[Gooserider]

An off the wall thought I've had that might make the pressure / mounting / TIM question less of an issue would be to change the design of the CPU die and fixture. This might also be a good way to cut down on secondary path losses.

As I understand it, all the current simulators attempt to more or less reproduce a CPU sitting in a socket, and mount the WB like it was sitting on a real CPU and socket.
This is good for 'looking like the real world' but seems to make life much more complicated.

Instead, what would happen if one made the simulator so that it consisted of a hollow outer shell that more or less matched the outer dimensions of a CPU and socket on the outside, and the dimensions of the heater die on the inside.

This shell would be made out of a rigid material with good thermal insulation properties (Phenolic?) It's outside surface would be designed to provide mounting for a variety of WB designs.

The WB would be solidly clamped across the face of the shell, using enough pressure to ensure that it will NOT move. The heater die would then be slipped into the center of the shell and pushed against the WB's face by pressure applied from behind it.

Advantages:

1. The shell provides a constant position for the WB face, and since it basically is sealing around the heat die, would insulate against secondary losses.

2. Because the surface the die is pushing against is always in the same relationship to the die, repeatable pressure should be easy to accomplish

3. Because the die and the shell are seperate parts, it should be possible to accomodate new form factors for processors or mounting types just by changing the shell, and not having to replace the more difficult to make and expensive heat die.

4. Concerns about torque loads etc. produced by plumbing connections are minimized.

5. Simpler mounting, could be made to work with multiple sizes / types of mounting hardware.

Disadvantages:

1. Slightly less match to 'real world'

2. Might have difficulty with blocks the same size or smaller than the heat die (I believe these are quite rare however)

I think #2 is rare enough to not be a problem, and the advantages in consistency and repeatability are enough to justify ignoring #1

Gooserider