Does anyone run an NF7-S with the northbridge fan unplugged?

[idea]

Mine has been crapping out a bit. I'm definitely gonna get a Zalman but it's at the bottom of my to-do list. In the mean time; has anyone tried this? If I do, What are the disadvantages of a warm (but stable) north bridge?

 

[Spike]

Originally posted by: idea
Mine has been crapping out a bit. I'm definitely gonna get a Zalman but it's at the bottom of my to-do list. In the mean time; has anyone tried this? If I do, What are the disadvantages of a warm (but stable) north bridge?

I have not been willing to try it. My fan has been making terrible grinding noises so I ordered the Zalman and am installing it tomorrow or Friday. I would not risk running it without the fan on as there is really nothing to move the heat away from the core. If you had a simple ram sink you could put on it in the mean time and direct a case fan at it then that would probably work.

-spike

 

[Tiamat]

Install the zalman. Dont chance it. I have that mobo and the NB is hot.

 

[Spike]

Originally posted by: Tiamat
Install the zalman. Dont chance it. I have that mobo and the NB is hot.

agreed

 

[MX2]

Which Zalman? Mine is going south on me too

 

[Spike]

This one

 

[idea]

I was thinking of the smaller one, the one that is gold in color. The blue one looks like it will interfere with my CPU's heatsink/fan.

I just screwed myself, I was messing around and now the fan won't spin up anymore. Looks like I'll be ordering one earlier than I thought.

 

[Spike]

Originally posted by: idea
I was thinking of the smaller one, the one that is gold in color.

I just screwed myself, I was messing around and now the fan won't spin up anymore. Looks like I'll be ordering one earlier than I thought.

This may sound funny... but give it a good whack before you give up on it. That sometimes temporarily revives a fan so that way you could still run the comp while you wait for your new cooler to arrive. Speaking of that, I would order one TONIGHT so you know it is on the way. A NB is not a funny thing to fry...

-spike

 

[idea]

Yeah I'm on svc.com right now... the blue one looks like it will interfere with my cpu's hsf. I'm also gonna order a gpu cooler for my ti4200 i think... maybe not

 

[Tiamat]

The Blue one is better, although interfers a lil bit with my SLK947U. I simply bent 2 of the tall fins inwards and now it is compatible

 

[Spike]

Originally posted by: Tiamat
The Blue one is better, although interfers a lil bit with my SLK947U. I simply bent 2 of the tall fins inwards and now it is compatible

Did you just use some needle-nose pliers to bend the fins in?

just curious

-spike

 

[Tiamat]

Originally posted by: Spike

Originally posted by: Tiamat
The Blue one is better, although interfers a lil bit with my SLK947U. I simply bent 2 of the tall fins inwards and now it is compatible

Did you just use some needle-nose pliers to bend the fins in?

just curious

-spike

Nope, finding needle-nose pliers was too much effort :laugh:

I just pushed in the fins with my thumb

 

[Batman5177]

i have run my nf7-s with my northbridge fan unplugged for a year now. i have absolutely no problems at all, no freezing in windows or games, and no problems with the cpu temperature.

i have tried to replace my nb fan with the blue zalman heatsink (ZM-NB47J), but it kept failing prime, within a minute or so. yes, i did clean off the old thermal goop and put new AS5 on it. i put the stock nb fan back on with the fan unplugged, and it will prime forever. my fsb is at 220 by the way.

 

[idea]

That doesn't sound right. Does it sound right to you? Your stock heatsink (piece of crap to begin with, plus it needs a fan to be cooled properly) performs better than a zalman fanless heatsink?

 

[Cawchy87]

nope, doesn't sound right at all.

I just made the switch to the zalman today. It worked fine with my ALX 800U... but barely. It was a hassle to take my mobo out, but after it was out, it took mabye 5 minutes.

Good investment imo.

