AMD Athlon 64 Stock Heatsink with 4 Heat Pipes Tested

Cooling/CPU Cooling by SidneyWong @ 2006-01-24

When it comes free of charge, it may not be bad or an underperformer. The new and improved heatsink from AMD retail pack 165 Opteron comes with 4 heat pipes, topped with 80 x 20mm delta fan with built in temp sensor that will reach 5,200 rpm when it is called for the tough job(s), yet runs quietly during light duty even at 800Mhz overclocked speed.

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AMD new stock HSF

AMD new stock Athlon 64 HSF:

Change is good; as long as the change is for better, otherwise, don't bother. AMD has made a lot of changes in recent years when most of us have noticed all of which are better than previous. This time, AMD has the time to redesign its retail pack HSF, FINALLY. This new cooler came with my Retail Pack Opteron 165.

There are many factors to consider when designing a Retail Pack HSF; or to choose a design. While cost factor is important, others such as size, weight and ease of installation in meeting logistics, system integrators and different form factors amongst many must be considered. AMD has taken the first step to integrate heat pipes into its heatsink design; and within months it increased the number of heat pipe from two to four. In doing so, the size of the fan has increased the second time (from its humble beginning using 60mm fan) from 70 to 80mm.

Madshrimps (c)Madshrimps (c)


Madshrimps (c)Madshrimps (c)


The heatsink has 8mm thick copper base, measures ~90mm x 75mm first to last alum fins. It sits a bit off-set as the picture shows.

Madshrimps (c)


With the fan removed, AMD is making sure some finer detail in getting as much heat to the heatsink as possible (see center fins).

Madshrimps (c)


The fan is 80x20mm; Delta, reaches up to ~5,200 RPM, inclusive a temp sensor to auto regulate its speed.
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Comment from Rutar @ 2006/01/24
As good as XP-90, BUT what happens if you mount a real fan? Or what if you mount a real 80mm fan on the stock one?

I think that the 80mm used on the stock heatsink is thinner than the normal 25mm fans, resulting in less air pressure. I would also like to see that 92mm in 80mm frame from silverstone on it.
Comment from Sidney @ 2006/01/24
1) that is a fan as real as any fan.
2) 20mm is smaller or thinner than 25mm.
3) Air pressure is not soley govened by fan thickness
4) There is no point in mounting a 92mm fan on a Stock Cooler that is designed for 80mm mounting.
Comment from Rutar @ 2006/01/24
Few people mount an 80mm fan on the XP-90, most use a 92mm fan with the benefits that come with those.
Comment from jmke @ 2006/01/24
Rutar valid point about having a COMPLETE test of ALL aspect, XP-90 can fit 92mm and might possible offer better performance/noise ratio. However the title of this article is not Thermalright XP-90 review the focus is on the stock cooling which is on par/better than XP-90 when both are used with same fan.

btw check PM please
Comment from Sidney @ 2006/01/24


http://www.madshrimps.be/?action=get...&articID=3 93

Trust me, there are enough people out there using XP-90 + 92mm fan on their X2 rigs
Comment from Rutar @ 2006/01/24
only 2° but

92mm at 2800 (if I read that right) or 80mm at 5200


I guess we'll get an old stock vs new stock cooler review soon tough
Comment from jmke @ 2006/01/24
:-)
Comment from goingpostale1 @ 2006/01/24
Does anyone know where one of these can be bought (cheap)? I'm looking to see the kind of performance one of these will have with a Panaflo H1A :O I already checked Ebay :/
Comment from Sidney @ 2006/01/24
You will have a wait a bit longer; most people will ditch the stock unit; Free of Charge can't be good.

If you are using DFI nF4 board with two temp sensor adjustment via SmartGuardian (the 3rd is used by the chipset); you could set the fan never to exceed 2,500 RPM by raising the full speed temp to max.

High rpm = high noise; before you make any decision, try the FREE fan first, why short change yourself
Comment from goingpostale1 @ 2006/01/24
Suppose I could just ask AMD to sell me one Directly?
Comment from Sidney @ 2006/01/24
Comment from Rutar @ 2006/01/24
The question is, if you overclock why not get a Freezer 64 PRO? cheap as well
Comment from jort @ 2006/01/24
this one is WITH the cpu
Comment from jmke @ 2006/01/24
does not come cheaper then FREE
Comment from Sidney @ 2006/01/24
Quote:
The question is, if you overclock why not get a Freezer 64 PRO? cheap as well
P4 2A @3.2GHz 1.6vcore Intel Stock HSF + Chill Vent II
Comment from goingpostale1 @ 2006/01/25
The Freezer series is quiet, but not very silent. I'm interested in something I can silence cheaply. Worst comes to worst ill pick up a Scythe Ninja, Vapochill, High Riser or something that cen be cooled silently.
Comment from Rutar @ 2006/01/25
well, I adjusted the speed with the motherboard and the trick is to use very low values to actually slow it down

1000 RPM makes it even pass SPCR certification
Comment from Sidney @ 2006/01/25
Comment from jmke @ 2006/01/25
Sorry. No international bidders. No exceptions.
Comment from Sidney @ 2006/01/25
I'll be tracking it for the fun.
Comment from goingpostale1 @ 2006/01/25
OH YEAH!
Comment from kr15t0f @ 2006/01/25
you have no XP-120 to compare with that stock cooling, got a xp-120 myself but I find it a bit to big, offcourse it cools great and it is silent but if the stock cooling works allmost as good as the xp-120 I'll try to get one (cheap or free )
Comment from Rutar @ 2006/01/25
that is not a good idea


The XP-120 is light and it's close to the motherboard, so the pressure it has on the mounting isn't too bad. It's big but so what?


You will be seriously dissapointed even at stock speeds regarding the noise level and even more when you overclock because the stock 80mm just has nothing on a decent 120mm fan.
Comment from Jaco @ 2006/01/25
quick question :

can I remove the TIM on the copper base with aceton?
(isopropyl alcohol is prolly better but i only have aceton atm)
Comment from Jaco @ 2006/01/25
nevermind , the dang TIM is gone.

acetone is great
Comment from Sidney @ 2006/01/25
Acetone is also very abrasive; you may still want to make sure no residue left on the copper surface.
Comment from Rutar @ 2006/01/25
I like the arctic silver 2 step cleaning stuff for such tasks, it's very effective.
Comment from Jaco @ 2006/01/25
This cooler is great

The fan is only running 2700 rpm (silent) , keeps my 3800+ Venice at 42°C full load. (oh yeah , cpu is overclocked to 2808Mhz @ 1,52 vcore )

+ very easy installation. (I always have trouble installing my Thermalright XP-90)

Lazyman : After the acetone treatment , I cleaned the copper base with paper napkins and let it 'dry' for an hour.
Comment from Sidney @ 2006/01/25
Darn, excellent overclock!!
Comment from jmke @ 2006/01/27
Quote:
Well after reading this thread and the review, I was intrigued. Since people pointed out the guy didnt use a 92mm fan with the panaflo, I decided to benchmark it myself. I happen to have the same opty 165 cooler. I actually bought the retail box then sold the cpu but kept the heatsink.

So I decided to take some time and uninstall my xp-90 w/ 2500rpm 92mm panaflo and install the brand new stock opty heatsink. I run an opteron 144 CACJE oc'd to 2.6ghz w/ 1.425 volts. Similar to what the reviewer on the site had.

Well I have to say, I am definitely amazed.......

Temps with XP-90 w/ 92mm panaflo at 2500rpm(which is fairly loud with that high of cfm):

34C idle
42C load

Temps with the stock 165 copper heatpipe heatsink:

33C idle
41C load



My temps dropped by 1C for both idle and load with the stock heatsink! I was blown away that a stock cooler I got for FREE, performed pretty much the same, even slightly better than a cooler I paid $35 for? Wow....im not sure what to say. I definitely wasnt expecting it to perform that well. I am actually debating selling my xp-90 right now since the fan on the stock cooler is actually quieter than my 92mm fan for my xp-90.

Hope that was helpful
from: http://forums.anandtech.com/messagev...nterth read=y
Comment from Sidney @ 2006/01/27
glad to hear

Look closer to the fin design + the quad-heatpipe = good design = good performance

The fan, most people complain about before using it = "***-U-ME"

High speed fan can go lower; low speed high can't go higher.
Comment from Sidney @ 2006/01/27
The 2x40mm fans are blowing towards the PWM heatsinks; they can be mounted below or above the plastic bracket, preference of the user.

Blowing works better than sucking unless the PWMIC is mounted like in the DFI Expert board.

On the subject about larger fans with large dead spot relative to its non-importance when heatpipe is implemented.

I'd rather hit my clay bird (trap shooting) as soon as it gets out rather than waiting for it to "fall" down range. And, I have three 100 perfect hit scores last year.
Comment from Sidney @ 2006/01/28
Got two from eBay for $5 a piece, though they charged $7.5 for shipping (priority mail received in less than 3 days). The retail packs are from X2 4600+.

I figure an 80mm delta fan would cost $10. I will use it for the Venice system and give one to my nephew who has a SD 3700+.

Comment from kennyb @ 2006/01/29
I just got an Athlon 4400 and was surprised by the mammoth heatsink that it came with. Sure looks exactly like this review one. So far running pretty cool, idling around 32C with the case closed. Ill do load tests later.
Comment from Sidney @ 2006/01/29
Quote:
I just got an Athlon 4400 and was surprised by the mammoth heatsink that it came with. Sure looks exactly like this review one. So far running pretty cool, idling around 32C with the case closed. Ill do load tests later.
Please come back and share your experience on the stock cooler in terms of temp and noise level with us.
Comment from kennyb @ 2006/01/30
I wont have a chance to overclock for a couple of weeks. But im only shooting for a 10 percent oc to 2.4GHz. Should be double with that monster heatsink. Whats a maximum allowable temp for the x2's? I've read 1.4V on the core should be more than enough to get me to 2.4GHz.
Comment from kennyb @ 2006/01/30
Quote:
Originally posted by kennyb
I wont have a chance to overclock for a couple of weeks. But im only shooting for a 10 percent oc to 2.4GHz. Should be double with that monster heatsink. Whats a maximum allowable temp for the x2's? I've read 1.4V on the core should be more than enough to get me to 2.4GHz.
Doable... wth... couldnt edit my own post.
Comment from Sidney @ 2006/01/30
A reader emailed me and asked for the 2x40 mm fans I used in the review.



http://www.madshrimps.be/?action=getarticle&articID=329

http://overclockers.com/articles1255/
Comment from Sidney @ 2006/01/31
SD 3700+ @2.8Ghz 256HTT x 11, 1.475 vcore (Bios)

Room Temp = 21°C
Load temp = 53°C with quad-pipe and AMD stock TIM
Comment from beerke @ 2006/01/31
Not bad at all, with that stock stuff, especialy the tim :grin: . AS5 or pcm+ would lower your temps even more i think.
Comment from Sidney @ 2006/02/01
Quote:
AS5 or pcm+ would lower your temps even more i think
Just to show what the stock TIM can do

Both Intel & AMD have enough certified engineers to fill a stadium parking lot, with enough PhDs to fill a large theatre, I never believe they have to rely on much smaller companies to design heatsink and formulae thermal paste. If they want to do things wrong, they could do it easily.
Comment from Rutar @ 2006/02/01
the problem is they do not rely on smaller companies

AC has far more knowlegde on making a cheap heatink that covers the users main concern with a stock heatsink, Silence. They also managed to put a higher quality paste directly on a heatsink so it's easy to use which is the number 1 limitation for other products.


Look at their Silencer 64 and Alpine line as well as the Silent series for socket A. Don't even get me started about stock VGA heatsinks. The RMA costs for dead 9xxx series cards because of the POS stock heatsink exceeds the cost of putting on a real cooling solution.
Comment from jmke @ 2006/02/01
AMD is able to make faster and more efficient CPU than Intel. Their problem is that they don't have the means to get more of their product on the market.

they are too small to compete in numbers with Intel. Same reason why Smaller companies don't have the means to provide large companies with the product they need
Comment from Sidney @ 2006/02/01
Selling a heatsink in low price /= making a heatsink in low cost

I tested AC heatsink when they first started selling in the U.S. and, if you don't overclock any certified heatsink is good enough; an inexpensive fan controller will make any fan silence, hence many tests are done with 12, 7 and 5v.

This review is to present to the readers what AMD has done in improving its PIB heatsink. As an AC fan, you (Rutar) represent what you like in a small percentage of user.
Comment from jmke @ 2006/02/01
Q: Do they come only bundled with Opteron 165?
A: So far from what we can tell from user experience these new heatsinks come with Athlon X2 above 3800+ and any Opteron S939 Dual Core Chip.
Comment from kennyb @ 2006/02/02
So how hot?
I'm idling at 30-32C with the stock heatpipe and looking to oc when i have some spare time. What are the temp ranges i should be wary of? Max 50C under load? Or can i go higher?
Comment from Sidney @ 2006/02/02
There are three different settings with temps listed in the article. Am I missing something, or I don't know what you are asking for.
Comment from jmke @ 2006/02/02
Quote:
Originally posted by kennyb
What are the temp ranges i should be wary of? Max 50C under load?
yes, if you keep under 50°C you will have a nice overclock; if you are running overclocked and the temperature goes above 50°C chance of your system crashing due to instability with the OC will increase.

if you want to play safe, find the maximum overclock, run 100Mhz lower and don't worry

anything over 60°C with OC CPU is looking for problems.
Comment from Rutar @ 2006/02/03
Quote:
Originally posted by lazyman
Selling a heatsink in low price /= making a heatsink in low cost

I tested AC heatsink when they first started selling in the U.S. and, if you don't overclock any certified heatsink is good enough; an inexpensive fan controller will make any fan silence, hence many tests are done with 12, 7 and 5v.

This review is to present to the readers what AMD has done in improving its PIB heatsink. As an AC fan, you (Rutar) represent what you like in a small percentage of user.
*checks AC EBIT*

The price they are selling it in the retail channel is WITH warranty, WITH shipping, WITH administration costs for selling it retail. Those costs would be taken over by the company who would ship the main product with the AC solution preinstalled so the price that would have to be paid for the heatsink by AMD would be lower than what the retail price-profit is right now.

So it would be definatly beneficial to outsource cooling design to people who have better knowledge of it.

It's just that no company had the idea to really push a major producer of motherboards/CPUs/GPUs to actually do it. Or they lack the sheer production capacity.
Comment from jmke @ 2006/02/03
Quote:
Originally posted by Rutar

Or they lack the sheer production capacity.
^^^

this is the reason
Comment from Rutar @ 2006/02/03
you could run a cooperation with companies that have larger capacities (since AC heatsinks aren't that different from other ones)
Comment from jmke @ 2006/02/03
that would eat away much of the already very small profit margin
Comment from goingpostale1 @ 2006/02/13
Ooooh yeah got one finally 28 C (according to the BIOS) Idle, 35 C Load

compared to 30 Idle and 36 Load with the Freezer 64
Comment from jmke @ 2006/02/17
this is interesting.. could this new AMD heatsink be made by Coolermaster?

Quote:
When FX-57 was released it was shipped solely with a PIB cooler developed by AVC. Since launch, AMD have also sought out another model to ship along with FX-57 and their other ~100W CPUs. That other model is what'll also ship with FX-60. Manufactured by Coolermaster and called CMHK8-8I22A-A2, let's have a closer look at it.

Compared to the first FX-57 PIB cooler, the Coolermaster has all four heatpipes aligned on one side of the cooler, rather than two per side. The cooler, including heatpipes, is also around 5mm shorter in major width, although it retains the same 62mm height. The fan is an 80x20mm Delta, up from 70x15mm on the first FX-57 PIB example, allowing the fan to move a larger air volume at the same fan speed, or the same volume at reduced speed.

Presumably the differing cooler design and fan are primarily to achieve the latter, making this PIB cooler even quieter under the same conditions as the AVC. It appears, although we can't confirm, that the cooler also comes supplied with a Dow Corning thermal material, whereas the AVC cooler is equipped with a Shin-Etsu thermal pad. The heatpipes are outwardly identical with a 5mm width and equivalent length, and we're told they each have a 30W capacity, making the CMHK8-8I22A-A2 a 120W capacity device.
http://www.hexus.net/content/item.php?item=4347&page=3
Comment from kennyb @ 2006/03/05
Finally got a chance to oc my system. With absolutely no fuss i got it at 2.4GHz using the stock cooler and at stock voltage.
Primed it for 3 hours this afternoon. It got up to 48C, but no higher. Idling now in the evening at 34C.
What do you guys think, good temps?
Comment from Sidney @ 2006/03/05
I'd say it is an acceptable temp should your room temp is ~20-22°C. Asking people whether an overclock CPU temp with low 30°C idle and high 40°C is like telling people your car can do 60 mph in 8 seconds with a question to follow. Is my car fast enought?

Assuming you have the Opteron 165 which is rated a 110 watts, and @2.4 Ghz assuming at stock vcore is ~130 Watts -

Room temp is 20°C; Load temp 48°C = 28°C rise above ambient
C/W = 28/130 = 0.215

0.215 C/W heatsink is considered a high performance not too long ago. The actual C/W would be lower because your case temp will certainly be higher than 20°C room temp.

I am sure if I tell you that the temp is great; you'll be overjoyed, otherwise you will be scratching your head

So, why don't you tell me, if it is a good temp

The other fellow is overjoyed with 35°C load temp using another HSF. Assuming he did not overclock and the same room temp, that is 15°C above ambient.

C/W= 15/110 = 0.136

Now, if the heatsink manufacturer lists the specs of 0.136 C/W which is better than most high price water cooling; everyone will get one, won't they? 35°C is hell a lot better than your 48°C. The question becomes if the temp is correct or not.
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They key here is that your system is stable; and temp does not exceed spec of 60°C and the CPU fan does not have to run at full speed at loud noise. The Stock Heatsink Fan is doing more than the job it was designed, at overclocked speed.
Comment from Vance S @ 2006/03/05
I just got this HSF and was wondering how to get the fan to run at 5,200 RPM all the time. I want to be able to control the RPMs of the fan from within windows. My fan doesn't really increase RPMs even when my chip gets hot. I figure the temp sensor on the fan is dependant on my case temperature which never gets that hot. I have heard of people using a small wire to short circuit the temp sensor but I don't know how to do that and am worried about killing the fan.
Comment from Sidney @ 2006/03/05
Simply tie a bare wire around the two leads of the green color heat sensing resistor on the back of the fan. You will have to unmount the fan from the heatsink. My suggestion will be to get a regular 80mm fan rather than fooling around with the reisitor if you are not sure.

At 5,200 rpm I find it too loud for anyone's liking; and it does not reduce temp much. I found the best noise and temp of my setup be around 4,400 rpm max.
Comment from kennyb @ 2006/03/18
lazyman, thanks for the input. Im sure that my cpu idles higher at 2.4GHz now due to the higher system temps i see due to SLI. I took one of my cards out and saw my temps drop from about 34-35C to 32C. My card temps dropped from 50C to 40C! Needless to say, the bottom card is cooking the top one.
I am real happy with my system running at 2.4GHz at stock voltage. 2.6GHz is next.
Comment from TooNice @ 2006/03/21
How does this HS compares to the Artic Freezer 64 Pro? If one of the link posted earlier (http://www.gamepc.com/labs/view_cont...cooling&page=8) is anything to go by, then it seems that you really need to go high end air cooling before you get some significant benefit in terms of cooling.
Comment from jmke @ 2006/03/21
Comment from Rutar @ 2006/03/21
um, the Freezer IS high end aircooling =P
Comment from Sidney @ 2006/03/22
It all depends on what you are cooling. Recent single core 90nm A64 does not emitt much heat at all even at overclocked speed. For reference; Venice 3000+ @2.7 Ghz 1.6 vcore DFI nF4, load temp 45 C under 22 C room temp; SD 3800+ @2.8 Ghz 1.475 vcore load temp 53 C under 22 C room temp.

