Originally posted by: Hulk
I'm looking to build a new system around the A8N-E and have heard that the motherboard fan is pretty loud. I've also heard there is a new lower rpm fan on the newer boards.
Would I be able to hear this fan inside a Sonata II case? I do a lot of audio work so I do need it pretty quiet. Not silent but pretty quiet.
Can I replace the fan with a quieter one or even better yet a passive heatsink of some sort? Could you point me in the right direction here. This is my first AMD build.
Good question -- and you know what? I'm in the exact same boat you are! So I'll share with you and others my findings.
I purchased an A8N-E, an AMD X2 3800+ (my first AMD since their 486 series back in 1996!), and the Zalman NB-47J as a "just-in-case" purchase, since like you I had read that the chipset fan was loud (I could always return it if I didn't need it).
I built a portion of the system this morning -- no case, no ATX power header, no hard disks or CD/DVD, no video card. I completely forgot that AMD systems use DDR and not DDR2 RAM, so I thought I was screwed since all I had was DDR2 RAM. Then I found some DDR-400 RAM laying around in a box I had, but was marked bad (memory tests had failed a few times). I threw it in there just to get the system up and running. For the CPU, I chose to use the stock AMD sink + fan, as again this is my first AMD in quite a long time...
Without the Zalman, in a room with no other electronics or PCs in it, the chipset fan was the loudest thing there was. To give you an idea of the difference:
The AMD CPU fan has a "whoosh" noise, which is usually acceptable since it doesn't have a whine or a loud hum/buzz to it.
The Asus chipset fan, however, has an uncomfortable noise to it. It's obviously running at a higher RPM than it should (in my opinion), and the fact that it's enclosed in a little metal sink/container doesn't help airflow noise at all. The noise is somewhat high-pitch, and also exhibits a buzzing noise at the same time; very hard to describe. I found it to be annoying.
With both the CPU fan and the chipset fan going, the Asus fan easily trumped (noise-wise) the CPU fan. I could hear the chipset fan over the CPU fan hands down. I know my ears quite well *grin*, so I knew ahead of time that the noise was going to drive me batty once installed in a PC case...
So I chose to install the Zalman sink.
The first thing I'll tell you is, removing the Asus chipset sink+fan was not that difficult. Historically, I've run into a lot of trouble getting those little plastic prongs to fit through the excessively small motherboard mounting hole. This time, it wasn't that bad, which I was thankful for.
What I was greeted with, however, was pretty pathetic.
The Asus chipset sink is affixed to the Northbridge using some sort-of white-pink "glue pad". Since the Northbridge core actually sticks up off of the die a little bit, Asus decided to stick a black sticky-backed pad with a hole in it across the top of the Northbridge, then set the sink on top of that. My guess is that this is used to make sure that their cheap sink doesn't touch some of the exposed resistors on the actual Northbridge.
To make matters worse, the thermal paste was applied *horribly*. It was all over the place, including the backside of the black pad (yes, on the glue!). Part-of the white-pink "glue pad" was also attached to the Northbridge, mixed with thermal compound. The end result was a gigantic mess.
Needless to say, I consider all of this incredibly sub-par quality, even from Asus. There are much more effective ways to do what they're doing. For starters, Asus, please stop using GLUE-BASED pads on your sinks. There's no reason for this, since the sink is already attached to the mainboard using springed tension clips.
So how did I clean it?
I used Q-tips and 99% Isopropyl alcohol. It took me about 15 minutes and lots of Q-tips to clean the top of the Northbridge (just the part that sticks out of the die where the glue pad was attached! DO NOT clean the green portion of the Northbridge!), and I was finally greeted with the nVidia NF4 Ultra silkscreen text.
Assembling the Zalman sink wasn't that hard. But, I'll give you some tips to make your life easier:
DO NOT install the black plastic spring tension clips through the holes in the little metal "arms" like the instructions say: at least not initially! Do it once you've found the perfect positioning for the metal "arms", and screw them down nice and tight! Getting those little black tension clips out of the holes in the "arms" is a real pain, especially when you need to flip the "arms" over. Hard to explain via text, but if you buy the sink, you'll know exactly what I mean when you see it.
Also, you DO NOT need very much heatsink compound. Zalman gives you quite a small bottle of it, but you only need about 1/100th of what's in that bottle. Keep that in mind. Don't make a mess!
I find the Zalman sink construction to be pretty shoddy as well, just for the record. Using nuts and screws that *slide into the sink* via grooves? Ghetto. Zalman, please come up with something that's pre-assembled and still user-adjustable and doesn't involve nuts+screws which are as small as those used in a set of spectacles.
The remaining question you have is: what about heat? How hot does the passive heatsink get?
It gets hot. I can hold it with my fingers for awhile, but compared to the Asus sink+fan, yes, it's definitely much hotter.
But remember: my system isn't running an OS, and it's probably sitting there barely POST-ing (since it lacks a video card!). It's safe to say that in a long-term gaming session, the Zalman sink is going to practically melt. Am I worried? Yes. So...
With that said, I want to know if someone knows of a miniature fan that can be attached (somehow) to the NB-47J, and powered off of a standard 3-pin fan header on the motherboard?
Such a fan would REALLY help out with this sink when used on the NF4 Ultra Northbridge. The fan DOES NOT need to run at higher than (at max) 1400rpm. All it'd be used for is to cool the sink down a little bit.
Hope this helps you out, Hulk!
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