AMD Socket 939 Processor

**Cheekz185** · 01-22-2006, 06:48 PM

DO all AMD Socket 939 CPU's come with a Retention Mechanism and Cooler Plate? DOes it come with the Heatsink/fan?

Is the retention mechanism and cooler plate a must?

**xBrady** · 01-22-2006, 11:12 PM

Mine came with just the CPU.

**lgbr** · 01-22-2006, 11:45 PM

There are two terms to know here:

Retail - This includes the box, heatsink and fan. I recommend this because the heatsink and fan is to manufacturer spec (be it AMD or Intel), and thus will probably cool more efficiently than another fan you might buy.

OEM - This will save you anywhere from 10-70 bucks, but it only has the processor. This is usually what you get when you find the cheapest deal possible on pricewatch.

**blurp** · 01-23-2006, 12:09 AM

Originally Posted by lgbr

There are two terms to know here:

Retail - This includes the box, heatsink and fan. I recommend this because the heatsink and fan is to manufacturer spec (be it AMD or Intel), and thus will probably cool more efficiently than another fan you might buy.

OEM - This will save you anywhere from 10-70 bucks, but it only has the processor. This is usually what you get when you find the cheapest deal possible on pricewatch.

Holy Crap! You obviously know nothing about real cooling. I have NEVER seen a Retail HSF that was any where close to as efficient as aftermarket coolers.

Cheekz, go to http://www.hardocp.com and look at their links page. Check out some of the cooling links and reviews.

I have been doing this a long time, and have built literally thousands of PCs. And this is one thing I can tell you as an absolute fact: Good cooling can and will extend the life and improve the performance of you PC.

**xBrady** · 01-23-2006, 12:12 AM

Originally Posted by blurp

Holy Crap! You obviously know nothing about real cooling. I have NEVER seen a Retail HSF that was any where close to as efficient as aftermarket coolers.

Cheekz, go to http://www.hardocp.com and look at their links page. Check out some of the cooling links and reviews.

I have been doing this a long time, and have built literally thousands of PCs. And this is one thing I can tell you as an absolute fact: Good cooling can and will extend the life and improve the performance of you PC.

I much prefer getting an OEM chip and putting my own cooling on it.

**blurp** · 01-23-2006, 12:20 AM

And you also don't have to spend a fortune. 40 - 70 bucks will get you a very nice copper HSF and a tube of Arctic Silver. Take a look around at resellers, like http://newegg.com and look at the specs for HSFs that fit your socket.

I personally like the coolers with huge, slow, quiet fans sitting on top of heat pipes, because they do the actual cooling away from your CPU, and do it fairly quietly.

**Emo** · 01-23-2006, 12:34 AM

Originally Posted by blurp

Holy Crap! You obviously know nothing about real cooling. I have NEVER seen a Retail HSF that was any where close to as efficient as aftermarket coolers.

You stole the words outta my mouth... lol

I have Dual AMD Opterons 244s (940) and the OEM cooling was horrible... it was keeping my CPUs at a crazy 60-65C (yes C) .... so I got aftermarket ones and they brought it down at least 10C... I still think they are too hot but o well...

-Emo

**lgbr** · 01-23-2006, 12:36 AM

Originally Posted by blurp

Holy Crap! You obviously know nothing about real cooling. I have NEVER seen a Retail HSF that was any where close to as efficient as aftermarket coolers.

Cheekz, go to http://www.hardocp.com and look at their links page. Check out some of the cooling links and reviews.

I have been doing this a long time, and have built literally thousands of PCs. And this is one thing I can tell you as an absolute fact: Good cooling can and will extend the life and improve the performance of you PC.

I wasn't referring to the higher performance cooling systems. Yes, the aftermarket has some very good cooling products, HOWEVER, if you buy OEM and cheap out on the heatsink and fan you will wind up with one that provides inadequate cooling. And the fact is, most people do cheap out on this.

Don't think retail fans are junk either. Except for maybe a few incidents from early Intel and AMD, you shouldn't need to find a different fan and heatsink. They provide a cooling system that will cause the processor to work at the level they want. Sure you can get a better cooling system, and it will add to the life of your processor, but the processor is more likely to die of obsoletism first.

**xBrady** · 01-23-2006, 12:45 AM

Originally Posted by lgbr

I wasn't referring to the higher performance cooling systems. Yes, the aftermarket has some very good cooling products, HOWEVER, if you buy OEM and cheap out on the heatsink and fan you will wind up with one that provides inadequate cooling. And the fact is, most people do cheap out on this.

Don't think retail fans are junk either. Except for maybe a few incidents from early Intel and AMD, you shouldn't need to find a different fan and heatsink. They provide a cooling system that will cause the processor to work at the level they want. Sure you can get a better cooling system, and it will add to the life of your processor, but the processor is more likely to die of obsoletism first.

In that case buying an OEM CPU and purchasing a cheaper heatsink/fan would be even better. Anything can keep a 939 cool enough to run if that is all you care about. Why pay for the overpriced retail one if you don't care about the life of your CPU?

**lgbr** · 01-23-2006, 12:47 AM

Originally Posted by xBrady

In that case buying an OEM CPU and purchasing a cheaper heatsink/fan would be even better. Anything can keep a 939 cool enough to run if that is all you care about. Why pay for the overpriced retail one if you don't care about the life of your CPU?

If you can find one that exceeds the manufacturer's cooling system for cheaper, then great, go for it. I would however recommend you use retail unless you really know what cooling system you need.