Zalman Fanless Northbridge Cooler Doesn't Cut It!

[Zim]

The stock Northbridge cooler on my Neo4 was a very whiney 8000rpm thing that begged to be replaced, so I stuck in a fanless Zalman ZM-NB47J instead. However, since then my HTT has been limited to 280, whereas before I had no problems hitting 300. This surprised me since I didn't realize the Northbridge got so hot, but it does and it can limit your overclocking if it isn't adequately cooled.

Right now I'm on the verge of re-installing the stock cooler, but will first look around to see if there are any good (and small) active coolers out there. Suggestions welcome.

 

[otispunkmeyer]

yep i dont think its very good either

replaced a dead HSF on my older MSI KT3Ultra 2 and its been unstable ever since. it just doesnt attach tightly enough...its very loose.

 

[Zim]

Originally posted by: otispunkmeyer
yep i dont think its very good either

replaced a dead HSF on my older MSI KT3Ultra 2 and its been unstable ever since. it just doesnt attach tightly enough...its very loose.

If that is your only problem with it, I suggest creating a thin cardboard collar for the NB chip. That will keep the heatsink steady. However, I'm afraid it just isn't a very good cooler. It needs a fan.

 

[Shadowknight]

HTT? What's that? Are you overclocking, or running things at stock speed?

 

[thecoolnessrune]

CoolerMaster NB tower plus Sunon 40x10mm Ball Bearing fan FTW!

 

[Zim]

Originally posted by: Shadowknight
HTT? What's that? Are you overclocking, or running things at stock speed?

On an AMD 64 system the HTT is basically the FSB. Normally the HTT speed is the same speed at the memory (i.e. 200MHz) but you can use dividers to increase the HTT (and thus the CPU speed) while leaving the memory speed low. In my case I want to use a 2:3 divider so that when my memory is at 200MHz my HTT is at 300MHz. With a 9x CPU multiplier I then get a CPU speed of 2.7GHz without having to overclock my memory. The problem is, the higher the HTT, the higher the Northbridge temp. I just can't hit a HTT of 300 with the NB47J cooler.

 

[Zim]

Originally posted by: thecoolnessrune
CoolerMaster NB tower plus Sunon 40x10mm Ball Bearing fan FTW!

I have been looking at that one and am pretty sure I don't have room for it. Pity.

 

[thecoolnessrune]

Oh sorry. Thermalright NB-1 is most likely the second best. If possible try to find the copper version that has since ceased production. But both ar the second and third best chipset coolers there are. And the difference between the copper and aluminum versions is still only about 1-2 degress Celsius most of the time. Warning though. On NF4 chipsets (yours of course) some boards will not worth with the NB-1 because the video card slots are sometimes placed directly in front of the chipset. Which could mean interference.

 

[Zim]

Originally posted by: thecoolnessrune
Oh sorry. Thermalright NB-1 is most likely the second best. If possible try to find the copper version that has since ceased production. But both ar the second and third best chipset coolers there are. And the difference between the copper and aluminum versions is still only about 1-2 degress Celsius most of the time. Warning though. On NF4 chipsets (yours of course) some boards will not worth with the NB-1 because the video card slots are sometimes placed directly in front of the chipset. Which could mean interference.

HERE is an overhead view of my board. While the video card doesn't go right over the NB, it's not far away either.

 

[Skyhanger]

Originally posted by: Zim

Originally posted by: thecoolnessrune
Oh sorry. Thermalright NB-1 is most likely the second best. If possible try to find the copper version that has since ceased production. But both ar the second and third best chipset coolers there are. And the difference between the copper and aluminum versions is still only about 1-2 degress Celsius most of the time. Warning though. On NF4 chipsets (yours of course) some boards will not worth with the NB-1 because the video card slots are sometimes placed directly in front of the chipset. Which could mean interference.

HERE is an overhead view of my board. While the video card doesn't go right over the NB, it's not far away either.

Looks like you might have problems w/ a Arctic Silencer. A Zalman on the other hand should be fine.

 

[thecoolnessrune]

NB-1 will probably fit. I wouldn't even give the Cooler Master a chance though . I say go for the NB-1, and return it if it doesn't fit. You could try the Cooler Master, but i doubt it will work.

