nForce 650i Northbridge unusually hot

[netburst]

Well i kindda need some advise here... I have an ASUS mobo P5N-E SLi, and the northbridge is getting hotter than my CPU... I mean isn't the northbridge suppose to be cooler than the CPU? On stock HS, the temp read ~50C then i changed the sink to CM Blue Ice then the temp droped to ~43C but whats bothering me is that my C2D E6420 is reading ~38C idle and ~40C after 3 hrs gaming... And im using stock HSF...

 

[Zorg]

the northbridge can get pretty hot

 

[Slobogob]

It´s a known problem of the nvidia chipset. Check a few of the 650i board reviews. A lot of people complain about the heat - especially if the chip is only passively cooled. Get a fan or a better passive cooler.

 

[pmr]

Instead of replacing the northbridge hs, you should have attached a 40mm fan on it. The screws fit right between the fins.

The blue ice has a fan, but the hs itself is pretty small.
Put the original hs and steal the fan from the blue ice.

 

[zoner88]

I've read (and I"ve done this), removing the heatsink, cleaning the contact points and use some good heat sink compound. I have the same board and thought that the NB was running decent as it didn't feel very hot, but after replacing the heat sink compount with better stuff, the heatsink gets pretty hot now. To me, this means the heat is transferring from the chip to the heatsink much better. My CPU fan blows down and out of the bottom so hopefully, the airflow is good. MB temps are 42*C at idle and CPU temps are high 20's at idle and never above 50 at load.

 

[netburst]

noted. but if i understand correctly, the stock heatsink with an added fan and a better TIM eg AS5 would perform better than cm blue ice (im using ceramic)?

 

[pmr]

noted. but if i understand correctly, the stock heatsink with an added fan and a better TIM eg AS5 would perform better than cm blue ice (im using ceramic)?

Any goop will do the job, AS5, ASC, Zalman, AC MX-1, etc. Then attach a 40mm fan to the original HS.
It will keep the NB cool even at max NB voltage.

Take a look:

 

[netburst]

ok thanks.. will do.

Cheers