Help Regarding Heatsinks

[insanechicken]

I recently purchased the following items after getting advice from a friend (I have no knowledge of the inside of a pc).

Motherboard: Asus A7V600-X
CPU: AMD AthlonXP 3000 [2.10GHZ 400]OEM
Memory: 2 512MB PC3200 DDR SDRAM (DDR400)
Graphics: ATI Radeon 9250/AGP 256MB with TV-Out and DVI
Hard Drive: 120GB Maxtor DiamondMAX+9 133/7200
DVDRW: Samsung 16X Dual Layer DVDRW
Floppy Drive: 3½" Silver Floppy Drive
Case: X Blade (I ordered Silver but received Black, i'm not really fussed though)
Windows XP Home OEM

He neglected to tell me I may need a Heatsink. The CPU I ordered did not come with a heatsink, I would like to know whether I need one, and if so, what would you recommend.

Any help would be much appreciated.

insanechicken

[mike_w]

You definately need a heatsink, otherwise your CPU will fizzle to stop extremely quickly. I assume that you're not overclocking, so you should go for something relatively quiet. In the past, I've used Zalman Flowers, and found them to be quite quiet.

When you put the heatsink on, make sure you put thermal paste on properly to ensure good contact and therefore good heat conduction between the CPU and heatsink.

[insanechicken]

I have no ideal what overclocking is, but thanks for the help.

Also, would any of these do?:

http://www.a2zcomputerproducts.com/P...oductcode=HSF/

I ask, because this place is near my work, so I can pick it up when i finish 2morro

[Jonny]

Yes. Anything that fits a "Socket A Motherboard" Take the model name of your motherboard and processor with you, and they will be able to help. Thermal paste has to go between the processor and heatsink, to ensure proper joining and conduction of the surfaces. Try and get a heatsink with this already on, it will be a lot easier. The heatsink should have a fan with it, make sure it does. There are many places on the internet with step by step guides to installing heatsinks, though it's not hard. I'll find a link for you, but check the website of the heatsink manufacturer.

[insanechicken]

Thanks 4 the help, i'll do that

[insanechicken]

thanks for all the help guys, i've bought an Akasa AK-786 Cooler (for AMD Athlon XP, Duron & Sempron), and also a D-Link DFE-530TX Network Adapter, all together cost about £14.

Just got to find a guide so I can build the flippin' pc now, lol.

Has anyone got a link to a complete guide on building a pc (from the ground up)?

[Wyoming]

There are loads on the internet. I used a mixture of this guide and my Abit manual to build my first PC. Loads of people say you don't need an anti-static wristband but it's an idea to use one just in case, better safe than sorry.

[oralpain]

Best guide to building a complete PC is "Trial and Error". Get a couple of old, really cheap PCs, totaly disasemple them, then reasemble them in working order. If they have similar components try swaping them around and still have things work. Then network them together and force a friend to play mechwarrior 2 against you.

You dont need an anti static wrist band. Just lick your finger and touch your case, psu, or some other ground point near by (like a vent, or a scew on a light switch).

I learned to build computers by reverse enginnering my first few PCs.

[insanechicken]

erm... o...k... thanks for that, although i've now got no money to buy anything, lol

[oralpain]

Play with LEGOs, it's the same idea.

[insanechicken]

lol