I haven't seen the connector on a 775 motherboard yet, but would it be
possible to adapt a socket A cooler to work on a Core 2 Duo. I have a Zalman
silent cooler on my Athlon and it handles the 74 (ish) watts of heat the
athlon puts out, so would be able to handle the 65watts of hear a Core 2 Duo
puts out, but how different is the attachment mechanism?
It's completely different. You don't mention which Zalman,
but many socket A mounted direct to the CPU socket lugs
while 775 uses through-board holes, with a frame that can be
generic in dimensions or more proprietary for some
heatsinks. Some socket A sinks used through-board holes too
but not in the same places.
In theory it could be possible to make an adapter, but not
using string and glue. Kidding aside, it will require a
fair amount of precision to get it not only level but a
reasonably correct tension on the core, or use of springs on
the mounting screws so you can adjust tension by how much
you tighten the screws.
If you are experienced in machining metal or working with
heavy gauge aluminum sheeting, it may be doable but it would
be a novelty/hobby sort of thing as the cost of materials
and time really outweighs a practical benefit. If these
were old parts of little value I might've suggested just
trying some very long, sturdy nylon wire-ties of correct
width to fit through the board holes and up through the
'sink fins, but the risk seems more significant to modern
valuable parts and today's heavier heatsinks. Plus some of
the Zalmans have stamped-out sheeting type fins which will
not take the amount of force that some other 'sinks like a
Thermalright AX-7, for example, would.
So if I were you I'd assume you will need another heatsink,
but you could have a plan and be willing to spend the
time... most things are possible given the will, but
practical may be another story. Also if you tried to make a
metal mounting frame, be sure to put plastic sheeting
between it and the board since many (most?) boards have
traces on the top not so far from the skt 775 mounting
holes.
