One other semi-technical point...... Unless the system is using a desktop case, the cpu and heat sink will be standing on edge, which means that gravity will be spending 24 hours a day trying to pull the heat sink down to the floor. I am dubious of the cohesion and shear factors of a piece of double sided tape. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Anthony Garvey" <[log in to unmask]> > On the subject of CPU heatsinks (again) ...here are some interesting > figures: > > Resistance factors: (lower is better) > > thermal compound=0.8 > thermal grease=0.9 > thermal tape=2.7 > air=2.9 > > According to these figures, tape is better than nothing - but not by much. > > There is a good article that supports these numbers at: > http://heatsink-guide.com/paste.htm > > > >I had a PC Power and Cooling CPU cooler for a 233MMX that started > > >making noise. The fan is vacuum packed...no screws and there is > > >nothing I can do to fix it so I called them up. They had me send > > >it to them for repair but then decided to send me a new > > >replacement . The replacement is the same as the one I sent in > > >but it has no mechanical means of securing it... just a piece of > > >tape stuck to the bottom. They say this is a thermal tape that > > >Air Locks the cooler to the CPU. This idea seems really cheap to > > >me and I am quite surprised that PC Power & Cooling is selling > > >something like this particularly in light of the fact that once > > >you use the tape you must replace it. > > > > >I don't trust this tape idea so I will probably try using cable > > >locks to secure it to the Socket 7. I can't remove the Fan so I > > >can't get a wire in there even if I had one. Anybody see or use > > >these things ?...and if so with what results. > > > > Mark: > > > > The tape is as good or better than any other method of mounting. > > The thermal coupling is designed to match that of mechanical > > coupling plus thermal compound, and tape is a lot easier to use. > > If you use mechanical means to secure the cooler, you MUST use > > thermal compound or Silpad (tm) type materials IMHO. > > > > jan lambert > > Do you want to signoff PCBUILD or just change to > Digest mode - visit our web site: > http://nospin.com/pc/pcbuild.html > Do you want to signoff PCBUILD or just change to Digest mode - visit our web site: http://nospin.com/pc/pcbuild.html