NF7-S Passive Chipset Cooling Project...

[Insane3D]

I just did a passive chipset cooling mod on my new NF7-S Rev 2.0. Since I am an overclocker at heart, I wanted something that would give me excellent cooling without the noise of an active cooling solution. I had already done a similar mod on an Epox 8RDA+ I have, and it worked out well, so I stuck with the same general plan.

I decided to use the same heatsink I used for my 8RDA+'s NB, this Swiftech MC370 clone. This heatsink is meant for a socket A CPU, and is cheaper than most chipset coolers. I attached it with AS Thermal Adhesive after cleaning off the NB with some alcohol.

For the SB, I used a Zalman passive chipset cooler that I had laying around. The Abit does not have mounting holes around the SB like the 8RDA+ does, so I had to change the plan a bit. I decided to cut off the "feet" of the HS with my dremel. I polished the cut area a bit with the dremel just to avoid any sharp edges. I cleaned off both mating surfaces with rubbing alcohol and attached the HS with AS adhesive.

I haven't really tried cranking the FSB too much yet while I get a feeling for the board, but I am running 200mhz just fine with no noise from the chipset fan. I've got a 2500+ and a couple of 512mb HyperX PC3500 sticks in the board's near future so I'll have a better idea on just how much I can get out of it later on. I did have the board up to 220mhz FSB for a bit of testing and it seemed fine, but I was reaching the limits of the Corsair I have now. The latest bios does allow for up to 300mhz FSB...:Q

Anyways...here are some pics of the mod.


NF7-S Pre-Mods

NB Close-Up

SB Close-Up

NF7-S Next To HS

Completed Project

NB Mod Close-Up

SB Mod Close-Up

* Pics are not 56K friendly

Now I've got a digital audio mod to get to...

 

[ScrapSilicon]

 

[Megatomic]

Nice work dude, I wouldn't have thought that MC370 would have fit there... And it was a smart move to cool the SB chip. I have done the same to my 8RDA+ and honestly, I think my audio performance was affected the most by the cooler. So many people complain about crackling audio but I have never had ONE problem with my audio. I'll chalk that up to cooling the SB chip.

I'm sticking with the stock EPoX NB cooler though. I've decided to stay at 333MHz FSB so I don't need a massive cooler. I did replace the TIM pad with ASIII, and good thing too. The heatsink felt much hotter after I did that, I don't think the TIM pad was conducting the heat to the heatsink very well.

 

[Insane3D]

Yeah, the SB does get quite hot, especially @ 200mhz+ FSB.

 

[Insane3D]

Bump for the evening...

:beer:

 

[KennyH]

Very nice

 

[DanStp]

Looks like good ideas for my ASUS board. Great work there. How hard is it to remove the HS's if you have to using that Artic Silver adhesive?

 

[Insane3D]

Originally posted by: DanStp
Looks like good ideas for my ASUS board. Great work there. How hard is it to remove the HS's if you have to using that Artic Silver adhesive?

Well, the Artic silver adhesive is generally permanent. However, I've found if you use a fairly thin layer, the bond can be broken with a little force. There are also instructions on AS's site that involve mixing in a certain amount of AS3 paste to make weaken the bond as well...



Well, I'm still testing, but I am running 220mhz FSB/Mem now with CL2 right now....and Prime is still chugging..

 

[infinite012]

I did a similar mod to my A7N8X Deluxe this week. Went real smooth and the southbridge is really warm. I removed the stock northbridge heatsink, lapped it to a nice shine, tried to stick it on to the southbridge, but the stuff that came with the zalman zm-nb32 hardened, so I had to use just thermal adhesive B and its all wiggly on the chipset. I used AS3 on the nb32 for the northbridge along with the push thingies that go through the motherboard.

Whats the lowest price of as thermal adhesive and could you please post a link? I'd be really grateful.

 

[Insane3D]

I'm not sure if it's the lowest price, but I got my AS Adhesive here for $12.


You will likely never need to buy any more of it....

 

[Auric]

When fitting my Radeon 8500 with a large passive HS, I used a tidgy dab of Kooky (TM) glue (aka Crazy aka Super) on each corner and regular thermal compound in the middle.

 

[Insane3D]

Originally posted by: Auric
When fitting my Radeon 8500 with a large passive HS, I used a tidgy dab of Kooky (TM) glue (aka Crazy aka Super) on each corner and regular thermal compound in the middle.

Yep, that will work too. With a larger HS like the ones I used though, I don't trust the little small contact areas in the corner to hold the HS on. I would prefer a even layer of thermal adhesive cvering the whole contact area. Personal preference though...

 

[Insane3D]

Bump for the interested..

 

[stncttr908]

Practical, and it looks good too. Nice work.

