Is a fan on the northbridge worth it??

[Balex99]

I've got a MSI pro2a and the best i can get is 105 fsb. Has anyone had any luck improving their results by installing a fan on the northbridge heatsink? I know I can't reach the 130s but the 110s would be nice.

 

[Richardito]

My motherboard came with one already, so i don't have before and after experiences to share. But placing a fan ther will definetly help and not hinder your overclock. When overclocking the FSB, make sure that you are using quality memory. Some generic memory sticks can become ustable with the slightest FSB overclock. Never skimp on the memory...

 

[MrThompson]

It helps. My old KT7-R would only do 114 MHz on the FSB. I put a lapped Coolermaster Socket A HSF on the Northbridge and it was stable at 117 MHz. This assumes you have good case cooling. Given these results, I have no more comparison data as all of my KT7 series boards have a Coolermaster HSF on the Northbridge.

Another thing to check is the thermal compound. Northbridge chips are usually concave. Boards are often shipped with a marginal amount of thermal compound to fill the gap.

 

[GundamF91]

if u OC it's worth it. otherwise it's not necessary for daily operation.

 

[Balex99]

Would yall recomend popping off the heatsink thats there and putting on a new hsf or would just adding a fan to the factory heatsink be fine? I'm not sure if I'm comfortable with popping off the factory heatsink. Have never done that before. Oh btw, I'm using crucial cas 2 pc133 memory.

thanks for the replies.

 

[MrThompson]

A complete new HSF would be the best choice. If I have the right board in mind, there are plastic clips that hold the current HS in place. You need to gently squeeze the pins from behind the board while pushing. It's not that hard. You may need to drill out a new HSF and use small self tapping screws to attach it. This is what I do with the Coolermaster HSFs I use. A plastic washer or one made from the lexan in a soda pop bottle should be used between the screw head and the motherboard.

 

[spankyx]

try watercooling!!!

 

[MrThompson]

Unless you have an extreme cooling setup with a chiller, watercooling the Northbridge will add heat to your coolant and raise the CPU temps.

 

[BrunoPuntzJones]

how do you get the things off if they are bonded on there (looking at an epox 8k7a). i cant get this heatsink off my visiontek geforce256 sdr card. it's on there tight

 

[Badbry]

i am using a MSI K7T Pro2-A,And I've been running at 121x13(1573mhz) for 2 months now with no northbridge cooling...

Bryan

 

[cookieman]

I had replace the HSF from the northbridge with a Pentium HSF from which I
had cut a little to not colide with the CPU HS.
The Pentium HSF is much more bigger than the original one and a lot more heavier. It cools better.

I do not OC the FSB right now but I will in the future. I hope it will help then.
I had riched 107 Fsb with the old HSF.

Cheers,

Config:
Abit KT7
Duron 750@900
PC133 noname

 

[buffhr]

also putting a heatsink on the clcokgenerato helps in fsb ocing

 

[jonnyjon]

where is the clock generator located?

I use 8k7a

 

[buffhr]

well on the epox it is located between the agp slot and the dip switches i would ogf pmed you or emailled you about it but those options are not turned on so lets hope you see this it is also called an ics chip by some

 

[cnhoff]

I put the Intel boxed PIII cooler on my northbridge using AS thermal adhesive, and it did not give me any advantage over the stoch hsf on my A7V133!
That's quite disappointing!!!

 

[MrThompson]

There are no guarantees in anything related to overclocking. It's possible your A7V has reached its limits. For a HSF to do it's best on the Northbridge, good case cooling is a must. You should be able to keep your case temps within 1C of ambient.

 

[rogue1979]

Mr Thompson, good explanation, that's exactly what I did to my KT7. My fsb is atcually stable up to 125MHz, but my memory craps out at 157. If you have a northbridge or video heatsink glued on, just put a hair dryer on it and heat it up real good, carefully pry off. For the northbridge at least remove the heatsink and lap it and put some artic silver on it. Put an extra 40 or 50mm fan on it if you have one laying around. Ideally use an old socket 7 heatsink and mount it like Mr Thompson said with a 60mm fan. I did this procedure with my VSA-100 chips on my Voodoo 5, works awesome.