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AM2 And AM2+ CPU Coolers - Same Fittings?

TimC94

TimC94

New Member
Joined
Apr 15, 2009
Messages
10 (0.00/day)
Location
Ireland
System Specs
Processor AMD Phenom X4 9550 - 2.2GHz
Motherboard Gigabyte MA-790X-DS4
Cooling 2 120mm case fans (side and rear)
Memory 4 x 1GB - 1066 MHz, CL5-5-5-15
Video Card(s) Gainward 260 GTX Core 216
Storage 500GB (Forget the make :P)
Display(s) Targa Visionary 19-4
Case CoolerMaster Centurion 534
Power Supply Corsair TX750
Hi :)

I'm new here and really just made an account to ask one question - Whether or not the CPU coolers that would fit on an AM2 socket would fit on an AM2+ socket. I know that the brackets which hold the CPU coolers are at least the same to my eyes, but I just want to be sure that the AM2 coolers will fit my motherboard. Most of the coolers that specifically say that they fit the AM2+ socket don't seem to be all that great when compared to the best of the AM2 ones. What I was looking at was a Xigmatek S1284 Achilles as I heard they were especially good when it came to the Phenoms.

Anyway, if anybody has any idea about this please reply.

Cheers :D
 
am2 and am2+ are (physically) exactly the same thing. The only difference is the chipset used and the processor arcitecture. I am running AM2 stuff in my AM2+ board right now. AM2+ is designed to be backwards compatable with AM2.
 
Nice choice on the cooler
 
Assassin48 said:
Nice choice on the cooler
Click to expand...

hat said:
am2 and am2+ are (physically) exactly the same thing. The only difference is the chipset used and the processor arcitecture. I am running AM2 stuff in my AM2+ board right now. AM2+ is designed to be backwards compatable with AM2.
Click to expand...

Someone please correct me if i'm wrong but the way i understood it is that, AM2+ CPUs have a higher TDP then AM2 ones and need better cooling because of it.

That said, i agree with Assassin48.
 
HTC said:
Someone please correct me if i'm wrong but the way i understood it is that, AM2+ CPUs have a higher TDP then AM2 ones and need better cooling because of it.

That said, i agree with Assassin48.
Click to expand...

it varies. there is high wattage CPU's for AM2 and AM2+, the only real technical difference is that they changed the speed of the HT link.

I've got socket 939 heatsinks that fit on my media PC's AM2+ board, so they sure havent changed much.
 
Mussels said:
it varies. there is high wattage CPU's for AM2 and AM2+, the only real technical difference is that they changed the speed of the HT link.

I've got socket 939 heatsinks that fit on my media PC's AM2+ board, so they sure havent changed much.
Click to expand...

What i meant was: the higher the TDP, the better must be the cooler for it.

This is true for all CPUs: not just AMD ones, right?
 
HTC said:
What i meant was: the higher the TDP, the better must be the cooler for it.

This is true for all CPUs: not just AMD ones, right?
Click to expand...

hotter the chip, bigger the heatsink. Yeah, pretty basic.
 
I'm sure his Xigmatek heatsink is enough to tackle any desktop processor, past or present
 
hat said:
I'm sure his Xigmatek heatsink is enough to tackle any desktop processor, past or present
Click to expand...

oh yeah. the achilles is top of the line.
 
Yeah, I've done some research and it apparently can handle a 3.8GHz Phenom II pretty well, too. :P

And I already know about the AM2+ socket being backwards compatible with the AM2 and about the higher Hyper-Transport speeds but can the AM2 coolers fit on the AM2+ socket?
 
yes the coolers are completely compatible.

AM2 and AM2+ are 100% physically identical. Its only a few small changes electrically.
 
Ah right, grand so! :)

Thanks to all of you, I'm off to buy a new cooler and do me some over-clockin'! :D
 
Potentially a problem...

Actually, one more quick question. I don;t know if anybody will be able to give me an answer to this but I'm not sure whether or not the cooler will actually fit in my case... :laugh:

My case is a CoolerMaster Centurion 534. The width of it is around 20cm, maybe a millimetre less. The motherboard sits about 20mm from the right-hand side of the case, (if you're looking at it from the front). The case is a pretty standard size midi-tower, I suppose. I'm afraid of the Achilles' large heat sink protruding too far out from the motherboard and getting in the way of the left side-panel. :ohwell:

The cooler is 15.9cm tall. That added onto the 20mm from the right from the motherboard adds up to 18.1cm, leaving me with only 1.9 cm of space. And when I measured the case, I was measuring from the outside. I'll knock off about 4mm for the thickness of the case and then there's the motherboard... That along with the processor... I dunno. It's a long shot but I might have about 1.5cm give or take for the motherboard, mounting bracket, etc.

Any thoughts?
 
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If the achilles is too big, look at xigmatex 92mm heatsinks. I have one here as a spare, and it definately fits in cramped spaces as its not much bigger than a stock intel or AMD heatsink (except in height)
 
This may sound sort of stupid but if the top of the heat pipes were to get in the way... What if I just drilled holes in the side panel? :D
 
TimC94 said:
What if I just drilled holes in the side panel? :D
Click to expand...

you would have holes in your case! :laugh:
stuff like that does work. The main concern is which way the cooler can rotate in your case - in my PC the heatsink can only face 'up' so my CPU heat is blowing into the PSU. Thats fine for me, but imagine if my PSU had an 80mm fan and not a 120mm... my CPU would blow heat into a solid piece of metal.
 
:laugh: I don't actually know what way it'll be facing for me, but my PSU has a 140mm fan as far as I know, so it should be grand. :P

Would there be any problems with the heat pipes if they were to make contact with the side-panel? Probably a really stupid question but I'm only 14, I don't know stuffs yet. :D

But yeah, I think I'll take a chance, buy the cooler, and if it doesn't fit, hack my case to pieces :toast:

I actually did that to my friends computer. He got a 4850 X2 that didn't fit in his case because of the hard-drive bay. So I got a pliers and a hammer! :D It did the job nicely, and all while the motherboard was in the case! :D And yet, it managed not to short or anything, but now the case looks like a complete mess! :laugh:
 
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TimC94 said:
:laugh: I don't actually know what way it'll be facing for me, but my PSU has a 140mm fan as far as I know, so it should be grand. :P

But yeah, I think I'll take a chance, buy the cooler, and if it doesn't fit, hack my case to pieces :toast:

I actually did that to my friends computer. He got a 4850 X2 that didn't fit in his case because of the hard-drive bay. So I got a pliers and a hammer! :D It did the job nicely, and all while the motherboard was in the case! :D And yet, it managed not to short or anything, but now the case looks like a complete mess! :laugh:
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i'm getting that corsair PSU soon myself. it looks really good.
I used pliers and a hacksaw to make my old 8800GTX fit in my current case.
 
:laugh: That's the way to do it all right! Big manly tools for doing manly things... Like working on computers :D

And yeah, I used a hacksaw too now that I think about it. But then I got bored, and then it was hammer time! :laugh:
 
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Well you could just leave the side door off unless it's prone to mishaps involving pets, children, etc.
 
Nah, I'd rather not do that, there'd be mishaps involving my feet and probably something else on the long run :laugh:
 
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