Old heatsink new computer

[Goride]

I have an older Thermaltake Silent Boost HSF that I used on my old computer. It was an Abit k7v motherboard with an AMD Barton 2.5ghz cpu. (socket 462)

I currently have an AMD x2 560 Black edition cpu with an Asus M4N68T-M Motherboard. (Socket AM3)

Obviously due to the socket differences the clip that fit on the old one doesn't fit on the new one. The HSF still works great. I am wondering, is there anywhere I can buy a new bracket to fit onto the new system?

I've looked at pictures and Thermaltake seems to make a HSF to fit on the AM3 socket, that looks almost identical to the one I have.

This is a perfectly good HSF, I'd rather not have to buy a new one if I don't have to.

 

[Tsumi]

There probably is a bracket for it, but for the amount that would cost you, I think I would just get a brand new CPU cooler. There are ones much better than that heatsink for ~$20 or so. Hyper212+ and Corsair A50 are two examples.

 

[Denominative Vomit]

try crazy glue, it works every time .

 

[Decibel]

I've made new brackets for liquid cooling blocks out of scrap metal in the shop at work, but I've never tried it for a HS. Do you have access to decent thickness sheet metal and hole punches?

 

[Goride]

I don't have access to anything like that.

The cpu came with a stock HSF on it. I could take the bracket off that and try using on this other one. It isn't going to fit quite right, but I may be able to figure something.

I probably should just order another one. But I really liked this one. It wasn't the best cooling HSF ever, but it was very quiet.

 

[CMadki4]

I don't have access to anything like that.

The cpu came with a stock HSF on it. I could take the bracket off that and try using on this other one. It isn't going to fit quite right, but I may be able to figure something.

I probably should just order another one. But I really liked this one. It wasn't the best cooling HSF ever, but it was very quiet.

You're right. You probably can take the bracket from your AM3 cooler and modify it to work with your old HSF. Anything is possible and you won't know until you try. If you're that avid about keeping your old HSF I'd try it out and see. But I wouldn't spend much if anything to make it work since there are better newer coolers available designed for the AM3 socket.

 

[Spare-Flair]

I have an older Thermaltake Silent Boost HSF that I used on my old computer. It was an Abit k7v motherboard with an AMD Barton 2.5ghz cpu. (socket 462)

I currently have an AMD x2 560 Black edition cpu with an Asus M4N68T-M Motherboard. (Socket AM3)

Obviously due to the socket differences the clip that fit on the old one doesn't fit on the new one. The HSF still works great. I am wondering, is there anywhere I can buy a new bracket to fit onto the new system?

I've looked at pictures and Thermaltake seems to make a HSF to fit on the AM3 socket, that looks almost identical to the one I have.

This is a perfectly good HSF, I'd rather not have to buy a new one if I don't have to.

Don't let nostalgia cloud your judgement. Those old chunks of solid copper with tightly spaced fins and a small fan are not actually very good. They were noisy, heavy, and perform very bad in comparison with modern heatpipe equipped heatsinks.

I thought like you once, trying to recycle old heatsinks but I realize it was irrational and a bad idea. I could have found a way to mount my ThermalTake Volcano 7+ onto my Core2Quad but then it would have burned up. Remember, the clip is incredibly important. Aftermarket, adapted, or homemade clips to force something designed for something else entirely to work with something modern with the wrong tension or slight variances will lead to improper contact and even more bad heat transfer that is already on top of using a prehistoric heatsink on a modern CPU.

 

[CMadki4]

Spare_flair has a point, but I'm not so sure about this:

Remember, the clip is incredibly important. Aftermarket, adapted, or homemade clips to force something designed for something else entirely to work with something modern with the wrong tension or slight variances will lead to improper contact and even more bad heat transfer that is already on top of using a prehistoric heatsink on a modern CPU.

As much as people like to think of heatsink/fans as an ultra-precision science with little to no margin, it isn't. The clip, of all components of the HSF, is one of lesser importance. As long as whatever you come up moderately accurately emulates the modern clip you should be fine. Nice even pressure on the middle of the chip. But I'd still say stick with the stock cooler or buy one that's meant for AM3.

 

[Spare-Flair]

Spare_flair has a point, but I'm not so sure about this:
As much as people like to think of heatsink/fans as an ultra-precision science with little to no margin, it isn't. The clip, of all components of the HSF, is one of lesser importance. As long as whatever you come up moderately accurately emulates the modern clip you should be fine. Nice even pressure on the middle of the chip. But I'd still say stick with the stock cooler or buy one that's meant for AM3.

The tension on one of my screws on my Thermalright 120 on my Q6600 was slightly loose and the whole thing was slightly off and my temps rocketed until remounted.

With the thermaltake heatsinks like he has (I had them too), the clip is a single bar down the middle which hooks into square pegs on the sides of the socket. If the clip is bent slightly or doesn't hook onto the pegs right, the whole thing won't mount right. I had a 2500+ mobile that burned up completely, the core cracked and bubbled, smoke came out. On those old heatsinks and CPUs, if you didn't have a shim or had one with the wrong height, you could crush the core as well if the clip was bent. The IHS solves that today but you can still get bad contact.

Pressure is one of the most important things in heatsink mounting. That's why the Venomous-X etc. allows you to tighten that screw to get an incredible amount of pressure on the chip which makes a big difference in temps. The old style clips were feeble and trying to mount an old style heatsink on a modern assembly could work but it could also give you problems.

 

[CMadki4]

Pressure is one of the most important things in heatsink mounting.

You may say pressure, but I'd say surface contact. Nice even surface contact. Harder (more pressure) does not equal better cooling.

And really, there is little difference between the 462 socket cooler mounting and the AM3 socket cooler mounting. Both use the same mechanism: a sprung bar spanning across the heatsink, pressing on the CENTER. Very similar to each other. Some models may vary, but the one in question, not really.

462:

VS AM3:

 

[limitedaccess]

You may say pressure, but I'd say surface contact. Nice even surface contact. Harder (more pressure) does not equal better cooling.

I think in practice though it is that pressure that helps to achieve the better surface contact due to the use of thermal paste to covered imperfections. The higher pressure would allow the paste to spread itself more evenly.

 

[Spare-Flair]

Pressure increases surface contact but a lot that you don't see. It helps out with uneven surfaces by squeezing the CPU and heatsink together tightly.

You have to be careful though, as with old CPUs you can crush them without IHS's and there were reports of users of Venomous-X that while their temps dropped as they added pressure, that the CPU and socket were sunken in and deformed as the force exceeded the motherboard spec.