CPU Copper Shim?

Hello,
I have an Athlon XP 1800 processor on an Abit AT7 motherboard. I'm going to put a Thermaltake Volcano 7 heatsink/fan on top. I was thinking about using a copper shim. Are they worth the money? What's your opinions of copper shims?
Thanks
rdytorave

Have never used one. This is not to say that I have not considered using one however every time I consider it, I read about someone else who fried their cpu as a result of using one. As I now change out waterblocks on the verticle while in the case, the shim would only serve to present a hazard. The logic of the shim is good however I avoid them.

use the forum search to find lots of opinions on shim's

well its like this simple

A shim protects your core when installing and uninstalling your heatsink

to me a 6 doller shim is worth protecting my chip

the only reason they have fried their cpu using it is because of misuse! not using correctly, i have one on mine rite now kinda, its more permantlly there its glued to the heatspreader wich is glued to the cpu,

I personally have never used a shim of any sort and quite frankly, I don't see the point in them. If you are careful and do not use a sledge hammer to attach your sink, then the chances of you cracking the die are pretty small.

Yeah, if the force it takes to put your heatsink on seems to be too much, don't do it. Get a different heatsink if you have to. Just be reasonable, and you won't crush your core... And even if you do chip a few corners, most AMD's will take it.

I've been using copper shims for years now (used one with my original Duron 600 and now I'm using one with my morgan). With the amount of pressure that the hsf is putting on that glass core, I personally don't trust the little pads that AMD uses alone. There's two precautions when using a shim though:
1. check fit the shim on your CPU for overlapping of the metal on the CPU bridges. If there is any overlap, coat the bridges with some type of insulating material (clear nail polish works very nicely).
2. check fit the shim on the cpu with the hsf mounted w/ thermal grease, than remove the hsf unit. Make sure that the proc made a clear and even imprint on the botton of the hsf unit (with the thermal grease that is). If the imprint is not even (ie, only a portion of the proc imprint is there), then the shim most likely needs to be sanded a bit - not a bad thing though, just a bit time consuming. To sand, place the shim on a flat surface and use wet/dry 600 sand paper mounted to a flat piece of glass/plexiglass (or anyother small flat surface you may have). Sand it a bit (not too much or you'll have nothing left), clean it with isopropyl alcohol (99% recommended), and test fit your shim again.
The above are the guidelines I've used many times, and have not had problems using copper shims yet.
Good luck...

Thanks

Just wanted to say thanks for the opinions guys!

BTW, Lord thundar made reference to using nail polish on the cpu circuitry. I do this as well when using the tecs to avoid shortage due to condensation.