So I Was Building My Computer And...

[apunkrockmonk]

I got the abit NF7-S and the Zalman 7000a-cu, I now realize that they are not compatable, is there anyway I can make the heatsink fit on, and if not, which cooler do you recommend for this board

[tesco]

I thoguht clocker had this heatsink...or one like it...works on his abit motherboard (same one).

http://www.fastlanehw.com/reviews/7000/4.jpg
Doesn't the card go on the back of the motherboard, then pins go through, little riser screws screw into those pins, then the heatsink screws onto them? it should be in your instructions.

edit: I could be completely wrong though. I just pieced that together byy looking at the pic and seeing all the pieces.

[clocker]

The Zalman does work on the NF7-S, you just have to do a bit of modification.
Firstly, you have to reverse the position of the two mounting brackets.
The blue bracket must go on the left side instead of the right.
Secondly, one end of the hold down clamp has to be trimmed to clear the capacitors on the left side of the socket.
Each side has two mounting holes ( I assume that the outside one is for an Intel installation) and you just need to trim off the outside mounting hole.
This bracket has been chromed and is very tough to cut so I just hit it on the grinder and sanded it down.
Took about 10 seconds.

[apunkrockmonk]

Alright, thanks for the info. I just ended up returning it and getting a different heat sink. I got the Switech MCX462-V with a Silenx 92mm fan. I used artic sliver 5. I'm going to post pics of everything in a bit. Thanks for all your help.

[tesco]

Originally posted by apunkrockmonk@23 July 2004 - 10:44
Alright, thanks for the info. I just ended up returning it and getting a different heat sink. I got the Switech MCX462-V with a Silenx 92mm fan. I used artic sliver 5. I'm going to post pics of everything in a bit. Thanks for all your help.
let us know your temps too :)

[apunkrockmonk]

Temps are 40 C idle and 50 C under load at 2.4ghz..... i'm hopeing they go down after the thermal paste break in period.... pictures coming later.

[apunkrockmonk]

Are CPU temps like 50C idle and 52C load normal with the heatsink i have and with an ambient of 30C during break in? They seem way to high to me.... a few days ago it was 40C idle and 50C load when it was overclocked, I have it at stock temp now because the temp was rising. Is it possible I didn't put enough paste on?

[Spicker]

Originally posted by apunkrockmonk@25 July 2004 - 19:27
Is it possible I didn't put enough paste on?
yep most likely...

[tesco]

Originally posted by apunkrockmonk@25 July 2004 - 13:27
Are CPU temps like 50C idle and 52C load normal with the heatsink i have and with an ambient of 30C during break in? They seem way to high to me.... a few days ago it was 40C idle and 50C load when it was overclocked, I have it at stock temp now because the temp was rising. Is it possible I didn't put enough paste on?
actually it's more likely that it is too much than too little.

you need a VERY VERY thin layer.

[apunkrockmonk]

The layer was very thin, I could see through it in some spots even. But there was no bare spot of the cpu core, I have a picture of it, I'll post it in a minute.

Image Resized
[img]http://apunkrockmonk.250free.com/IM002843.jpg' width='200' height='120' border='0' alt='click for full size view'> ('http://apunkrockmonk.250free.com/IM002843.jpg')
guess its kinda hard to tell from the picture, but you can see i didn't put any huge ammount on.

Image Resized
[img]http://apunkrockmonk.250free.com/IM002844.jpg' width='200' height='120' border='0' alt='click for full size view'> ('http://apunkrockmonk.250free.com/IM002844.jpg')
The chip after the heatsink has been attatched

Image Resized
[img]http://apunkrockmonk.250free.com/IM002848.jpg' width='200' height='120' border='0' alt='click for full size view'> ('http://apunkrockmonk.250free.com/IM002848.jpg')
The inside of the computer currently, the computer is on in this picture and the fan is spinning at 2094rpm.... kinda funny how it isn't blurred at all.

[Sprocket]

Originally posted by apunkrockmonk@25 July 2004 - 12:27
Is it possible I didn't put enough paste on?
Why is this always the first assumption?

Isn't it equally as likely that the HS itself is deficient?
Or the fan?
Or the combination of the two?

[Duffman]

Not blurry do to a fast shutter.

[apunkrockmonk]

Maybe if it was a crappy heatsink i'd think that, or maybe even if my temperatures weren't alot lower a few days ago when it was overclocked by 600mhz. The heatink isn't hot to the touch either so I think that pretty much seals the deal on the thermal paste. But, could it also be possible because its not broken in? Or does that not make that much of a difference?

[Sprocket]

The "normalization" of AS may gain you two...maybe three... degrees reduction in temp, but don't hope for miracles.

My understanding of the Swiftech sinks is that they require a very high pressure fan to reach their optimum performance.
Something along the lines of a Tornado.
This has been a common objection to them...they work well, but the price paid in noise is very high.

[tesco]

50 degrees isn't hot to the touch anyway.

anything like 60 or higher then it will start to get too hot to touch.

at about 90 is when touching it actually hurts.

edit: actually not 90 lol that is very hot maybe 75 or 80.

[apunkrockmonk]

well rosco, it was barely warm. Maybe its a bit of both the fan and the paste? I'm going to look into things more, hopefully swiftech has a reccomended cfm, then i can see how much air my fan pushes... hmmm

Edit: After looking, I see my fan moves 36cfm. That is in the "mid category, best suited for mild to serious overclocking." I should get better temps then what i'm getting at stock speeds.

[tesco]

Originally posted by apunkrockmonk@25 July 2004 - 15:12
well rosco, it was barely warm. Maybe its a bit of both the fan and the paste? I'm going to look into things more, hopefully swiftech has a reccomended cfm, then i can see how much air my fan pushes... hmmm

Edit: After looking, I see my fan moves 36cfm. That is in the "mid category, best suited for mild to serious overclocking." I should get better temps then what i'm getting at stock speeds.
my fan is also 36cfm.

could be that the heatsink actually needs like 40cfm or more to be at all effective. :blink: