muddocktor
12 May 2005, 1:48pm
A few months ago when I built my first NF3-250Gb I ordered a retail XP90 kit (includes a 92 mm fan in kit) from SVC because they were running a special on them and I knew that the XP90 was one of the best hsf's on the market. When I got everything in I assembled the system using a mobile A64 3000+ proc and install the XP90 on it. After booting up and getting everything running at proper speed (mobile A64's initially boot up using a 4 multi and less than 1v vcore) I monitored temps in bios, which were running in the mid to upper 30's. Not bad but certainly not stellar. I installed the os and the DFI monitoring app and also the folding client. While folding at 1800 MHz, the temps were getting up into the low 40's, which I thought kind of excessive for stock speed for a premium hsf. I then installed an 80mm SmartFan2 to see if increased airflow would help but it only improved temps about 1-2 C. The further I increased the overclock on this new system, the higher my folding temps kept going, so I decided to investigate if I was having a contact problem between the hsf and proc core (Mobile A64's have no heatspreader). After pulling the hsf off, the As pattern on the heatsink showed a thickening of material towards the middle of the contact patch. After cleaning the AS off I looked at the heatsink base but could see no obvious reason for this to happen. Then I took a metal straightedge and the problem became clear; the base of the XP90 was concave. :eek: :mad:
At that time I also had an extra SLK948-U I had gotten from Gnome several months ago, so instead of working on the XP90 I just installed it and it does a great job cooling that system even at 2700 MHz, with temps in the mid to upper 30's folding. :thumbsup:
Fast forward to the present; I'm building a second NF3-250Gb folding system. I bought another mobile A64 3000+ from Tex and got me another NF3-250Gb board and I plan to use the XP90 I bought earlier but to lap the sucker first, to get it flat first. It took a few hours of steadily lapping as it was pretty concave, but I finally got it flat and had all the nickle plating cleaned of the base too, then cleaned it up and installed it, still using the SmartFan2. After getting this new system up and running, hsf performance was nothing short of phenomenal. At present, I have this new system running at 2430 MHz folding stable and temps are running only 2-3 degrees above the board temp and around the same temps as the pwm temps shown by the monitoring app. :D
Moral of the story: if you bought a premium hsf and temps aren't what you think they should be, check for flatness across the base of the heatsink. It made a world of difference on my XP90 and now I see why people brag on it so much. :thumbsup:
At that time I also had an extra SLK948-U I had gotten from Gnome several months ago, so instead of working on the XP90 I just installed it and it does a great job cooling that system even at 2700 MHz, with temps in the mid to upper 30's folding. :thumbsup:
Fast forward to the present; I'm building a second NF3-250Gb folding system. I bought another mobile A64 3000+ from Tex and got me another NF3-250Gb board and I plan to use the XP90 I bought earlier but to lap the sucker first, to get it flat first. It took a few hours of steadily lapping as it was pretty concave, but I finally got it flat and had all the nickle plating cleaned of the base too, then cleaned it up and installed it, still using the SmartFan2. After getting this new system up and running, hsf performance was nothing short of phenomenal. At present, I have this new system running at 2430 MHz folding stable and temps are running only 2-3 degrees above the board temp and around the same temps as the pwm temps shown by the monitoring app. :D
Moral of the story: if you bought a premium hsf and temps aren't what you think they should be, check for flatness across the base of the heatsink. It made a world of difference on my XP90 and now I see why people brag on it so much. :thumbsup: