Heatsink weights

Cooling Processors quietly

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madlee
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Heatsink weights

Post by madlee » Fri Aug 15, 2003 10:22 am

I picked up a zalman ZM6568CE-Cu heatsink yesterday at CompUSA and I couldn't believe how heavy it was. The only way I would install that on my CPU was if the motherboard was always laying flat. If you have a tower, and therefore have the motherboard in an upright position, it seems like a lot of weight...

they list the weight as being 898 grams and their website states:
The maximum weight of a heatsink is specified as 450g for use with Intel's Pentium 4 processor. If a heatsink which exceeds the relevant weight limit is installed in a computer, special care should be taken while the computer is being moved. Zalman Tech. Co., Ltd. is not responsible for any damage to a system or a CPU occurring when moving a computer with an overweight heatsink.

Ralf Hutter
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Post by Ralf Hutter » Fri Aug 15, 2003 12:26 pm

MikeC reviewed it here and I swear he had trouble with those plastic clips sagging after a while but it sure doesn't mention anything about that in the article. Maybe it was written up in the forums somewhere.

Personally, I would go with the Zalman 7000. It has a better mounting system and according to the review, the lighter hybrid Al-Cu version cools virtually as well as the heavy all-copper version.

madlee
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Post by madlee » Fri Aug 15, 2003 6:27 pm

Yeah, I was going to write "why don't they make an aluminum version?" then I looked just to make sure...

In comparison, the thermalright 800 is about 500g which is pretty decent in comparison.

The Zalman heatsink seemed to have most of it's weight in the base, because the fins have cut outs..

It was my impression that cooling is directly related to surface to air ratio.. why have such a heavy base?

Anyone have trouble with the Thermalright 800(u)? can it potentially damage the motherboard?

Ralf Hutter
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Post by Ralf Hutter » Sat Aug 16, 2003 5:11 am

madlee wrote: Anyone have trouble with the Thermalright 800(u)? can it potentially damage the motherboard?
Damage the MoBo? How?

Shadowknight
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Post by Shadowknight » Sat Aug 16, 2003 5:16 am

Well, I have the 900-U. Which weighs even more (around 587g, I think?).

I've had bad luck when messing around with my computer lately, but the weight has not damaged my cpu. To explain;

I installed it okay, even given the contradictory instructions on the Thermalright website (the 478 adapter brackets go UNDER the aluminum heatsink clip, not OVER, as shown in the instructions for bolting it throught the motherboard).

After installing it, I realized that due to the thinness of the Panaflo fan, I needed to use the lower holes for the fan bracket, but I couldn't fit it in properly due to the mounting screws blocking the way.

So I decided to unscrew the heatsink without removing it.

SOMEHOW, despite using pliers to make the standoffs tight, two of the standoffs on the same side of the sink came unscrewed (make a nice metallic "snap" sound).

Anyway, this necessitated taking off the sink so I could rescrew in the standoffs, and you know what? Despite having pressure on only one side from the screws, the cpu was fine. In fact, this is the same computer that I'm using right now.

So, as long as you are careful, the weight of the sink shouldn't be a problem. I haven't heard of anyone having problems with it breaking the MB or anything, and in fact, it was lighter than I thought.

KansaKilla
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Post by KansaKilla » Sat Aug 16, 2003 8:25 am

I just installed the 800U. I'd have to agree that the instructions for it STINK. Kept running upstairs to the wife's computer to try and figure out what was going on. The HS itself is great, though. Works about as well as the 900, and a bit less weight (? better cooling:weight ratio?). I mounted it through the motherboard and actually had more trouble getting the stock hsf retention mechanism out. The through-the-board way also bent my mobo a bit like the stock retention mechanism did, but it gives me a little more peace of mind to have it more securely mounted.

By the way, I just wanted to thank Mike C. for all his hard work on this site. I just happened by it one day a year or so ago, and I've been hooked on it ever since. I imitated Ralf and Katana Man for what is turning into the computer of my dreams (imitation is the highest form of flattery, right?).

--Kansa Killa

efcoins
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Post by efcoins » Sat Aug 16, 2003 2:20 pm

You got some instructions with your 800U ?
I did not get anything, I had to go next door and use their PC to find something on line.

KansaKilla
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Post by KansaKilla » Sun Aug 17, 2003 6:22 pm

I didn't get a set of instructions, per se. I got a piece of paper that directed me to the website. Not so fun, running upstairs to the wife's computer to find out how to install it. Used the 900U instructions on their website.

--K

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