NF4 SLI-DR Chipset Temp question

[Zorkwiz]

Hey again guys, I had asked before about the procedure for removing my chipset fan/HS in order to re-apply it with some AS 5. I plan to do this switch in the near future, but my RMAd RAM came in today and I'd like to fiddle around some with that before I go ahead and take the whole board out of my case and attempt the procedure.

 

My question for the short term is, with the NF4 SLI-DR, at what temp for the chipset should I start to worry about possible damage? I'm currently running idle at 47c on the chipset, and when I've rune some tests like Prime95 or played Doom 3 or something for a couple hours, I see temps approaching 60c. These are all temps taken from Smardguardian/Speedfan from the internal sensors.

 

Is 60c and above something to seriously worry about? I don't want to try to push the system at all past stock until I'm confident I'm not gonna fry the north bridge or anything.

 

Thankns again in advance for your advice.

 

-Pete

[Zorkwiz]

The only issue I'd have with completely replacing the HS/fan for the chipset is that my 6800GT is very close to the current fan. Do you know for sure that the vantec fan is the same height?

 

Also, before I even try this is there reason for concern that my temps are so high to begin with? If the high idle temps could be an indicator of problems with my particular northbridge to begin with, I'd rather see what DFI has to say before I go voiding my warrantee.

 

-Pete

[magg]

The DFI chipsets are known for running hot. Running >40C is not a bad thing [obviously, cooler is always better], but it doesn't "drastically reduce your chipset's life". Something like 60C definately will though. At what speed do you have your chipset fan kick in at full? Set it at 50C and see if it makes a difference.

 

For me, here's what I did:

http://www.dfi-street.com/forum/showthread.php?t=9153

 

Worked for a lot of people.

[Zorkwiz]

I checked out your post, looks like a nice idea for smaller cases, but in my PC-1200 Lian-li, which is extra deep for EATX motherboards, the chipset fan is a full 8 inches from my drive bays. I wish I could add pics but I don't have a camera handy right now.

 

Currently with my case wide open and a room temp fairly cool around 60-65F I'd say, it's idling at 46c for the chipset., with CPU at 38 and 41 for the other sensor.

 

I'm running some tests now with the case open/closed at various levels of use and I'll report my results in a little bit.

 

-Pete

[magg]

Ahh, that's unfortunate. Nice case though, must have cost you a pretty penny. Good luck with your tests, when you post results we'll see what we can do

[Zorkwiz]

Here are my results from my preliminary testing:

 

Case cover OFF:

 

Running Prime 95 - 38c CPU, 41c PWMIC, 47c Chipset

 

Case cover ON:

 

Idle - 30c CPU, 36c PWMIC, 47c Chipset

 

Prime95 - 40c CPU, 44c PWMIC, 49c Chipset

 

3dMark 05 (Max temps during game tests) - 39c CPU, 42c PWMIC, 52c Chipset

 

3dMark 05 (Max temps during CPU tests) - 40c CPU, 43c PWMIC, 48c Chipset

 

 

Based on these tests, I have come to the conclusion that the extra high chipset temps I experienced yesterday (nearly 60c) are probably caused by 2 factors.

 

1. Ambient Room temp (I have a large AV system including a 100W x7 Reciever, and a DLP projector) plus my windows were closed due to rainy weather. This probably increased the room temp by 10 degrees F higher than they are now.

 

2. Case design. The Lian-Li PC-V1200 case that I use orients the motherboard upside down compared to standard AXT cases. This causes the graphics card fan to blow the hot air upwards, which is not well ventilated away from the chipset, in fact, it like'y hits the top of the case and circulated back toward the drive bays right over the chipset fan.

 

 

Thanks to these discoveries, I'm going to try instaling a PCI-slot exhaust fan above my GPU, which should hopefully suck out some of the hot air from the graphics card before it is recirculated across the chipset.

 

I'll let you guys know if this helps with the high chipset temps I saw during the 3dMark05 game tests.

 

-Pete

[Zorkwiz]

After installing the PCI-slot exhaust fan above the GPU, chipset temps seem to have dropped maybe a degree or 2 max, which was less than I hoped for, but at least it's something. I think if I do the AS5 mod to the chipset heatsink/fan, and can get a few degrees lower with that, that I'll be safely under the 50c threshold under normal ambient temps, which I'd be happy with, so I'll prolly go that route later this week.

 

-Pete

[Guest scaramonga]

I've removed mine...........and theres NOTHIN on the core and nothin on the base of the HSF!! ....apart from an edge of foam......???:dog:

 

What about removing the foam and applying a small amount of Arctic 5??

 

With the HSF sitting directly on the core??

[Zorkwiz]

I'd love to hear someone's thoughts about scaramonga's question as well, is there any reason to leave the square pad on the chipset if all it really will do is make it difficult to get a good thermal connection between the chip and heatsink using AS5?

 

As an aside, I just ran some more demos and benchmarks with the exhaust fan inatalled and got the chipset up to 53c at stock, so I'm questioning whether the added fan makes much difference.

 

-Pete

[oliveryochest]

i cleaned the whole thing off of the chipset heatsink with arctic cleaner. then put AS5. my temps went down -7. now im at 41-43

[pers]

I was having awful chipset temperatures (51 to 58). So today I decided to have a look at the fan. I removed the fan and to my horror found a tab that hadnt been removed during manufacture. I removed the tab and discovered some thermal compound. After poping the fan back on my chipset is now 41 to 43.

 

Maybe its a wise move checking the fan out if you havent already. Just incase you also have some paper tab keeping the chipset cool

[Ubermann]

I took mine off and grinded the HS on chipset, wasnt that flat.

Put some cheap grease on and it stays below 40c