DP-102 Problem

Denorios · Post by **Denorios** » Fri Sep 10, 2004 3:05 pm

I'm having a major problem with my DP-102 cooler. Even the slightest pressure on the top of it - say from a loose wire, causes it to break contact with the CPU core sufficiently to trigger the thermal shutdown.

Even worse, as soon as the cpu reaches the right temperature, the marginal expansion of the copper breaks contact as well.

I've had no problems with the system lying flat, but obviously that's not practical. Is there any way of proping the thing up slightly, or should I just get a lower profile cooler that doesn't have as much torque, like an SP97?

I would have thought that tower heat sinks, with their center of gravity so far from the socket, would be prime candidates for using the motherboard mounting holes, but apparantly not.

Straker · Post by **Straker** » Fri Sep 10, 2004 7:10 pm

try tying elastic string (or elastic anything) around the top two legs of the X on top of the cooler, and then around one of the rungs in the PSU vent to take some of the weight off?
and your TIM is on properly?

silvervarg · Post by **silvervarg** » Mon Sep 13, 2004 12:36 am

I have almost exactly the same setup as you have. Both cooler and motherboard is the same. And I have a Barotn 2500+ as well. So the only difference is that you have a XP-M, but that has no effect on the physical dimensions.
I have never experienced any of the problems you are experiencing.

There is basicly 2 things that can be the problem.
1. Mounting
2. TIM

First to check the mounting remove the heatsink and push the CPU down rather hard into the socket when you lock the socket lever. Ofcourse don't push on the actual core when you do this. This will reduce CPU flixing in socket, so your cooler will flex less.
When you mount the CPU cooler make sure it connects way in on the socket lugs.

Second thing is TIM. If you have a problem with poor contact you might not have an even layer of TIM on the CPU core or you might have too thin layer of TIM. If you are uncertain I suggest that you use AS Ceramicqe, since then you can do very quick testing with no need for break in time.

Straker · Post by **Straker** » Tue Sep 14, 2004 12:38 am

Important Reminder:

Due to the unique shapes and sizes of the particles in Ceramique, it will take a minimum of 25 hours and several thermal cycles to achieve maximum particle to particle thermal conduction and for the heatsink to CPU interface to reach maximum conductivity. (This period will be longer in a system without a fan on the heatsink.) On systems measuring actual internal core temperatures via the CPU's internal diode, the measured temperature will often drop slightly over this "break-in" period. This break-in will occur during the normal use of the computer as long as the computer is turned off from time to time and the interface is allowed to cool to room temperature. Once the break-in is complete, the computer can be left on if desired.

same as all their other stuff
not a big deal if you're just seeing whether the TIM is the problem though, since temps don't matter at this point

pony-tail · Post by **pony-tail** » Tue Sep 14, 2004 9:06 pm

It might be worth checking to see if your retention clip is not deformed allowing the cooler to be loose on the cpu .
I have one of these but it is on a 3.2gig P4 and with just one Silenx 80mm fan
it is 7 or 8 deg C. cooler than the stock fan (silenx is at 12v ) so it should cool you CPU without Problem

Denorios · Post by **Denorios** » Thu Sep 16, 2004 1:47 pm

I cleaned, re-pasted and remounted the DP-102 several times, but nothing improved.

The clip doesn't appear to be deformed, but....
In the end, I decided to go with a Zalman 7000Cu, and moved the DP-102 to my father's desktop, where gravity ought to keep it properly in place. Obviously the fans are not comparable, but even at 7V, the Zalman can achieve prime95 temperatures that the SilenX/Aerocool couldn't reach at 12V.

I may just have had a slightly duff model. Still, I think that Aerocool really ought to have included an attachment to mount the unit onto those AMD boards that do have mounting holes.

Thanks anyway