Northbridge cooling fan is dying--What to do?

[Banana]

My "new" Epox 8KHA+ refurbished mobo from NewEgg has a cooling fan on the Northbridge that's about to croak--it's making a horrible grinding sound when the computer is started.

Question: Should I replace the fan? I'm hoping that the heatsink alone is good enough for the Northbridge. If I go without a fan, should I switch to a heftier heatsink?

TIA. 1YP

 

[bockchow]

get this heatsink

 

[shurato]

Don't take the chance of leaving it without a functional fan. You can get replacement fans, or you could try getting one of those zalman heatsinks (i think thats the brand) to replace the cheapo one that came with the mobo. FANS on the northbridge are not necessary and it just adds to a part that can die...mobo manufacturers are wising up to that lately and some are putting just large heatsinks on the NB...like the asus a7v333....btw, my epox 8k7a's NB fan died recently...i only figured it out after my computer started acting REAL funny...apparently NB fans on epox mobo's are prone to failure.

I dunno since its refurbished but EPOX can replace the NB fan for free if its under warrenty. I'm actually in the middle of contacting them for a replacement coincidentally. My epox 8k7a has been nothing but headaches after headaches...im replacing it with an abit kx7 and putting the epox in another box other than my main.

 

[Insane3D]

If you are running default speeds on the 8KHA+, you do not need a NB fan....just a heatsink will do. You can simply unplug your old NB fan and remove the four small screws holding it to the heatsink. Just remove the fan and you are good to go. I have two here that run fine that way...

my epox 8k7a's NB fan died recently...i only figured it out after my computer started acting REAL funny

The AMD 761 Northbridge runs a good deal hotter than the KTXXX chipsets from Via. It can get quite hot at even default speeds.

apparently NB fans on epox mobo's are prone to failure.

Actually no, all NB fans are prone to failure. The mobo manufacturers use the cheapest 45mm fans they can find, usually sleeve bearing ones, and they die early and often. The smaller fans spin @ a very high rate to compensate for their small size, so the sleeve bearings wear out even faster.

 

[TourGuide]

I second what bockchow said. I have the black version of that HS installed on my KR7A-133 and it is great. LARGE, but good quality and now I never have to worry about the fan dying on me again. I suppose I should have gotten the goldie-locks version for a couple more bucks, but hell I'm cheap. The black version works great for me.

 

[Banana]

Thanks for all the advice--I'll look into the Zalman heatsink--one less fan=one less source of noise.

1YP

 

[Mangler]

I agree 100% with Insane3D you really dont need one or need to spend the extra money on that zalman, but then again its your money and it would look kinda cool

 

[CraigRT]

I had a fan go loud on an A7V133 mobo.. what did i do? well since it's useless under normal conditions, i unplugged it. that's it. end of story.

 

[Banana]

Good point. I paid $41 for the mobo. It'd be silly for me to pay $10 for the heatsink IF the dead fan doesn't cause any noticeable problems.

Thanks again to all. 1YP