 

[Auric]

Originally posted by: Insane3D

Originally posted by: Auric
When fitting my Radeon 8500 with a large passive HS, I used a tidgy dab of Kooky (TM) glue (aka Crazy aka Super) on each corner and regular thermal compound in the middle.

Yep, that will work too. With a larger HS like the ones I used though, I don't trust the little small contact areas in the corner to hold the HS on. I would prefer a even layer of thermal adhesive cvering the whole contact area. Personal preference though...

Ah so. After I thunk aboot it, I remember the R200 core had plastic packaging that I placed the glue on so no loss in thermal area. Intel's FCPGA NB chipset would be tricky to use any adhesive with, but I suppose mounting holes are usually supplied.

 

[Davegod]

whoa thats some northbridge cooler.

wouldnt the zalman have been sufficient? thats what its intended for anyway, and most places say the northbridge fans arent necessary... Epox 8RDA3+ has no fan and a HS smaller than the zalman...

 

[Insane3D]

Originally posted by: Davegod
whoa thats some northbridge cooler.

wouldnt the zalman have been sufficient? thats what its intended for anyway, and most places say the northbridge fans arent necessary... Epox 8RDA3+ has no fan and a HS smaller than the zalman...

The Nforce chipset is an exception to the cooling needed or not rule. Get a Nforce2 board and run it at high FSB's and try to touch either the SB or the NB...have some cold water nearby to soothe your burn.

Also, you likely don't need a large or active cooling solution on an Nforce2 board that is run @ 133mhz or 166mhz FSB, but the higher you go, the more it is needed. I am running the Abit @ 220mhz FSB now, and the NB is putting out enough heat to keep that entire HS warm, even with the light breeze blowing over it from my window mounted Panaflo L1A.

 

[DAPUNISHER]

Sweet mod, and great price on the swiftech clone

 

[joshg]

OK... so why are there boards like the new EPoX 8RDA3+ which support "Ultra 400" aka 400 (200x2) FSB Bartons, yet they have passive cooling on the NB?

 

[Insane3D]

Originally posted by: joshg
OK... so why are there boards like the new EPoX 8RDA3+ which support "Ultra 400" aka 400 (200x2) FSB Bartons, yet they have passive cooling on the NB?

Well, they will work with a small passive cooler, but I feel they are inadequate once the FSB gets up near 200mhz. The round passive coolers Epox uses are much thicker than the original ones they started using with the KT333 based 8K5A2+. I am assuming this is due to the extra heat the NF2 puts out, otherwise they would still be using the smaller, and likely cheaper passive cooler they used to use. Also, with Epox, the name of the game is to keep prices low, and it is probably cheaper to use a passive cooler than a active one.

You also might have noticed that on the 8RDA3+, they added a SB cooler....

 

[Davegod]

hmm, not convinced theres really any need for active cooling... and here everywhere sells the 8RDA3+ for more than the NF7-S, so i'm not sure i'd consider them the cheapskate brand either.

not to totally crap on your mod though, i was looking at both boards and was told the NF7-s is a little better, but was edging towards the epox for the less noise.

 

[Corporate Thug]

very nice

 

[pspada]

Dude, you are completely and utterly insane. And my hero. So here's my story:

I just got one of the newer rev 1.1 c1/a3 8DRA+ for my 2500+, running @ 10x200fsb. Right away I removed the thermal pad on the nb's hs for thermal goop, and closed my system back up. I started having problems with the soundstorm, so I stuck a soundbastard live in, which worked fine. Then I started having problems with the onboard lan, so I put an Intel NIC in, which also worked fine. While doing so I checked the southbridge chip to see if it needed a hs or hsf - and the chip is not even discernibly warm to the touch under load. However, the northbridge hs is almost too hot to touch at all. More telling, the lan starts working after I open the case and reboot.

So I took the fan off of a new OEM celeron hsf, and screw it into the northbridge hs. Close the case, and both sound and lan appear to now work without issue.

You'll have to ask if you require pictures. :gift:

 

[Insane3D]

Originally posted by: pspada
Dude, you are completely and utterly insane. And my hero. So here's my story:

I just got one of the newer rev 1.1 c1/a3 8DRA+ for my 2500+, running @ 10x200fsb. Right away I removed the thermal pad on the nb's hs for thermal goop, and closed my system back up. I started having problems with the soundstorm, so I stuck a soundbastard live in, which worked fine. Then I started having problems with the onboard lan, so I put an Intel NIC in, which also worked fine. While doing so I checked the southbridge chip to see if it needed a hs or hsf - and the chip is not even discernibly warm to the touch under load. However, the northbridge hs is almost too hot to touch at all. More telling, the lan starts working after I open the case and reboot.

So I took the fan off of a new OEM celeron hsf, and screw it into the northbridge hs. Close the case, and both sound and lan appear to now work without issue.

You'll have to ask if you require pictures. :gift:

Nice job! Glad to hear it worked out for you.