which is a preventive solution in itself. If the processors really required shims AMD or Intel would have an approved shim list similar to that they have for heatsinks.
Overall Shims are for one purpose, to make the people who sell them money. Get a heatsink with a good clip such as the Glaciator and you will never ever require a Shim

[Speed_Freak]

see, thats what i was waiting for. thank ya.

[TweaK-FreaK]

whatever meanace.........ask my glaciator y he beat up my never booted axia "k" shims are a great idea.......insurance.....my $130 ..........1.33 athlon......wishes it had one before the bully glaciator stepped in

[Dagon]

What's the point?

I consider them equivalent to diapers, some people need the extra "safety".

[UnseenMenace]

Originally posted by TweaK-FreaK
whatever meanace.........ask my glaciator y he beat up my never booted axia "k" shims are a great idea.......insurance.....my $130 ..........1.33 athlon......wishes it had one before the bully glaciator stepped in

You state that your AXIA K was never booted so how can you be 'certain' that any heatsink was responsible for the CPU not working?... Sure an extra 10 bucks may have protected your CPU but it may have also been Dead On Arrival as it was never booted.
My original point was only to suggest that as much as there is a positive side to shim use there is also a negative side and present the facts as I curently view them.
The Glaciator has one of the best clips around and is remarkably easy to put on compared to other heatsinks and this is why I used the example, at no point was I attempting to suggest that a person could not damage a processor with careless fitting of any heatsink, only that this should be a consideration when buying

[The Overclocker]

it is about $10 protecting anything worth $60 to $400, i know cus i have just broken my celeron, they are worth it (still havn't got one)

[UnseenMenace]

I have fitted many CPU's without a shim and all have been ok which is why I have my belief's, which I believe are backed up by the fact that neither Intel or AMD suggest there use.

I was wondering does anyone have hard facts proving that shims save CPU's I am NOT asking for opinions just evidence that if a shim had not been used the CPU would be damaged? :-

[TweaK-FreaK]

well I've fitted a few not alot, but a few cpus in my time and never cracked one....well when I got my glaciator I carefully, I mean carefully because I was scared of the size of the thing, fitted in on and my cpu never booted. Come to find out after reseating I looked with a magnifying glass and could see a hairline crack on the edge of the core. I"m convinced that this was the cause of my probs.....There prolly is no proof that proves if a shim was used a cpu was saved. But I've seen many cases, especially with amd systems, cpus could have been saved by a shim where a massive heatsink was used.