Athlon owners! Take heed! (1 Viewer)

[Jeff Kleist]

I love my Athlon, but Tom's Hardware has brought out a VERY dangerous non-feature of the processor. If the heatsink falls off, your motherboard and CPU can literally catch fire in seconds. See the horrific results HERE:
http://www4.tomshardware.com/cpu/01q3/010917/index.html
AMD needs to provide thermal management in their processors NOW!
Jeff Kleist

 

[Rob Gillespie]

Damn, that is seriously BAD. No wonder the Athlons are so cheap.

 

[Graeme Clark]

Ouch!!
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[Jeff Kleist]

Don't get me wrong, the Athlons are great processors. The next generation runs with half the heat generated, and supposedly also solves this problem. However, this needed to be put out into the open
I'll NEVER go back to Intel processors again. Great performance, unbeatable prices! (Athlon 1.4GHz outperforms a P4 1.7GHz)
Jeff Kleist

 

[Camp]

Perform the simple task of purchasing a good HSF and installing it correctly and this isn't even an issue.

 

[DavidY]

A few months ago, after one weeks use with a weaker HS (a Chrome Orb), my dealer replaced the Athlon T-bird 1200/266 in my new system....suprisingly it was done under warranty. The CPU was reported to be toasted. However, before I sent it in, the CPU looked fine....it wasn't melted or anything. The Chrome Orb was replaced by an AMD certified fan, a Volcano II...so far, so good.
Dave

 

[SteveMc]

If installed correctly, the only way heatsinks could fall off is if the computer drop kicked from a height that's gonna damage a lot more than just the CPU. And if you cant install a HS right, you probably shouldn't be messing in one w/o some help.
I hadn't heard of things catching fire, but w/o a HS/Fan your athlon can burn up in about 8 seconds. Hey, maybe that's what that Luke Perry movie is about
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[Jeff Kleist]

Of course, I've just never seen a chip do that before. SCARY
My heatsink/fan is bolted nice and tight
Jeff Kleist

 

[Quinn Granfor]

And what was Tom's point? Rip off the fire wall from a car and the upholstry will catch fire........better put in sensors?
AMD makes a good product. Don't let a dumbass article by an Intel zoelet cloud your judgement.

 

[Quinn Granfor]

OOps, I guess if I would have read your follow up.......I'd see that your judgement wasn't clouded. Alas, alot of people's will be swayed by this......rip off the safety feature of any product and they'll be problems.

 

[Joseph S]

Properly installed isn't always a guarantee.
I purchased an ASUS MB a few weeks ago and after 3 days use I heard a fairly loud bang. The plastic of an entire side of the CPU slot had given way and the Fan/Heatsink smashed into Video card.