EDIT: Take a measure. Go inside your case and measure from the center of your heatsink to where your video card is. If you have preferably 37 mm of room between the center and your vid card, the cooler master will fit. If you cant make 37 but have around 27-30mm of clearence, you can use the NB-1

 

[Zim]

Originally posted by: thecoolnessrune
NB-1 will probably fit. I wouldn't even give the Cooler Master a chance though . I say go for the NB-1, and return it if it doesn't fit. You could try the Cooler Master, but i doubt it will work.

EDIT: Take a measure. Go inside your case and measure from the center of your heatsink to where your video card is. If you have preferably 37 mm of room between the center and your vid card, the cooler master will fit. If you cant make 37 but have around 27-30mm of clearence, you can use the NB-1

The stock cooler is about 42mm in diameter, that would put the center of the NB abour 21mm from the video card. The NB-1 might fit since the widest part is the fan and it is 45mm in diameter.

 

[thecoolnessrune]

Im not sure I understand what you mean. I understan that your saying the stock cooler goes out 21mm from the center, but does that already brush up against the vid card? Or do you have more room?

 

[eljaye925]

Since you already have the 47J mounted, I would suggest 1st trying to get some air to it. I know zalman makes a nice fan bracket (FB123), but maybe you could rig up a mount yourself.

The fan that comes with NB-1 is a screamer, so if noise is an issue...

I'm happy with 47J that's on my Neo2 Plat, but I dont run my FSB as high as you either (10x).

I'm using the upper front 120 intake fan (antec p180) to provide air for the 47J. I made a little duct out of cadboard and mounted it in the upper drive cage to direct the air. Seems to work OK.

good luck.

 

[RallyMaster]

Cooler Master's Blue Ice is very large. It is almost the AC Freezer 64 Pro of NB coolers.

If you must, place a small fan on the Zalman sink. It might just do the trick.

 

[Zim]

Originally posted by: thecoolnessrune
Im not sure I understand what you mean. I understan that your saying the stock cooler goes out 21mm from the center, but does that already brush up against the vid card? Or do you have more room?

I'm assuming there will be a little wiggle room.

Thanks guys. I have a 50mm fan that I may try super-gluing onto the side of the Zalman before dumping it.

 

[thecoolnessrune]

ok then, let us know how it goes.

 

[keldog7]

I put one of the NB47J on my A8NSLI's northbridge, with Ceramique as the interface material (had alot of previously applied white paste, which had to be CAREFULLY removed first). Booted fine after, but temps on the MB were unquestionably higher (sorry, no actual figures, but usually mid 40s under gaming load). These temps were achieved by "jury-rigging" a Nexus 120mm fan at 12V to blow over the NB47J...any sink will definitely need airflow - which is why there was a HSF to begin with... Glueing a 50mm fan to the sink might make your solution as noisy as the original...
Best of luck-
A

 

[Zim]

Originally posted by: keldog7
Glueing a 50mm fan to the sink might make your solution as noisy as the original...

It did.

 

[keldog7]

Sorry to *hear* that... ohh, that even tickled my punny bone.
Really though, get a few tie wraps, and rig a big (and quiet) 92 or 120mm fan blowing at the sink, and it should still work well enough to use. Of course, if your case has to be picture perfect, one of the Zalman fan mounts (which attach to PCI slot) might suit you better. There's one which comes with a decent (though not particularly quiet) 92mm Fan.
-A

 

[RHITee05]

I've been very happy with the 47J on my Neo2. I didn't notice any change in temp or OC ability (currently running 300 HTT at 37C under load). I think the NF4 runs a fair bit hotter than NF3, though. Maybe you can get a little bit more airflow going through the cooler? You might try a little fan at very low RPMs - shouldn't make noticeable noise, but just a little air movement will go a long way in the cooling department. If you're really creative, there's probably a way you can mod the original chipset fan to do the trick...

 

[jm20]

I dont think they were meant for NF3/4, those chipsets seem to run much hotter than say a NF2. On my Abit NF7-S the NB47J seems to run just fine, pretty much 33 degrees solid. Try using a 80MM fan on a bracket with a custom air guide to the cooler.