Is AMD heat a problem?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Henry Mydlarz
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Henry Mydlarz

I am about to upgrade to an ASUS motherboard. At this stage I am after an
AMD type, the A7N8X-E Deluxe, but I am still concerned about the processor
heat, which I heard is more of a problem than on a Pentium. Does anyone have
any opinion on this, as far as general usage and as to what cooling should
be provided, both on the processor and from the case? Are there any cases or
fans I should avoid? If I get an AMD processor, can I stick with the
standard fan supplied in the boxed set? I have no plans to overclock
anything in the system.

Thank you for any information.

Henry
 
Both the Pentium IV and the AMD Athlons produce a similar heat output. If
you are not overclocking the stock heatsink is just fine as long as you have
a case fan or two.
 
I am about to upgrade to an ASUS motherboard. At this stage I am after an
AMD type, the A7N8X-E Deluxe, but I am still concerned about the processor
heat, which I heard is more of a problem than on a Pentium. Does anyone have
any opinion on this, as far as general usage and as to what cooling should
be provided, both on the processor and from the case? Are there any cases or
fans I should avoid? If I get an AMD processor, can I stick with the
standard fan supplied in the boxed set? I have no plans to overclock
anything in the system.

Thank you for any information.

Henry
Click to expand...

You need at least a 80mm rear case fan + the PSU fan(s), anything less
then that and you're asking for over heat problems.

The only bad thing about AMD's heatsink is the noise, 60mm fan @
5000RPM 35db, give or take a few points.

AMD CPU & Heatsink Installation Guide
http://tinyurl.com/3ue5

Ed
 
Ed said:
On Sun, 1 Feb 2004 17:49:25 +1100, "Henry Mydlarz"

You need at least a 80mm rear case fan + the PSU fan(s), anything less
then that and you're asking for over heat problems.

The only bad thing about AMD's heatsink is the noise, 60mm fan @
5000RPM 35db, give or take a few points.

AMD CPU & Heatsink Installation Guide
http://tinyurl.com/3ue5

Ed
Click to expand...


Yesterday I replaced my Athlon 1700+ with a 2600+. I used the stock
fan that came with the new chip. I could not use the Zalman flower
heatsink I had on the 1700+ (too much heat with the 2600+) bit I am
pleasantly surprised at both the low noise level of the stock fan and
the fact that it has a copper core.
 
Henry Mydlarz said:
I am about to upgrade to an ASUS motherboard. At this stage I am after an
AMD type, the A7N8X-E Deluxe, but I am still concerned about the processor
heat, which I heard is more of a problem than on a Pentium. Does anyone have
any opinion on this, as far as general usage and as to what cooling should
be provided, both on the processor and from the case? Are there any cases or
fans I should avoid? If I get an AMD processor, can I stick with the
standard fan supplied in the boxed set? I have no plans to overclock
anything in the system.

Thank you for any information.
Click to expand...

The AMD chips do run a bit hotter than the equivalent Pentium chips, but
only because they are doing more work per clock cycle. IOW, more work =
more heat, both chips have similar efficiency.

The hottest AMD (for its output) was the 1400 T-bird. The subsequent chips
(Athlon, Barton, etc.) run cooler for the amount of work they do. For
example, the 1400mhz T-bird puts out about 73.5W of heat, whereas a Barton
2500 (1853mhz) puts out around 68W of heat.

If you don't have a case yet, I highly recommend the Antec SLK3700AMB. It's
rather expensive (at $63 + $15 S/H at newegg.com), but you're getting an
excellent case and power supply for the money. The case utilizes two 120mm
fans (1xfront, 1xrear). The 120mm fans are nice because they offer optimum
cooling output relative to their noise output. I have this case and it is
quite quiet w/ two low-speed 120mm fans running.

Remember that many other components are generating heat inside your case.
Various drives, graphics processor, PSU, northbridge, southbridge, etc. are
all putting out heat. Heat around hard drives is critical because it can
shorten the life of the drive. The case mentioned above lets you mount the
hard drives directly behind the 120mm fan for optimum cooling.
 
The AMD chips do run a bit hotter than the equivalent Pentium chips, but
only because they are doing more work per clock cycle. IOW, more work =
more heat, both chips have similar efficiency.
Click to expand...

Actually, heat has more to do with die/trace size, materials, etc.. than
to do with the amount of "work" done by the CPU.
 
Leythos said:
Actually, heat has more to do with die/trace size, materials, etc.. than
to do with the amount of "work" done by the CPU.
Click to expand...

Well, yeah, but when you're comparing similar chips, those variables are
insignificant in light of work being done per clock cycle.
 
Well, yeah, but when you're comparing similar chips, those variables are
insignificant in light of work being done per clock cycle.
Click to expand...

While the heat is caused by the work, the materials are not the same
between the AMD and Intel chips, so you can't compare them to each
other. Size of die does make a difference, more than the amount of work
being done.
 
Leythos said:
While the heat is caused by the work, the materials are not the same
between the AMD and Intel chips, so you can't compare them to each
other. Size of die does make a difference, more than the amount of work
being done.
Click to expand...

Yes, which is why the Barton 1.8Ghz puts out around 68W heat vs. 73.5W for
the (larger die) Tbird 1.4Ghz, as I mentioned in my original post.

I don't believe the materials between the two chips are all that different
wrt thermal properties. If they were, don't you think AMD would be using
those to keep their chips cooler? It's like asking why car manufacturers
don't use 'tornadoes' and other cheap MPG increasers to improve their fuel
economy in a cutthroat market.... answer: those cheap MPG increasers DON'T
work!
 
Yes, which is why the Barton 1.8Ghz puts out around 68W heat vs. 73.5W for
the (larger die) Tbird 1.4Ghz, as I mentioned in my original post.
Click to expand...

1400 T-Bird was 72W.

T-Bird Thermal Watt.
MHz Max Typical
650 38 34
700 40 36
750 43 38
800 45 40
850 47 42
900 50 44
950 52 47
1000 54 49
1100 60 54
1133 63 56
1200 66 59
1300 68 61
1333 70 63
1400 72 65

Barton Thermal Watt.
Model Typical Max
2500+ 53.7 68.3
2600+ 53.7 68.3
2800+ 53.7 68.3
3000+ 58.4 74.3 (2.16GHz)
3000+ 53.7 68.3 (2.1GHz)
3200+ 60.4 76.8
 
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