Cracked 2 Durons so far :(

[MarkE]

Ahhhh, I'm really pissed right now....I've just chipped my backup Duron (Spitfire 600 @ 1Ghz) and about a week ago, chipped my Duron (Morgan 1Ghz @ 1.1Ghz).
I'm using the unablock and I chipped Morgan core pretty bad. Both of the long sides, on the morgan core, are pretty much round and the spitfire core has a chip along one side. Man, I can't believe it, I also have a crack along the center of the unablock holddown (the clear thing).
Temperatures were less than stellar on both cores which is why I kept messing with the waterblock. On the morgan @ 1.05 (1.75 volts), temps hovered around 47c and on the spitfire @ 966 (1.85 volts), around 54c (ambient for both - 30c). Temps for both chips were worse than with aircooling, but the water felt cooler than the air so I figured it was the block :shrug:
The first time mounting, I just mounted it the way I thought it would work, but temps weren't too good (btw aquastealth didn't send instructions for either the unablock or the via 1300 pump - unassembled) so I followed the instructions online, didn't work too well, i chip a corner right off - after which things went downhill
The main problem seems to come from poor contact between the block and core which is caused by the hoses connected to the block, pushing it to one side. So the block is always leaning on one side of the core. As I tried to align the block, I heard a scrunch and I knew what happened.
I have ordered an AthlonXP 1600+ but I only hope that it will work on my Abit KT7A revision 1.0
I'll be sure to get a shim this time and maybe redo the hosing since the hosing seems to pull the block upwards...
Any suggestions would be nice. Sorry for the length, just needed to vent and maybe some of you would understand what I just went through.
Oh btw my watercooling setup is: Via 1300, Unablock, Ford Mustang heater core, 1/2, 3/5 and the unablock size hosing, coolant and distilled water - I am not aiming too high, as my goal is peace and quiet while retaining the same performance as my old Alpha PAL6035 w/ a sunnon fan.

Mark

[crane]

I had a couple dead AMD chips lying around ,so I used a razor and removed the little rubber pads and reinstalled them around the core on my good processors. They won't short out like a shim and give you a little more support for small water block mounting.

[bigben2k]

I remember going through this not too long ago, with another member that wanted to use the Unablock.

I recommended a big pump, to make up for the lack of performance of the Unablock. Two Vias back to back might help.

Still, the majority of bad temps come from poor lapping. I know it's harder to lap an Alu block, because you can't get it to a mirror, like copper, so maybe that was the problem.

Keep us posted.

[Arcturius]

You could just forego the center screw for tension, epoxy the block to the hold down where you want it, and use the four nuts on the corners of the hold down to apply even pressure.
It's a little more work for installation, but it would certainly be more solid in the long run.
Also, when you do the initial fit with the epoxy and without the hoses, you should have pretty decent control over where the block sits.

Another thing you could try to keep the hoses from moving the block, would be to use silicone or Tygon tubing, since they're more flexible.
But, since you're using the UnaBlock, I might assume you're probably trying to do this on the cheap.

[jtroutma]

To answer your question about the XP and your KT7A... your fine. Just get the lastest BIOS update from ABIT's website and flash your BIOS. The latest revision of the BIOS supported at least the 1900+.

Let me know if you have problems in that area; I should be able to help.

[MarkE]

Let me say that all of the suggestions have been great and without this board, I would have never gone into the realms of watercooling.

crane: I used the same exact concept, except I used those pad thingys that come with the Alpha PEP heatsink (which I'm using right now until I get some dough for hosing, clamps, etc...). I placed them right at the corner of the core so that I'm pretty sure I don't screw it up unless I get real careless...

bigben2k: Yea, I remember you recommended me to get 2 pumps but I'm gonna try my best with this pump first - I'm having a hard time trying to figure how to stuff it inside my case - I guess the junction box is the only answer (since I'm running the pump submerged), but I'm not sure if I can seal the hoses and cord properly, so that it doesn't leak when the case is tipped.
Oh yea, I looked at the bottom of the Unablock, and it's scraped all over from the 2 durons so some lapping is in order.

Arcturius (name sound familar, starcraft comes into mind?): sounds like a good idea since, the block and holddown move independently while I tigthten her down to the chip - scratching the chip and Unablock up. The thing is, the holes (on the plastic holddown) are drilled big so if I glue it down, I'll have to make absolutely sure that it's centered or the water going into the block will not be used efficiently (the Unablock is just a hole going 3/4 the length of the block with a nut covering the opening and 2 barbs...)

jtroutma: I just got my Athlon XP 1600+ on my KT7A rev1.0, I tried a few bios' but only 64 would work and seems to be stable. Now I'm looking to unlock the chip - tried the pencil trick but no dice (hoping it would be like the morgan core). I really wanna see what this chip is capable of...

Dang, I already miss my watercooling setup, right now I'm using an Alpha PEP with stock fan 55c @ load. I know my temps would be much lower and my room would be much quieter but I have to get new materials before I start on anything else, ahhh the college budget...

Thanks for the suggestions
Mark

[Brad]

with the money you've spent buying your replacement cpu's you could have bought a decent waterblock......

[MadDogMe]

It's a bitch once you've already paid out for a block, but you've had bad experiences with that block, (from what I ken the Durons are still alive?) bite the bullet and get yourself a copper block with a better mounting .before you suffer any more heartaches/CPU~deaths!...

[MarkE]

Brad: I should've gone with a better block/mounts but I'm a newbie to watercooling, so I didn't really want to get in too deep spending money on all this stuff and not really want it after a few months. I wanted to make absolutely sure that I could make a closed system that would be as practical as aircooling...
Regarding the processors, the Morgan was my main processor before (purchased about 6 months ago) and the Spitfire was the main processor before I got the Morgan (so it became a backup when I got the Morgan).

MadDogMe: Yea, I'm now debating whether to give the Unablock another shot or just a block with better mounting hardware. The thing is, I'd have to wait quite awhile before I'll be able to order another block and I'm not sure if I can wait...


Mark

[mkosem]

um, the pads from the pep66 are too thick for socket A amd cpu's. you are probably not making contact with the cpu and the block. Take them off and perhaps you should get one of those shims made out of that organic material since you don't seem to be very skilled in mounting blocks without chipping tings!

--Matt