LGA 775 Cooling

[Nudnik]

Does anyone else hate the stock LGA 775 cooler?

I used one of these hellish things for over six months, when, in the middle of winter, the processor suddenly overheats:eek:

Why doesn't this strange system use clips that snap the assembly securely into place like current AMD systems and the Pentium 478 series?

Some companies suggest applying additional heat paste, others discarding the Intel cooler altogether in favour of an aftermarket unit. What is the best way to ensure the thing doesn't overheat?

[CWR03]

I have yet to have a stock processor fan perform well - they've all either been incredibly noisy and only cooled marginally well, or stayed around 65 degrees C under heavy use. I found an all-copper CoolerMaster heat sink/fan unit that cools very well and was surprisingly light. The fins radiate out from the center and has a fan in the middle. I think this (http://shop1.outpost.com/product/4466356?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG) is it, but there's no picture so I'm not sure. I've seen similar ones by Zalman but they were much heavier - I don't like the idea of three pounds of copper hanging from the motherboard.

[Nudnik]

Thanks for the information.

I can't get the link to work, but I will search for the product. It's good to have feedback from someone who has successfully circumvented the problem.

I decided to try a Thermalake unit not long ago, and I can honestly say I was a bit shocked when it arrived. It looked like something from the 1930's, it must weigh at least three pounds, and like you I was reticent to bolt it to my wafer thin motherboard.

[theReal]

If you want a very small and light-weight cooler that performs outstandingly with very little noise... then you'll have to get a watercooler ;)

[HardwareGeek]

Does anyone else hate the stock LGA 775 cooler?

Sounds like you might have a Prescott CPU. Prescotts tend to run very hot. So hot that Intel was unable to hit 4 GHz, which they wanted to very badly but couldn't. Heat issues forced them to switch to a different microarchitecture prematurely.

The first Prescott I built I returned because it ran hot.

Some companies suggest applying additional heat paste, others discarding the Intel cooler altogether in favour of an aftermarket unit. What is the best way to ensure the thing doesn't overheat?

I would try both better paste and a third party heatsink. Arctic Silver I think is the best paste, but am not sure. Check one of the hardware forums--ExtremeTech, AnandTech, Tom's Hardware--for a definitive answer.
Zalman is one manufacturer that I think makes cooling efficient fans, but again check a hardware forum for more information.

All the best

[Nudnik]

I find all of this information valuable and wish to thank those who took the time to contribute.

Yes, it was indeed the infamous Prescott that burst into flames midwinter.

I will continue to experiment using what I have learned here and elsewhere. In the meantime however, I will use an AMD 3500 based system I built recently as my main PC; it runs at 25 C most of the time with the stock cooler. Slight overclocking of both memory and processor, even with DDR-1, produces performance nearly identical to an Intel 3.0 530J.

Intel should redesign these things from scratch, in my opinion they have produced a defective, inefficient platform.

[HardwareGeek]

Intel's next generation microarchitecture debuts the second half of this year.

Also, it seems that Intel improved the power management of its P4, shortly after it released its Prescott, which ran a tad hot. I currently run a P4 630 (3.0 GHz), and am very pleased.

Also, Intel's current top-of-the-line show exceptionally strong results with Shrink.

But AMD is good, too, so more power to you.

[Nudnik]

An update:
Intel Pentium D 820....
I removed the heatsink entirely, scraped off the stock heat pad with my fingernail, (sophisticate I am) cleaned thoroughly with isopropyl alcohol, several times. I then applied some cheap heat paste with silver filler to the processor using an expired driver's license. Next, I gingerly reattached the heatsink so as not to muss my artistic application of paste, made sure pins were in proper position, and pressed down on two pins at once diagonally. After they had popped out several times, I finally succeeded in getting two to lock at once, and then quickly locked them both in place with a screwdriver before one could pop out again and cause me to fly into a psychotic rage. I then did the same to the opposite side, which was a bit easier with its companions holding the apparatus in place.

The results....53C at idle....62C under stress test/full load with room temp at about 30C. Not ideal I realize, but much improved over 78C at idle. Doubtless I would have acheived better results using a real paste like Arctic Silver, but I will save such an expense for the inevitable upgrade when the Preslers debut later this year.

In case anyone was wondering, I sold the Prescott late last year before the urge to beat it flat with a hammer overtook me.
:D

[HardwareGeek]

Good work, Nudnik

A Pentium D 820 ... I am green, with envy.

Minor correction. AFAIK, Presler is out. I think it's the 900 series processor chips. Merom (laptops), Conroe (desktops), and Woodcrest (servers) are due out 2H2K6. Rumor has it late in the 2H, not early.

[Nudnik]

Thanks for the update on the Presler release, good to know they are already out.

I am pleased with my current configuration, however, so I am content to wait. Its all for the best regardless, as I can monitor the bugs which arise during the initial implementation of Presler. I am sure many reviews are forthcoming.

The 820 D is a very nice performer for the money. Since I use my PC quite a bit for multimedia, I find the dual cores and DDR-2 outperform the single core DDR-1 AMD unit I built, so the Intel unit is now my primary PC.

If you are curious...the motherboard is an Intel 945PSN, memory is Nanya DDR-2 533 Mhz. HD is Hitachi 80GB SATA-1, not the quickest drive out there, but competent and the thin cable helps ensure my case stays well ventilated. Graphics support comes from a PCI-E XFX GeForce 6600.

[HardwareGeek]

I wish I had an 820 D. Am itching to get my dirty green sausages on a dual-core CPU.

I do not think that many boards support the faster 300 MBPS / 3 gbps SATA spec yet. At least you have SATA. Not parallel ATA.

It's good to find someone else who had an Intel motherboard. Most people seem to favor AMD these days. Not that AMD is bad. They are a great competitor.

[Nudnik]

The 945PSN board does support SATAII, so eventually I will upgrade to a faster drive. In my opinion, once one has overcome the thermal issues, in terms of pure performance for price, it is a fantastic board. The integrated audio is superb and the 945 is quick, lacking the bottlenecks of DDR-1 based boards. Although it could be argued that the board integrated memory controller is indeed a bottleneck, its still a great performer for the price.

Tests seem to bare out that AMD based systems are more efficient, and I cant argue with that fact. However, you cannot put together a system for as little as did that performs as well using an AMD components. I beleive I spent a total of $460 for PSU, memory, processor, board and HD.

The Prescott murdered my old 20 pin PSU. :D

I will see if I can get you some antibiotics to correct your emerald palor.;) I think the 820 has dipped below $200 now.