8RDA+ northbridge overheating?

pspada

Platinum Member
Dec 23, 2002
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I seem to be having a problem with my northbridge. When I put the cover back on my machine, my sound, and then my ethernet, start acting up. I've disabled the sound and lan on the motherboard, put in a SB Live and Intel Pro 100+, put the cover back on, and it works just fine.

I removed the hs on the northbridge, removed the pad, and used thermal transfer goop instead. The hs gets very hot to the touch. Anyone else had similar issues?
 

SpideyCU

Golden Member
Nov 17, 2000
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Yes, I have (well, not the instability, but the heat experience when putting AS3 on the NB), but now that the HS is getting hot, should means it's tranferring heat better than before - might alleviate your problems?
 

Blooz1

Senior member
Jan 14, 2003
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Many people have, that's why they all went out and either went active cooling for the NB with the Icebergs, etc..., or got the Zalman passive coolers to replace the stock POS!

I have a Rev. 1.1 with the A1/C1, and before I installed my board, I took the stock NB sink off and lapped it. That thing is nowhere near flat! I spent 3-4 hours of work before it was remotely acceptable for use. The stock "thermal pad" was thrown away, and I installed a nice layer of AS Ceramique before the HS went back on.

The A1 stepping seems to run cooler than the older versions. I haven't had any of the problems reported by other people with the NB overheating until the recent heat wave. I "downshifted" my OC to get cooler temps using less voltage for a while, as I run SETI 24/7 on this system.

The problems you are experiencing sound like they are more related to the SB... Do you have any type of HS on it? A passive cooler has been the answer for most people to correct such problems.
 

pspada

Platinum Member
Dec 23, 2002
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Nope, but the southbridge never seems to get hot at all. I can touch it while the machine is running, and it is only slightly warm, whereas the northbridge hs is very hot to the touch.

I am runnning my 2500+ at 10x200, but using the stock voltage, and I can't see how that would cause the problem. I'll pick up a hsf combo from Fry's to replace the standard hs the next time I'm over there, and see if that helps the problems.
 

pspada

Platinum Member
Dec 23, 2002
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I've screwed an old processor fan onto the standard northbridge hs. My "case" or ambient temp dropped instantly to less than 20c. I've put the case back together, and I'll update on LAN and soundstorm problems after running it for a while.

EDIT: old processor fan slowed down to about 2 rpm, so I put a new, larger processor fan in, connected to one of the m/b fan power outs.
 

Iron Woode

Elite Member
Super Moderator
Oct 10, 1999
31,081
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I used a Vantec CCB-A1C chipset cooler kit. It works great. Plus the copper really looks cool on my 8RDA+.
 

pspada

Platinum Member
Dec 23, 2002
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I'll be getting something, that's for sure. I had to open the case up again cause things stopped working properly. You think the Fry's special $8.99 dealie will work?
 

bootoo

Senior member
Apr 13, 2002
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The iceberg sets are cheaper than that at svc (course you have to pay shipping but they're light).
 

Blooz1

Senior member
Jan 14, 2003
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Cicconet, how is that NorthPole working out for you? I've been looking at that thing myself, but haven't seen any "real-world" results from actual users yet! Those sinks that come with it are sweet, too....
 

pspada

Platinum Member
Dec 23, 2002
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Of course we know from your handle that you are indeed insane. Doesn't seem to quite fit you perfectly, as it appears that you are to insane as insane is to normal. :evil:

In any case, I'm going to put a Thermaltake "crystal orb" on my 8RDA+ northbridge Monday, at the same time I upgrade my 2500+ to a 2700+. With luck it will stop the LAN and sound issues from occuring.
 

Insane3D

Elite Member
May 24, 2000
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Originally posted by: pspada
Of course we know from your handle that you are indeed insane. Doesn't seem to quite fit you perfectly, as it appears that you are to insane as insane is to normal. :evil:

In any case, I'm going to put a Thermaltake "crystal orb" on my 8RDA+ northbridge Monday, at the same time I upgrade my 2500+ to a 2700+. With luck it will stop the LAN and sound issues from occuring.

Guilty as charged? ;)

Seriously though, I have a feeling your sound and NIC issues are more likely to be a result of a lack of SB cooling. I have gone through 4 8RDA+'s and every single one, and my Abit NF7-S, all have SB's that run hot hot. The APU and the MAC for the NIC are all part of the SB. :)

If that crystal orb doesn't help out, try mounting it on the SB...it has the holes around it to mount one. :)
 

pspada

Platinum Member
Dec 23, 2002
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Gonna move the standard NB hs to the SB. But my southbridge runs cool even under load. I can (under static free conditions, of course) touch the sb chip, and it is not even warm. but when sensor Winbond 3 under MBM5 hits 36c, thats when the lan dies.
 

NesuD

Diamond Member
Oct 9, 1999
4,999
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Hey Insane. I have one of those swifties sitting around doing nothing. How did you secure it to the NB?
 

Insane3D

Elite Member
May 24, 2000
19,446
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Originally posted by: NesuD
Hey Insane. I have one of those swifties sitting around doing nothing. How did you secure it to the NB?


Arctic Silver Adhesive. :)