Guide

Thermal and Mechanical Design
54 Intel® Xeon® Processor E7 2800/4800/8800 v2 Product Family
Thermal/ Mechanical Specifications and Design Guide
2.4.3 Thermal Interface Material (TIM) Considerations
Thermal Interface Material between the processor IHS and the heatsink base is
necessary to improve thermal conduction from the IHS to the heatsink. Many thermal
interface materials can be pre-applied to the heatsink base prior to shipment from the
heatsink supplier without the need for a separate TIM dispense or attachment process
in the final assembly factory.
All thermal interface materials should be sized and positioned on the heatsink base in a
way that ensures that the entire area is covered. It is important to compensate for
heatsink-to-processor positional alignment when selecting the proper TIM size.
When pre-applied material is used, it is recommended to have a protective cover.
Protective tape is not recommended as the TIM could be damaged during its
removal step.
Thermal performance usually degrades over the life of the assembly and this
degradation needs to be accounted for in the thermal performance. Degradation can be
caused by shipping and handling, environmental temperature, humidity conditions,
load relaxation over time, temperature cycling or material changes (most notably in the
TIM) over time. For this reason, the measured T
CASE
value of a given processor may
increase over time, depending on the type of TIM material.
2.4.4 Mechanical Design Considerations
Any thermal mechanical design using some of the reference components in
combination with any other thermal mechanical solution needs to be fully validated
according to the customer criteria. Also, if customer thermal mechanical validation
criteria differ from the Intel criteria, the reference solution should be validated against
the customer criteria.
2.4.4.1 Components Volumetric
The baseboard keep-out zones on the primary and secondary sides and height
restrictions under the enabling component region are shown in detail in Appendix G.
The overall volumetric keep in zone encapsulates the processor, socket, and the entire
thermal/mechanical enabling assembly.
2.4.4.2 Components Mass
The Static Compressive Load should also be considered in dynamic assessments.
Direct contact between back plate and chassis pan will usually help minimize board
deflection during shock.
Table 2-16. Socket and Retention Component Mass
Component Mass
Socket Body, Contacts and PnP Cover 25
1
g
Narrow ILM Assembly 79g
Backplate 84g
Heatsink 600g
ILM Assembly 82g