<The photos make it look like the chips are slightly above the surface of the package -- likely why they provide the four pads to help support the heat sink evenly.>
Interestingly enough, Intel does not provide those
pads. At least in the old A2 batches we still are
getting out of our distributors. Actually, the problem
is not to support the head sink evenly, as you say.
The chipping happens mostly during
installation/re-installation.
I've been dealing recently with a bunch of
P-III Coppermines, Intel BOXED (!).
They came with a heat sink with a very heavy spring.
When technicians tried to install the sink, they
have to tilt it in order to hook up one end of the spring.
Then the sink must be rolled into the "evenly" position,
and the other end of the spring takes maybe 20 lbs
of force to hook it into the other side of the socket.
It takes quite a bit of sophistication if you do not
have special tools, and the sink may occasionally roll
back and forth chipping edges of the naked silicon,
so one of ten chips may become unusable after that.
BTW, I guess there must be a documentation picturing
the product, and it probably says that the silicon
chip sits 0.030" above the substrate surface, ceramic
(AMD) or plastic (Intel).
On another note, I guess the AMD investors should be
capable to afford a sample of company product, and
stop be confused about cavities and other packaging
issues. Maybe even do their own benchmarking :) :) :)
Regards,
- Ali |
