486 (Socket3) heatsink

[VicVega1]

Hi, guys!
So I'm going to rebuild a vintage PC and I've got a pretty solid base, with an intel 486DX2 66MHz CPU, but I also got an AMD 486DX4 with 100MHz, which needs a heatsink and a fan. So luckily, the PC I got for my project came with one, but I'm not sure how to mount it. Here's a photo of it:

And I'm not sure it shows it correctly but it kinda just sits on the CPU.. is it supposed to be like that? There's nothing besides those two black hinges that holds it... I started my PC experience back in the 80s, but I've never seen something like that. Any advice?

 

[VeryOriginalUsername]

> As long as the heatsink is touching the cpu you shouldn't have any problems .

> If it's overheating and shutting down the pc, try removing the thermal paste and applying new one.

- Tom.

 

[HEXiT]

i thing the original heatsync was attached with ceramic which then hardened and glued the cpu to the hsf.
so there was no need for a mounting clasp.

 

[VicVega1]

But that's the thing - it just sits on top of the CPU, with no pressure on it and no thermal paste. I don't remember ever putting thermal paste on one of those back in the day. And there are no leftovers on the heatsink ir the CPU.

 

[HEXiT]

do you know the make of that cooler?

 

[VicVega1]

i thing the original heatsync was attached with ceramic which then hardened and glued the cpu to the hsf.
so there was no need for a mounting clasp.

That's kind of how it looks like, actually (on pics I see on the web), but that would be highly impractical and would make little sense. And the heatsink I have doesn't seem to have been glued to anything in the past.
There must be something more to it.

 

[HEXiT]

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Socket_3.JPG looking at this pic of the socket the cooler would normally just clip in.

 

[VicVega1]

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Socket_3.JPG looking at this pic of the socket the cooler would normally just clip in.

well it kinda does just clip in with those two black hinges and sticks to the CPU pretty tight, but it doesn't clip in in those places that the photo suggests and it just seems such a light solution comparing to even late 90s heatsinks. I think I'll just have to check if it works... As soon as I figure out how to lower the voltage on the CPU to 3.0 V... man there are so many jumpers on that mobo

 

[VicVega1]

Could this black bracket, around the socket, be the CPU cooling mounting system?

 

[James Mason]

CPUs back then didn't generate nearly as much heat as they do now, so cooling solutions were much simpler.
Like old CPUs/GPUs didn't even have heat sinks, and the only cooling in the system was the PSUs exhaust fan.

 

[VicVega1]

CPUs back then didn't generate nearly as much heat as they do now, so cooling solutions were much simpler.
Like old CPUs/GPUs didn't even have heat sinks, and the only cooling in the system was the PSUs exhaust fan.

Ok, so you're saying it's safe to fire up this bad boy under that cooler?