Thoughtson use of a shim

[fiveohhh]

I'm just getting a new 1800+ and I'm wondering if I should also get a shim, I looked a cooling guys non conductive shim and wondering if its worth it. It seems like a reallygood Idea to me since I also got an SK-6 with my CPU. Your thoughts and opinions are appreciated.

[Ottoman]

well I've 'heard' that they help cool by a couple degrees extra..


but mostly they help from preventing u from chipping a corner off your core while mounting it... more of a safety procaution, if u feel your HSF is too heavy or brackets wont mount/hold it like u want, go for it... hey if u don't like it u can always remove it..

[William]

Shims generally raise temps a few degrees celsius. BUT, they help keep you from chipping your core. they aren't foolproof by any means, but they do help. Depends on how confident you are. Personally I use one.

[RangerJoe]

my shim caused my temps to go down a few degrees, but if you get one, get an annodized one from www.hardcorecooling.com
these are non-conductive.....but thats me $0.02

[-=HN=- Wild9]

the shim question for me has to be no, since my heatsink(swiftech MC462-A) mounts to my motherboard , there is even pressure and no need to rock the hs, across the core to get that pesky clip in place.

[oc jason]

id stay away from them and just be really careful, they tend to raise temp is what i hear, i have never chipped a socker cpu and never used a shim, just go really slow and try to not get shaky.

But if your not sure use one at first then as u get more comfortable remove it if you feel like it

[ddistasio]

I used a nonconductive shim on my Athlon 1.4...I was doing an install for the first time and was nervous about cracking the core when adding my Alpha HSF....It worked great for me as far as a safety precaution....I don't really know if it did anything to my temps, but my setup runs fine as far as temps...I would recommend one if you have any doubts at all about cracking the core...They're an easy addition, and while not foolproof do help...

[killem1x1]

If you take your time you don't need a shim for normal hs installation. If you are using some type of exotic "damage-prone" hs then try one. It certainly will not hurt anything to use a shim. It will raise your temps by a couple of degrees in my experience.

[el]

Three words: Waste of Money!

don't bother with it

[abb1]

Just be careful and you should not need a shim. I have never used one and never had a problem, and I had replaced cpu's/heatsinks dozens of times.
Abb

[Hugo 59]

I tend to agree with el on the subject but if your really worried get one just make sure you get one that is non-conductive.

[Pepsi]

As far as using shims go it's up to you. From my recent experience I cracked a brand new 1400 (it never even booted up) that's nothing short being totally heart breaking....gut wrenching...pounding your head on the wall type of feeling. I was lucky I got my processor replaced. If you are at least a little bit unsure of what you doing I'd say a nickel's worth of insurance is a good deal. If you saw the 1400 I broke you'd look really hard to see the crack/chip it takes no serious pressure to break them, if the HS is set just a little crooked that's all it takes and you are done. Lecture over and good luck please let us know how you make out. ;)