HS doesn't cover chip

[GTX_SlotCar]

Hi Gents,
I've got a Swiftech MCX478 HSF which worked very good on a couple of my old motherboards, but my new Abit AI7 has the cpu chip mounted at a 45 deg. angle inside the HS bracket. The bottom of the MCX478 is raised on one edge (probably so it won't interfere with some zif sockets). This means that about 1/4" of one corner of the cpu surface is not covered.
Is it still safe to use? If one corner isn't covered, can that corner get hot and burn up?

Thanks,

Gary

 

[Iron Hawk]

That is a weird mobo setup, not many heatsinks are going to be compatable with it. I personaly would not buy the board for that reason. I also would not recomend using the heatsink without the cpu being fully coverd.

 

[LittlePiggie]

as long as the part of the heatspreder that covers the core is covered, it should be fine. there was a thread about this a little while ago and I think the verdict was that as long as the core is covered it's fine.

 

[Cuda]

You may be able to go to Abits sight and find some hfs recommendations.

Here: http://forum.abit-usa.com

They have a forum there. If you can't get an answer here maybe they can help you.

 

[Cyberwiz01]

well with the way Arctic silver is applied, the only spot where the thermal compound is really important above the core. In fact in the pics at the AS website, it shows the ciruclar spot over the core where the compound goes. It shouldn't be a problem to have one coner sticking out. Even though it might look a little wierd.

 

[flixotide]

I wouldn't feel secure with the setup.

Use some cheap cooling paste, cover the CPU core, mount the heatsink, then take it off again, and see if the paste has left a proper mark on the heatsink surface.

That way you can ensure that the entire CPU core gets proper contact, which is very vital in your situation.

Cheers, Flix

 

[lyle]

I used a SLK900A on a P4, and the base of the HS only covered about 75% of the IHS of the CPU. There were two small strips on the outside of the IHS that did not get covered by the HS base. I never noticed a problem, and in fact this setup beat out everything else I used until the SP94 came along.

I would not hesitate to use it. You will not have any problems.

 

[ridewitme]

As has been said before, as long as the heatsink covers the centre of the IHS then you are fine, there is no reason to think badly of a board that has a different mounting system. If this were an AMD board then you would be worried about it not covering the full area of the core, but then again mobo manufacturers arent that stupid enough to do something like that. So since the AI7 is made with the socket on a 45 degree angle, then to pass tests before going into major production, then it would be fine.

 

[Susquehannock]

You may be able to go to Abits sight and find some hfs recommendations.

Here: http://forum.abit-usa.com

They have a forum there. If you can't get an answer here maybe they can help you.

I'm with Cuda.
Go check those ABIT forums. They have
helped me immensely.

 

[GTX_SlotCar]

Just an update. According the the Abit forums and Swiftech tech support, using this HSF is OK.
Abit put the cpu at a 45 deg angle to shorten the commication path to the memory. I don't know if it's got anything to do with this, but the AI7 can really OC. I've never been able to get my Geil memory this high and at such tight timing. I haven't put the Swiftech on yet (still using the stock HSF), but I can get a P4 1.8a up to 2600 with tighter than spec mem timing and a 3:4 ratio. It's stable, cool and the cpu is only at 1.65v. My SD7-533 and Epox 4G4A needed the Swiftech to get to 2500 and the mem timing set at specs.
Nice job Abit. I can't wait to get a P4 2.4c or 2.6c.

Gary