I can't attach the heatsink/fan to my new (to me) socket 7 motherboard because the tabs are broken off.
I can't attach the heatsink/fan to my new (to me) socket 7 motherboard because the tabs are broken off.
You've bought what we call in the industry "e-waste"
One man's trash is another man's treasure
At least now you know why the last person got rid of it.
I got it from an e waste trader I think. Someone who goes around to estate sales, thrift stores and scoops up anything beige on local marketplaces.
Socket 7! I'm amazed any of those are still floating around. Industrial?
Nope, consumer. It's a retro computing project / mid-life crisis. I'm trying to faithfully rebuild the first computer my family got when I was junior high aged. I've got the cyrix CPU, the EDO RAM, and the generic AT case. I just need to solve this cooling dilemma and I'll be playing Chuck Yeager's air combat in no time!
Fun project! Godpseed
This used to happen to the AMD sockets back when I think they were socket 462 or maybe it was the older gen.
Many heatsinks would grab the center tab on 1 side but AMD had 3 tabs to each side of the socket so it was just a matter of finding a heatsink with a clamp that used all 3 tabs on both sides. Sometimes the clamp could be reversed if it grabbed the outside tabs on one side and center on the other depending on design of the heatsink.
Yeah, I had one of those back in the day too. This is socket 370, so my choices for aftermarket coolers are pretty limited.
Would something like this work? It has a 3 tab clamp on one side, center tab on other way. Not sure if that would stress it out and break too or just not sit correctly since you’d have the heatsink on backwards technically
It’s been too long since I seen these type boards. Heard of someone using a dremel on the broken area around the tab to make a tab but that seems extreme and no way back if it fails.
sometimes aftermarket coolers will have alternative brackets that will replace the MB brackets. I'm not sure how this one is but it might be a solution.
I've read some 486 coolers will clip onto the offset tabs. I haven't seen anything yet that lines up though.
Where there's a will there's a way! Don't give up.
For example: Use a small and VERY hot nail to melt a sideways hole. Patiently. Use the same nail as a tab. (Probably have to shorten in before the final push.)
Oh the will is there!
If the heatsink isn't big enough that it blocks the socket lever, you could attach it to the CPU with thermal glue
This is a fantastic idea! This sounds way easier than trying to epoxy a lego or two onto the socket.
Do this. The clip ons were to ensure a tight fit for heat to escape. Thermal glue works just as well on a heat sink....you can also just get a heat sink with fan attached if needed.
I had the same problem before.... computer ran for 5 years with just the weight of the heatsink holding it down. Just keep the motherboard horizontal
Tell that to my baby AT tower! It's lying down flat for now, but it's less than ideal.
Wow. I don't remember having a board-mount retention mechanism for a CPU cooler before like LGA 775, but maybe such a thing existed for socket 7. Are there four holes in a rectangle around the socket?
The first board mount (actually through-board case mount) I recall seeing were HP socket 478. That horror-show of a socket also saw many plastic retention clip implementations that had a tendency to get brittle and crack. Socket 423 (which came before) had the same plastic junk mounts.
Nope, just the socket and its broken off tabs. The socket is soldered to the motherboard too.
Omg socket 7? I know, I love dumpster diving also.... Most of my garage network is recycled hardware that others discarded. But this might be too much of a hassle for what it's worth.
It's a passion project/ mid-life crisis.