CPU Fan and Heatsink Installation

[althalus]

My son purchased a Soltek socket A motherboard and AMD XP 1700 CPU along with other components from his pocket money. The trouble was, the CPU Heatsink and fan would not clip on, it was so tight my son had to clip it on by pushing it down with a screwdriver. Stupid, I know we should have taken it to the shop there and then but now we are told the motherboard is damaged by the screwdriver hitting the it. Is it normal for the heatsink/fan (Thermaltake Volcano 7)to be so hard to fit? Do we have the wrong model? There were no instructions with it.

[MAKO]

Originally posted by althalus:
My son purchased a Soltek socket A motherboard and AMD XP 1700 CPU along with other components from his pocket money. The trouble was, the CPU Heatsink and fan would not clip on, it was so tight my son had to clip it on by pushing it down with a screwdriver. Stupid, I know we should have taken it to the shop there and then but now we are told the motherboard is damaged by the screwdriver hitting the it. Is it normal for the heatsink/fan (Thermaltake Volcano 7)to be so hard to fit? Do we have the wrong model? There were no instructions with it.

I just installed an AMD XP1600 chip and a volcano 6 fan/heatsink. It was a tight fit. I placed a screw driver in the heat sink slot and pushed down the clip that way before I installed the board. What makes it so tight is the rubber pads on the processor.

[setoguro]

Hi althalus
Yea it isn't easy to put on the hs. Nailing motherboards with screwdrivers happens a lot. I chipped my cpu and got my mb the first time I put on a hs. The mb was all right but the cpu died a slow death. The thing to do is try a couple of practice runs to find that perfect place for the screwdriver.

[BigBlue66]

There are some heatsinks with better designed clips that can be fastened usually with just a finger. Vantec comes to mind. Some of their clips are really good. There are others but I can't remember their names right now.

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This message has not been edited by BigBlue66.

[Rick]

The reason for the clip being hard to install.
Is the heatsink Must make a specific amount of contract.
To make an efficient heat transfer from the chip to the heat sink.
without applying to much force to the chip and avoiding PSB cracks or other damage.

Unfortunately at times these clips can be a hassle causing damage to both the cpu and the mother board by the installer ..
Without question the safest way to install a heat sink is when the Mother is Out of the case and placed on a soft None conductive material.
Like the foam pad included with new mother boards and covered with the anti static bag it was shipped in..

[ranchdog]

The Volcano 7 is compatable with the Soltek. If you look at the bottom of the Heatsink there is a "landing" and this is made to fit correctly in one position. The "landing" is made to fit up over the step on the ZIF socket. The step is there at the base of the locking lever. The Heatsink can be forced to fit 180 degrees in error by using a tremendous amount of force on the clip. But the CPU is going to be History and have a meltdown when the system is fired up.

I use a couple of Volcano 7's and by-passed the thermistor on both so that the fan runs steady at 5K. The 7+ that came out doesn't use the thermistor to regulate fan speed according to temps. Have one on a Soltek SL-75DRV2 and one on a Leadtek 7350KDA, both doing a commendable job.

The clip on the Volcano 7 isn't bad once a person finds the knack for installation. Don't go overboard with the width of the screwdriver blade. Small piece of masking tape to cover the end of the blade helps to keep it from cutting anything in case of a slip. (Yes we've all thumped the Mboard a couple times.) Use the screwdriver on the clip end that has the hinge. As you press down easy like, slip something behind the clip to help pry it out a smidge. I use a finger nail file. Keep pressing down with the screwdriver until the clip locks on the tab. Much easier to accomplish before Mboard goes into the case. Trying to pry down and out at the same time with the screwdriver alone causes bad slips.

After living dangerous with the clips on the SK/6 Heatsinks everything else is easy. The engineer who designed those needs an IQ examination. Takes two men and a boy using a Huge prybar.

When the new Hammer series processors come out they will be incased in the tin cover (like the old K-6) so we won't have to contend with the rubber feet on the corners of the CPU. And chipping/crushing the core.

Luck.

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