Fitting the motherboard and CPU are
almost the same with AMD as described for the Pentium. Possible
differences are discussed below.
One important difference when
purchasing AMD merchandise is that the CPU can be purchased as a separate item, but then you must
buy a separate heatsink/fan that is rated for the speed of
your processor. If you use the wrong fan, the processor will
soon die from overheating!
If you purchase an AMD ATHLON 1700+
you MUST buy a Heatsink/Fan that has the ability to cool the
processor, such as the appropriate Coolmaster.
Their range of Heatsink/Fans for AMD
CPU’s go up to 2700+.
The easiest way to ensure you get it
right is to buy a retail package that comes with CPU
and matching heatsink/fan.
You get a 4-year warranty & even
your own AMD badge for the PC case.
The installation of an
AMD CPU is the same as a Pentium CPU.
Just follow the same procedure as
the Pentium CPU installation but there may be these
differences;
-
Its ZIF socket may be a
little larger.
-
Installing the Heatsink/Fan
is slightly different. AMD motherboards do not have the
same easy mounting lock-in board mount illustrated in
the Pentium section. The Heatsink/Fan is mounted
slightly differently.
On the ZIF socket for the AMD board,
there are catches at either side. On one side, the
silver-mounting latch is pushed under the catch on the ZIF
socket.
The heatsink/fan is then pushed flat
and that lets the latch firmly hold one side of the heatsink/fan
in place.
Push down gently on the Heatsink/Fan
to push the other side into place, ensuring that the Heatsink/Fan
is flat on the surface of the CPU. The last picture shows the
orientation of the Heatsink/Fan on the CPU ZIF socket.
Examine the ZIF socket and the
bottom of the Heatsink/Fan. You will see a ridge that must
be aligned for the Heatsink/Fan to properly cool the CPU.
It's not as difficult as it may
look. I always recommend installing the CPU and Heatsink/Fan
FIRST, because trying to fit when the motherboard is already
installed is much more difficult as there is very little
room to work.
Believe me - I learned the hard way
and the inside will soon look like spaghetti junction when
more components and connections are in place.
