Retail CPU heatsink and fan.

[barnacle]

CPU cooling and AMD processors.

Does the retail version of a CPU come with the thermal gel and heatsink good to go?
What do you think is a good CPU cooling unit?
How much of a performance drop of different kinds of programs between the 3500+ and the FX 53?

 

[Vigilante]

All retail heatsinks come with a piece of thermal tape on the bottom, about the only good retail HSF is the one that comes with the Athlon 64. It's actually really good. keeps my 300 MHz overclock stable at 43C.

-What kind of CPU are you getting?
-Are you really from Japan? That's swizeet.
There would be a little noticable drop in performance, but not huge ( I'm not 100% sure on this)

 

[barnacle]

i will be getting the 3500+ or the FX 53.
Yes, I was born there, go back and forth between Japan and US, homeschool.

 

[JimmehH]

I've never had a problem with AMD's retail cooling, but I don't overclock. 3 year warranty is nice too.

 

[poseyjmac]

some people have amazing overclocks on AMD's stock cooling. they are good coolers for stock. and on retail a64's you get a thin layer of thermal compound pre-applied, not tape.

 

[Subatomic]

The 3500+ and the FX 53 are both really fast. The FX 53 costs $800 bucks. The 3500+ costs $340. Personally I think it is a big waste of money to get the FX 53. Both will be good for upgrades in the future, since they're socket 939.