"Opinion Please" - Athlon Shim

I'm in the process of upgrading my system and have the following;

1. Gigabyte mobo K7 Triton GA-7S748

2. AMD Athlon XP 1900+ 266 AGOGA core stepping.
(The AGOGA cores are used in the XP 2000+ processors and the XP1900+ AGOGA chips are basically underclocked from the XP 2000+ spec which runs at 1.67GHz. )

3. Speeze Speeze ''WhisperRock II'' CPU cooler, MOdel:5F263B1M3G SPECS

Here is my question, as this is the first Athlon system I have assembled.

Should a shim be used?

I purchased one like this:

Here

As read quite abit about using a shim, which supposedly relieves pressure being insereted onto the cpu core.

This heatsink/fan is heavy, as the fan has an aluminum case. Came with a thermal pad, as did the copper shim, but probably will take off and use some Artic II instead.

Hi Murf,

Just a caution:

http://www.dealsonic.com/thera1copshi.html

SM

I've never liked the shims, hinder cooling if anything and just another thing to get in the way. And if it's a conductive material that adds to the issues........
The shim primarily protects the core from HSF mounting pressure.... so just watch your angles and make sure there's no pressue until all level and HSF is resting on the die.

Take the fan off during installation, that will help a bit. Mine, in the sig, weighs 550 grams and have never had any issues... although it's the bolt on model. Would prefer to see a 3-lug mounting on that one you've got if it weighs that much....
Be gentle!

I would just be careful mounting the heatsink. I have four AMD systems running here, none with shims, and all cool quite nice. They do offer a layer of protection against cracking the cpu, but I think there is a slight cooling disadvantage. I have one here that I tried on a 1700+ two years ago, If I remember I was not happy with the cpu temp. But if my memory serves I think that was with a stock heatsink&fan.

I just put a computer together with that mainboard. Runs good! Just so you know, I tried the flash utility that came on the cd and it worked fine.

rbc1100

Thanks, I am very concerned with the weight of the HSF, I won't be assembling until next week (no memory yet), I put the HSF on top of the processor and it appears it does not touch the processor. However, did not clip the HSF, so probably will rest with a little pressure.

I read quite a lot of reviews about this board, thats why I bought it. I have always used ASUS/ECS, but the Gigabyte had great reviews. I'm impressed with the board itself.

Great about the flash utility because will have to upgrade BIOS. I have flashed many boards with no problems, but never used this type of utility.

Still reading about the shim, guess I could try it, check temp's then take off check temp's...

I went with the 1900+, simply because of the low budget and will use PC2100. Will eventually go with the 400MHz and the PC3200 later.

With a good heatsink/fan I really do not think heat will be an issue. I can relate to the weight. My Volcano 12 on this, a nine on the other, and two with sevens are all heavy. I don't know about the heatsink mounting on pent boards, but make sure you lay this board on a flat surface with static bag and foam under it. use a screw driver that fits down in the mounting latch with out a lot of slop. You will have to slightly pry out and push down at the same time and it will snap right in. You probably already knew that but I thought id throw it in any way. Good luck!!!!!!!!!

It will settle on the little rubber things on top of the cpu when you latch it down. Yes use the paste, ditch the pad. The 1900 is a good running cpu, I built one for my girlfriends eldest son with a Soyo Dragon mainboard and a 1900+. The 3200+ will rock!!!

And here is a nice little article with pictures on shims ('course they want you to buy theirs) . :)

http://www.maximum3d.com/reviews/cgshims.htm

I've assembled many Athlons and about every TT from version 6Cu+ to the current 12. Never seen a shim do anything positive for me (easier assembly, temps etc.) and thus gave up trying them.

As Abhoth mentioned above, take the fan off when assembling the heatsink, and forget about the shim.

My 2¢ worth...
Cheers
KG
:)

On my main machine now, I have the Thermalright SLK 800 (A). This is an 'all copper' heatsink and is a heavyweight. Rubber stick-on buttons were included that you could mount on the bottom of the heatsink to correspond with the corners of the CPU. Before I forget,this version of the Thermalright has a clip that uses all 6 stubs on the socket. I tried these 'buttons' for awhile and they seemed to work ok. Temps were around 45c to 48c with ambient at 68 to 72F. Fan used was YS Tech 80mm adjustable speed.I run it at top speed of 3900RPM and it's very quiet.
After a few months i was able to get the AMD T-Bred XP 1700+ that was unlocked. I installed this CPU without the buttons to see if it made a difference. It did. Temps went down to 42c to 44c.
Arctic Silver III used on both chips. The one thing you need to watch for when mounting heat sink is the stepping on the socket. I connect the clip opposite the step first,then with a slight twisting of the heatsink as you lower it to make sure it is going down level, pull the other clips out a' bit for clearance and lower it on down and engage the clips. Check with a small maglite or such from opposite side as you eyeball it for levelness and no light showing between heatsink and slug.
I knew this HS would be heavy,so made sure before purchase that it had the clip that utilized all the stubs. Been running great at a slight o'clock of 1702Mhz for over 6 months now...:)

Thaanks,

Have been reading, for my own knowledge, for about an hour on the pro's/con's of the shim. And decided will not use it. Anybody need a brand new Thermaltake Athlon Shim only $1.99 This One lolol.