 

[Batman5177]

it doesnt sound right to me either, but i have tried more than once with the zalman. every time i clean the old goop off, and apply fresh AS5. i check, double check, even use a flashlight to make sure there's no gap. and every time, prime locks up within a minute. once i put the stock one back on (fresh AS5), even without the fan, it runs fine. it's been running for a year with no problems.

i actually got the idea of running it without the fan from someone who posted their test result of running it with and without the fan. he measured the temperature the same with the fan on and off.

that didnt make sense to me either, but what the hey, mine works fine now too.

 

[idea]

Yeah whatever works I guess.

Cawchy87, do I *HAVE* to take the mobo out? What a pain in the ass.

 

[hafa]

FWIW, When my fan started making noise, I disassembled it (no need to remove the m/b) and put a tiny bit of SAE30 motor oil on the ends of the fan shaft, reassembled it and it's been running quiet and happy for the last 8 months. You may wish to try this until your new one comes in.

 

[xbassman]

Originally posted by: idea
That doesn't sound right. Does it sound right to you? Your stock heatsink (piece of crap to begin with, plus it needs a fan to be cooled properly) performs better than a zalman fanless heatsink?

The Zalman needs airflow to work...... If it's not getting it from the CPU fan or case fans it maked perfect sense.

If you want to fix your fan on the cheap. Get some light oil. (3-in-1 or someting like it) Peel the sticker back and put a drop in. Spin the fan a bit with some compressed air. Then remove any excess oil with a tissue. You may need a little Super Glue to get the sticker to stay down.

I fixed 2 video card fans this way last night.

and For reference I have the blue Zalman on my NF7-M with a Thermalright SLK-800U. You can play with the mounting distances a bit. pic

 

[o2bthecream]

xbassman - what kind of NB temps are you getting with that setup? My nf7-s fan just crapped out on me and im looking to replace it. Thanks in advance.

-o2bthecream

 

[xbassman]

Originally posted by: o2bthecream
xbassman - what kind of NB temps are you getting with that setup? My nf7-s fan just crapped out on me and im looking to replace it. Thanks in advance.

-o2bthecream

Well, I am not sure what my exact NB temps are, but my temps right this second are 25C case - 45C cpu.
I am @ 100% load running United Devices client. (Prime95 doesn't load the cpu as much.)

My case fans are @ 7 volts.

 

[northerner]

my stock nb fan started dying a few months after i built my system, started making noise and it did stop a few times but never affected my pc. but i did order a vantec fan which works fantastic and was way cheap!
i have a spare new nf7-s sitting in a box waiting for my next build (whenever that will be) and alongside it is a brand new vantec fan ready for installation before the board goes into a case!

http://www.newegg.com/app/view...tion=35-110-103&depa=0

 

[o2bthecream]

nv i just dismantled the northbridge hsf and poured some 3in1 oil into it. Works just like new.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

I'm always looking for ways to enhance cooling -- even "lo-tech".

The Zalman chipset cooler is of such a design that it looks something similar to what I've seen on an MSI FATAL1TY motherboard. There is probably a way to affix a 40x10mm fan to the Zalman such that the exhaust blows across it.

That being said, the choice of your CPU cooler is going to affect the way a passive chipset heatsink cools, or whether you even NEED a chipset fan.

When I replaced the SUNON I was using on my XP120 with a triple-blade DELTA, the chipset temperature (measured by thermal sensor taped at the chipset-heatsink bottom) dropped another three or four degrees fahrenheit. This by increasing the fan speed (60% of full at . . ) idle setting by 900 rpm over the what waas used for the SUNON. The DELTA throughput at only 90% of full (load setting) is so high that load chipset temperatures aren't significantly different from idle.

The XP120 is one of the best CPU coolers for overwhelming a chipset heatsink with airflow. I'm still using the stock passive (heatsink) cooler on my ASUS P4P800.

 

[Granorense]

Originally posted by: Spike
This one

That's what I got and it works great.