Paranoia sets in... :-(

I've been hearing a lot about people burning out their Athlon chips, frying the motherboard by something simple like plugging the fan in the wrong way, or the heatsink isn't 100% aligned correctly, and it's starting to scare me off a bit from building an AMD system, oh yea and I've never built a system before...I'm thinking it might be a little risky.

What can I do to avoid disasters with Athlon 1.4 chips? is there a good guide or check list to ensure i don't burn out anything? I am getting a Thermalright SK6, 4 Panaflo fans, and AS II thermal paste with an Athlon 1.4 processor...

From what i've seen, the only people smoking chips around here are those with little or no experience building their own stuff.

As long as you can build and posess common sense and a little pc savvy, you will be ok.

But if the heatsink is not flush with the die, they can burn in like 8 seconds...

[quote]Originally posted by kubrick:
<strong>But if the heatsink is not flush with the die, they can burn in like 8 seconds...</strong><hr></blockquote>

What do you mean by that? I know what a heatsink is (duh) but what does that mean and how do I avoid it..

I've never built a computer before but I have installed hard drives, optical drives, PCI cards, and the like, and I have a basic understanding of the inside of a PC, and I know what goes where.

If you don't use a quality heatsink, and seat it correct, no matter what processor, you'll cook it like a thanksgiving turkey!

Moved to the Cooling and Case Mods Forum.

ORIGINALLY POSTED BY JUNGLEMAN,..
"What can I do to avoid disasters with Athlon 1.4 chips? is there a good guide or check list to ensure i don't burn out anything? "


follow the instructions included with the hardware :D

I've built a few Duron systems, and so far I haven't destroyed one CPU :D

but one was a real bitch to get the HSF on, I thought I was going to crack it....

Try here...official guide by AMD:

<a href="http://www.amd.com/products/cpg/athlon/pdf/23986.pdf" target="_blank">http://www.amd.com/products/cpg/athlon/pdf/23986.pdf</a>

Hope it helps,

Burn.

not flush with the "die" (the little part that sticks up on the CPU chip) it will not cool right...

One thing i read about is do not buy a S370 Cooling fan!! they look the same as a socket A but they are strung closer to the motherboard and can crush the core...

Good Heatsink/Fan, case, powersupply ..patience and a lot of TLC and you'll have a kickass AMD!

A copper shim is worth getting if you're worried about damaging the die, heatsink's are difficult to get wrong.

If anyone ever comes to me worried about building their first system, the first thing I do is get my P75 out, take it apart and put it back together in front of them, then tell them to take it home and do the same. If it comes back in one piece, do the same with my spare Duron.

[quote]Originally posted by JungleMan:
<strong>

What do you mean by that? I know what a heatsink is (duh) but what does that mean and how do I avoid it..

I've never built a computer before but I have installed hard drives, optical drives, PCI cards, and the like, and I have a basic understanding of the inside of a PC, and I know what goes where.</strong><hr></blockquote>

The "die", it the shiny bit in the middle of the CPU, this is what generates heat. If the centre of the heatsink (usually marked by the thermal paste), is not completely lined with the die, the CPU will overheat.

This is not a problem with the Pentium 3's, as you will have about 10 -> 20 seconds leway. But the Athlon's really fry without a heatsink mounted when you switch on.

There are some very good articles on the web for first time builders. You don't need to be a Computer Expert, but know what you are attempting to do and why before you do it .

Yep..knew about that..called it the "core" instead.

All right I don't think it should be an issue...i have good cooling, so it's all in lining it up and it appears hard to go wrong..

I will look into a shim, thanks everyone :D