From what I have read, it would only prevent possible chipping of the core, does'nt not affect heat transfer. I have built enough systems to be careful when puuting the HSF on. However, will take the advise and remove fan before installation, and install prior to installing the mobo. I just scrapped off the thermal paste that came with it, as I have plenty of AS III laying around.

Doesn't the spring tension in the clips have a lot more to do with the pressure the heatsink puts on the CPU? I wouldn't think its weight would be a factor since it's mounted vertically.

In any case, CPU's and heatsinks are made for each other, so I wouldn't worry about using shims :)

"Doesn't the spring tension in the clips have a lot more to do with the pressure the heatsink puts on the CPU?"

Yes it does, and that is one of the reasons you have to be careful when mounting the heatsink. Some of the springs are rather stiff. I cracked one mainboard a while back do to the fact that the scew driver I was using was not big enough and slipped out of the slot on the mounting spring.

Thanks to all.

Will not use the shim, unfortunately, I assembled yesterday and could not get a post. So will RMA the motherboard, as the processor and memory are new. Even tried out of the case, with two different video cards (AGP/PCI). No post.... It's tough to advise ones self in this.. Similiar to many posting here, so took my own advice.

Powers up, no post. Only way to shut down is the PS switch. Put my old mobo in and using it now, so it's not the PS, Power switch. Tried the one stick of memory in Slot 1 and 3, did not try slot 2. DDR PC2100, on a Gigabyte GA-7S748, had read somewhere on some Gigabyte boards using one stick use slot 2, but manual does not indicate and just too lazy to pull this one out and try again.

Dang Murf,,what a' bummer:( I assume you did,but just in case. Did you check the board battery? And/or clear the CMOS before trying to boot it? Sorry to hear you had to rma it. That 'always' gets 'my' dander up! :rolleyes:

Doesn't have a CMOS jumper, just use a paper clip to short. I changed CMOS batteries, and left it out for about 5 minutes, probably should of left out longer. Did not short the CMOS. Didn't know that until I put it back together and got on line.

I may try one more time out of the case before calling tomorrow for the RMA...]b]Update:[/b] No Post tryed clearing CMOS (short with paper clip) still no post so guess it's back for a replacement.

Here's a lesson learned, This was a refurbished board that I got cheap (they did warranty it for 7 days).. Never do again, will get a new board this time.

RMA'd the board today, and ordered a new board. After 6 hours of screwing with it, determined the board was garbage.

Yep,,I'm really sceptical on those 'referbs'. Good chance it was crap for the original buyer and was just re-wrapped by the reseller and not actually tested. Like they say,,you get what you pay for and Caveot Emptor...:(

Sorry to hear. thats why i don't buy refurb stuff. I am glad you are going to give that board another try. Its a good board for the money.

The gigabyte was refurbished and came in it's original box with all software/hardware. Looked like new, however, they don't have any more as it was discontinued, and I was kind of stuck buying another one from this company.

Anyways, going with a ECS K7S5A Pro, doesn't support PC2700 0r 3200, but I don't care as it does support PC2100 and my athlon plus the USB 2.0 I wanted. By the time I decide to upgrade again, will be in Pentium 6. So for the price $41 NEW, I will be satisfied with this board. I have two ECS's already, one in this rig I'm using now and am very satisfied with them.

Thats kind of funny. I have the ECS pro here, the same one you just ordered. It worked ok when I could get it to boot ( cold boot syndrome). So I ordered the Gigabyte to replace it. Its to bad you couldn't get one. My original ECS mainboard still runs but I have had two sense and both had issues. The second ECS I had died within a week. It started out like this last one it would boot about every 20th try. And this last one was trouble right away. I hope it works for you, good luck!!!!

God I hope not..

This one I'm using now is a ECS P6VXM, with a 800Mhz Celeron. Had about a year and NEVER had a problem with it.

I hope not also. I have just had some bad luck with them. Like I said my original ECS is still running and it seems to be a good board. I have never had a problem with it. I have enough parts laying around here to put another one together. I might just mess with it ( new pro) some more and see if I can figure out why it does/doesnt boot. When you get yours let us know how you make out with it. thanks