Bohemond1099 wrote on 2022-03-13, 22:59:
Would appreciate any recommendations for a decent cooler (that can be found) as the options on ebay seem pretty slim. I have an XP 3200+ and A7N8X Deluxe 2.0 motherboard; the only cooler I could find in my laying around was a Slim Volcano 8 P/N : A1492; problem is when I took a good look at the box it says "for AMD Athlon XP UP TO 2800+. So obviously that's not gonna work; appreciate any help.
Thanks.
So after having concluded what I've written in my previous replies in this thread.
The Athlon XP 2800+ does run a little bit cooler than the Athlon XP 3200+, but if going along this page (do a CTRL+F for "Athlon XP 2800+") and the table will mention 68.3W TDP and slightly lower on this page is the 3200+ mentioned with a TDP of 76.8W.
Perhaps you could get by with replacing the existing fan with one which can move more air (be wary you would need to get a fan that can push harder, not a more specialized case fan that can push more air as these are not typically designed to push air through obstacles like the fins of a CPU HS).
Perhaps if you make sure the heatsink is cleaned whenever dust starts building up on top of the fins of the heatsink and have excellent case cooling (better than was typical for a case of the time), you might be able to get by using your existing heatsink.
But please do keep an eye on the temps until you know for sure it doesn't start locking up after prolonged gaming.
This is how I knew my 3200+ was getting too hot, it would reach more than 70 or 80 degrees and after an hour or 2 would lock up. This happened whenever the heatsink would start clogging up with dust and a dedust would make these lockups go away until new dust would build up again. This was doable, though highly annoying at times.
The AC Copper Silent 3 fixed this problem for me, so I'm positive it was an overheating problem.
I've looked on ebay and with what I see offered there, I can't really recommend any of them. None of them are like "Ahh yes, this one is nice! Take that one and you should be good to go!".
Some come close and would probably be able to cool something like a Thoroughbred 2400+ or so with relative ease, but the 3200+ gets really very hot!
Still, I reckon you should be (provided your HSF is properly installed) able to at least test your 3200+ PC using the HSF you already have, it usually takes a while before it will overheat.
Please be absolutely sure you install any HSF properly on a Socket A CPU. One mistake and it could go up in smoke (quite literally so). Don't bother testing without any cooling paste, it could fry in a second anyway. So don't work on it when you're tired or in dim lighting conditions etc etc.