Northbridge hotter with goo.

[EvilDonnyboy]

I wanted to make my northbridge cooler, even tho it waz only running at a decent 30C. I put on a paper-thin layer of some decent qualtiy silicon goo and booted up.

end result is a northbridge temp of 35C. I think that green HS was actually INSULATING the northbridge from the hot 50C air from my CPU fan before i put the goo on. So the hot 50C air is heating up the green HS, and thanks to the silicon goo, the green hs is efficiently heating up the northbridge.

 

[MC]

hehe, that's interesting.

Ever think of putting a small fan on it?

 

[Howard]

I guess in your case it would be best to leave your Northbridge without a heatsink and goo free, so the ambient heat can't touch it. Or, you could cut a hole in your case and put in a fan, aiming at the North bridge

 

[jamarno]

You have to press the heatsink against the chip to make the silicone layer very thin for good conduction. It's also necessary for the heatsink to be of adequate capacity because the small 99-cent stamped ones at Radio Shack may allow the temperature to rise over 25C per watt, while their extruded, multifin $1.49 heatsink may cut that in half. The chip without a heatsink is probably rated 50-70C per watt, but any chip running at only 30C requires absolutely no heatsinking unless you're overclocking and have stability problems. 50C is actually cool for a chip, and it's not until the heat gets to at least 60C or even 70C that longevity starts to be compromised.

I'm assuming that the goo you're referring to is silicone rubber sealant because silicone grease must never be used unless the heatsink is fastened mechanically.

I hate to say it, but you people sometimes worry far, far too much about heat.

 

[Gstanfor]

How are you measuring the heat from the northbridge?

You silicone grease appears to be doing its job nicely - more heat from the northbridge is being transferred into the heatsink, therefore the heatsink is becoming warmer (instead of the chip).

Regards

Greg

 

[Homer]

Presumably you're measuring temp from the northbridge chip sensor itself. Reversing the HSF fan direction might help, so's you'd be sucking air in through the sides of the HS, and blowing it out the top. Some HSF's are supposed to work this way. Mind you there's a chance that you'd be exchanging one problem for another, what with hot air from the chipset being drawn over the CPU. I have a TennMax Lasagna on my BX chipset (MSI BXMaster, PIII 650 @ 866) and that does squat to cool it vs. the little green HS that came with the board. Can't fit a Blorb or anything else under my overhanging CPU HSF, and am having a similar experience, with temps as high as 43C under load. I also figure that the boxed-in corner formed by my Slot 1 processor, my video card, and the motherboard contribute to poor air circulation at that point. A blowhole or a duct pointed right at that location might help my problem, don't know about yours...

Nice OC, BTW