Is it worth getting a northbridge fan?

Lysander

Lysander

Lysander

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I've got a Gigabyte DS3 and I notice that the nb heatsink gets very very hot. Will there be any kind of performance increase if I replace it with a fan? Presumably it will still be OK if I left it?
 
You might be better off replacing the NB eatsink with an after market one such as the Zalman, Thermalright HR-05 or Noctuna, but these will cost a lot more than simply adding a fan to your heatsink. All 3 of the above heatsinks are passive so the noise will be the same as the sink you have now where as a 40mm fan would be quite whinny.

Ben
 
Yeah as mentioned above it will be fine if you left it how it is and you wouldn't see a performance difference by replacing it but if your overclocking a new cooler will allow you to get to a higher stable FSB:)
 
Right, thanks all. All components are running at stock and I'm sure its designed to do it's job! Will leave it alone then.
 
ive been wondering about this as my evga 680i gets hot and the nb fan is so noisey

how do you get the old heat sink off witout damaging anyting?

cheers

stinka
 
I have a Noctua NC06 on my DS3's northbridge. Runs only warm to the touch at 356mhz fsb and it's mounting system is absolutely fantastic. Mishima's a great advocate of the Noctua range and i'd have to agree on the basis of the quality of this little cooler.

The thermalright's are supposed to be good too but there are a couple of reviews that hint at it being a little unstable once mounted!

Zalmans seem good also but my vote would be the Noctua... a little pricey but worth it! :)

gt
 
stinka said:
ive been wondering about this as my evga 680i gets hot and the nb fan is so noisey

how do you get the old heat sink off witout damaging anyting?

cheers

stinka
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Hi Stinka,

I'm actually getting a 680i next week and have been looking into this as i've heard the stock cooler is loud - the only problem is that it has a 4pin mounting solution!

It turns out that the Noctua is compatible and due to it's mounting sytem i don't doubt that it will be incredibly stable, very effective and totally quiet! :)

The downside is that the Stock Northbridge cooler also cools the southbridge via a heatpipe. There is an official EVGA fan cooled heatsink for use in the event of a water cooling application but it is not available in the UK and as far as i can tell the only US suppliers that stock it require a credit card payment (i'm debit all the way) which is a no go. :mad:

Some use the SLi version of the HR-05 cooler but as i have a heavily modified GX2 there's just not room for it! :(

Instead i have ordered an Enzotech forged copper heatsink from the US which hopefully will cope with the heat output of the chip.

gt
 
Yup, my HR-05 is a tad unstable, however when it is on, it does cool pretty damm well, especially when you strap a fan to it. (a 60mm Akasa Amber for me). Im just wondering if the Noctuna mounting mechanism works with it.
 
dante6491 said:
Yup, my HR-05 is a tad unstable, however when it is on, it does cool pretty damm well, especially when you strap a fan to it. (a 60mm Akasa Amber for me). Im just wondering if the Noctuna mounting mechanism works with it.
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Hey Dante,

You get your kit all up and running? I still have the CFX if you want it? ;)

Anyway, the Noctua will fit any pin spacing over quite a broad range! I was very impressed with how simple it was. Plus the pin mount actually screws into the noctua's copper base to provide even more stability.

Having changed the Northbridge on an SLi-DR i would say without hesitation that the Noctua will fit your DFI. I don't know about fan mounting... there is a ridge down the Noctua's cooling fins that suggests a fan mount of some sort but no fan brackets are supplied with it!

gt
 
Are we sure that these temps aren't gonna damage our DS3 northbridges? Mine is running at 450FSB and the NB is literally too hot to touch under load, I'd put it at 70-80degC. Might stick a fan on it - it's worrying me.
 
Mattus said:
Are we sure that these temps aren't gonna damage our DS3 northbridges? Mine is running at 450FSB and the NB is literally too hot to touch under load, I'd put it at 70-80degC. Might stick a fan on it - it's worrying me.
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Do that or get a better cooler. A fan plus postage is about half what the Noctua delivered works out to be. I know what i'd choose! ;)

gt
 
Hiper are saying it is a problem with the motherboard, DFi are saying it is a problem with the power supply. Still awaiting emails from both.
 
dante6491 said:
Hiper are saying it is a problem with the motherboard, DFi are saying it is a problem with the power supply. Still awaiting emails from both.
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Love it when companies start blaming one another like that! Soooo professional! :rolleyes:

Hope you get it sorted!

gt
 
stinka said:
ive been wondering about this as my evga 680i gets hot and the nb fan is so noisey

how do you get the old heat sink off witout damaging anyting?

cheers

stinka
Click to expand...

Chisel and lump hammer. Unless you have an SDS-Plus drill with rotary stop . . . ;) :D
 
Even running at stock it was really toasty so I just strapped a 40mm x 20mm Akasa low noise fan onto the NB of my DS3P. Think the fan is rated at 25dB but I can't hear it when it's in the case, plus my mobo now has a deep blue glow as the fans have some pouncy blue LEDs on it. :)
 
My computer is pretty quiet and I hate whiney 40mm fans. I might rig up a low-speed 80mm and have it cooling the RAM and mobo components as well as the NB. Good plan?
 
Mattus said:
My computer is pretty quiet and I hate whiney 40mm fans. I might rig up a low-speed 80mm and have it cooling the RAM and mobo components as well as the NB. Good plan?
Click to expand...
Did something like that on my old SLi DR and it worked wonders. Temps on the CPU's power section plummeted from 70 degrees down to 45!

Give it a try!

gt
 
Hello all. Thought my rig was gonna be quiet (purchased a Zalman 9700, Seagate Barracuda HDD etc

How the Fan on my 680i (evga) is driving me crazy. Do I need it on?
 
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