Comments on: No Wonder This Computer Acted Screwy

By: Stoneshop

Stoneshop — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 11:28:02 +0000

OK, so now it’s 2010. Where’s my computerised bathroom? Well?

By: Sean

Sean — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 10:08:15 +0000

Reminds me of the time I zip-tied a heat sink to a CPU when the bracket was either missing or broken… I ought to find which computer that was and take a picture of it, for the enlightenment of all! It was beautiful.

By: PC Repair

PC Repair — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 14:49:43 +0000

This is hilarious, one of the guys said Real DIYers never run out of such things. I find it interesting

By: scott

scott — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 01:58:56 +0000

been there…. done that.

By: Vexxarr

Vexxarr — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 06:45:15 +0000

Oh seriously. Who HASN’T done this?

By: tyberius

tyberius — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 05:57:07 +0000

I have to agree with Stoneshop here, the CPU locking lever is in the front. The heatsink attaching/locking thingy is on the right side. Which is a sensible place to put it, because the spring on those things can be freaking strong, so you need a screwdriver to push them down enough to be able to hook it to the socket. And of course you never manage to nail it on the first try, and sooner or later the screwdriver slips… and that could do serious damage to the board. So it’s best to happen at the edge of the motherboard.

By: tyberius

tyberius — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 05:28:41 +0000

Well, first of all, a heatsink is a heatsink. It dissipates heat. If you generate airflow to it, it dissipates heat faster. That’s about it. You can design it to accept or not accept a fan all you want, it will still work that way.

Second, wood screws are called wood screws because they are *best* used with wood. They won’t shrivel and die just because you use them with something other than wood.

Third, are they too long? Really? I bet there are a lot of things in a computer case that go *right* above the CPU so two pieces of metal sticking out is gonna be a *huge* problem, apparently. And as for the screws being too wide, they went in, did they not? Those bent fins will inhibit about 0.2% of the sink’s heat dissipating capacity – the extra air flow will increase it by about 200%, so it’s still a huge net gain.

As for the four screws thing – srsly, what would four screws do here that two wouldn’t?

I know that you’re paid to do what’s “supposed” to be done, but if I always did what I was “supposed” to do with my computers, I’d be out a gazillion bucks by now. First rule of home repairs is: forget what’s “supposed” to be done, and go with what works.

By: tyberius

tyberius — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 05:11:57 +0000

Zip tie is for sissies. I hooked one of those up (it was a Pentium 3) with an iron wire stuck under the socket. Yeah, I stuck a piece of metal into a forest of CPU socket pins. To this day I have no idea how the hell did it not short out.

By: Sarge

Sarge — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 14:42:35 +0000

Hey, I did wish you all good kludging! Why the negative vibes?

By: Anna Rexia

Anna Rexia — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 03:27:12 +0000

Real DIYers never run out of such things.