So... I've got this old system here - PIII 700. Old socket 370. It's great for a basic fileserver, audio player, word processor, etc etc...

The only problem is, the clip on the socket that holds the heatsink on is chipped, as seen here.

Any thoughts on how to fix that? A dab of epoxy to make a new one or something? Or am I stuck with using thermal adhesive on the heatsink (even though it sucks to do so)?

Thanks in advance.

Simply get yourself a socket 370 heatsink that has three hole clips.

You can just thread some thin insulated wire through the side of the socket and tie it to the heatsink.

@jcarle - well.... I just got my hands on a near-free Zalman CNPS3100+ heatsink, which is about the best low airflow socket A/370 heatsink out there. I was hoping to use it to make this system nearly passively cooled (PIIIs generate next to no heat).

@LLXX - through the side of the socket... you mean through the "holes" on the top there? From what I can see, those aren't really through holes.


I've been looking at the possibility of just buying some thermal adhesive, and gluing the heatsink to the whole CPU. Any thoughts on how this might stress the CPU itself? These are ZIF sockets afterall, so I don't think that the CPU itself was designed to hold up a 300G heatsink.

You use the system in a desktop housing, so I don´t see any problem with a weight of 300 grams for the cooler.

The motherboard would end up being vertical, so if the heatsink pulls on the CPU...


EDIT - And... tada!!! Problem solved. With a little suggestion from puntoMX on MSN to bend the metal clip, we're back in business. I've just bent the clip to the point where it now squeezes the socket instead of tries to pull away. Ultimately, this way makes more sense IMO, since it's now actually wanting to stay on, instead of relying on the socket to hold it there.

Have a look at the end result!

So... I'm testing this heatsink without a CPU fan. My old setup was a basic aluminum heatsink with a 80mm Nexus fan, just to give it something. Temperatures were 22C/35C at idle/load. Now, with this heatsink with no fan, I'm getting 20C/39C. Not too bad for a passively cooled CPU.