Fan was set at auto and never exceeded 3000 rpm. This Stock Cooler review is all about how well AMD has improved its stock unit over previous design with performance matching many 3rd party aftermarket units and maintaining the 3 years warranty.
Comment from geoduck @ 2006/03/22
So I'm just starting to build a system with an Opteron 165 and I'm wondering if there is any advantage in terms of cfm/noise ratio to replacing the 80 mm fan with a 120-80 mm adapter and 120 mm fan? I've seen it mentioned in other forums but I haven't found detailed specs (rpm/cfm/dB) for the stock 80 mm fan to use in a comparison to decide if it is worthwhile. Does anyone have the specs, or the model number (I couldn't quite make it out in the picture) for the stock fan?
Comment from jmke @ 2006/03/22
stock fan is custom sized 80x80x20mm Delta fan which can ramp up to 5000+rpm .. not exactly quiet.

120mm->80mm adapter will degrade performance though
Comment from Inferno @ 2007/12/08
Ok I'm new here so bear with me. Also I realize this is a thread res from hell, and I apologize in advance but I need some info.

I wanna grab a cheap dual core setup, but I'd like to, if I can, get ahold of a quad heatpipe OEM cooler. I bought my Sister a X2 BE-2350 Brisbane and it had the typical alluminum slab. What retail AMD chips come with the 2 heatpipe cooler and which with that awesome 4 pipe jobber? Or if at all possible, could one of you guys sell me yours? I'm trying to fit this thing into a NXT rogue case so height is my main concern.

Or is the Rogue big enough to handle something along the lines of this cooler without me having to install the entire sink form the inside of the case?
newegg dot .com Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835185041
I know there's a height limit, I just haven't been able to find out what due to the lack of honestly through reviews. People just slap together some seemingly crummy spare parts system into it and then ***** about the poor front drive design.
Comment from jmke @ 2007/12/08
that Scythe cooler will be higher for sure; don't know if AMD still sends out these heat piped stock coolers; although if you want the cheapest dual core system, for now, Intel E2xxx series will be cheaper
Comment from Inferno @ 2007/12/08
Well I'm getting a motherboard for free, so ya can't beat that. I'm just worried about clearance on the cooler, and being able to slide it in on the tray. If anyone knows and they could tell me what's the height of the tray for heatsink clearance I'd be much appreciated. I'm not dead set on that cooler It was just one on the large list that I might use because by eyeballing photos it looked like I might be able to make it fit.
Comment from Sidney @ 2007/12/09
I am still running two Opteron 165 systems here

Leaving the stock HSF on auto-
System 1) @2.82 Ghz it hardly runs above 3,000 rpm
System 2) @2.5Ghz same

The video card fans are making more noise.
Comment from dlb @ 2010/12/17
Yeah - I know this is a REALLY old thread, but when I saw the heat sink, I felt compelled to share my experience. A friend who knows I'm in to PCs has a brother (that I don't know very well; we met once or twice). My friend's Mom was cleaning out the brother's room (the brother was in to PCs and had left for college; my friend is not really in to PCs, he surfs and uses MySpace and FaceBook, but isn't >INTO< computers like his brother or like we are). When Mom was done cleaning the room, she had a box full of PC stuff, and she asked my friend if he knew anyone that could use it (the brother gave the "OK"), and he then gave the box of stuff to me. The box was full of cables, 3 or 4 floppy drives, an old 8x CDRW, a couple of VERY low-end PSUs (250w Deer and a 300w Generic), and an AMD cooler I had never seen before carefully wrapped in bubble-wrap in a ziploc bag. Well, I accepted the box, and ran that cooler on a dual core AMD64 5600+ X2 for about 2 years, and the CPU never got over 48c. NEVER. Even with CPU stress tests, through all kinds of gaming, that cooler simply kicked butt.... it's not silent, but high performance cooler are VERY rarely silent. Just for fun, I even ran it on my PhenomII X4 955BE for a few hours just to see how it behaved, and it handled the job beautifully (considering it was never intended for a quad core) and the CPU never went over 60c, and that was after about 40min of an Everest stress test. By far, this cooler is one of the best (if not THE BEST) free stock cooler ever. Period.
Comment from jmke @ 2010/12/17
Hello dlb, welcome to the forums, thanks for sharing your experience with the AMD heatpipe CPU heatsink!

 

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