Question about DS3 North bridge cooling...

[robx46]

Just got the Gigabyte DS3 board and I'm wondering if you overclockers that have this board do anything special to cool the north bridge (and even the south bridge).

I get a system temp of 39c on idle, which fluctuates a few degrees lower and higher.

I'm not sure where the SYS temp probe is located, but I'm assuming that it is on or near the north bridge.
Maybe somebody can tell me where it is.

Anyhow, also just got an e6600 and its running great and quite cool, not worried about that.
But I'm going to start to overclock and I'm wondering if it is OK to put AS Ceramique on the north and south bridges.
Is it worth it? Will it help?

If not, what are some other cheap solutions? I say cheap because I'm not even 100% sure they are running hot. Because, like I said, I'm not even sure where that SYS temp probe is.
I've just heard that the north bridge runs hot on this board.

Are there any other temp probes on the board other than cpu and sys? I'm using Everest to track those temps, but I'm wondering if some other application might find more probes and be more specific about what they are.

Any advice on this is appreciated. I have enough Ceramique so it won't hurt to paste both bridges. However, I would like to make sure it at least won't make them hotter or screw something up or if it simply isn't worth it and I need a better solution. Not sure what kind of factory paste is used on the bridges or if its any good.

 

[xciter]

Try speed fan for monitoring. AS5 will bring down the temperatures a couple degrees. If you are going to overclock the 6600 i recomend Scyte Ninja or Katana and thermaltake Tuniq 120.

 

[robx46]

I've tried speed fan before, but I'll try it again with this mobo. Last time I used it, it basically told me the same as what everest did.

My tube of AS5 is near empty, besides, I was thinking of going with the Ceramique since I think that is as good or maybe better for simple air cooling, especially on the bridges which still aren't "HOT", but definitely higher than the cpu. I would like to get the temp down a little just so there isn't as big of a temp difference between cpu and north bridge/south bridge. Not too worried about the bridges, but if I'm going to OC and just some paste can help drop a couple degrees, then it is worth doing.

Anyhow, I'll assume that Ceramique will also drop the temps possibly a couple degrees. As long as it doesn't hurt anything. I've been leaning toward almost exclusively using Ceramique lately simply because I've been getting good results and its easier and safer to apply.

As I sit here, cpu temp is 21c (normal air cooling, just a small intake and 120mm outtake on the case) and the other temp called "motherboard" is 38c.
That is where I'm assuming some AS on the bridges should drop that a couple degrees.

Those cpu HSF's look pretty cool and I'm sure they are great, but I have a coolermaster HSF that simply works great with the coolermaster case design.
Besides, and correct me if I'm wrong, if I'm sitting here with 20c idle cpu temps but 38c "motherboard" temps, I would assume my first and really my only next step is to get the mobo temp down.
Also, I just applied the ceramique to the cpu not even 2 days ago and I really haven't done any burn-in yet (except for about 5 minutes), which I really need to do. But I might get a little more drop when I go ahead with that.

Anyhow, thanks for the response. I guess I'll try some Ceramique on the bridges. If that doesn't work, I'll just order some more AS5.

 

[billdcat4]

Just got the Gigabyte DS3 board and I'm wondering if you overclockers that have this board do anything special to cool the north bridge (and even the south bridge).

I get a system temp of 39c on idle, which fluctuates a few degrees lower and higher.

I'm not sure where the SYS temp probe is located, but I'm assuming that it is on or near the north bridge.
Maybe somebody can tell me where it is.

Anyhow, also just got an e6600 and its running great and quite cool, not worried about that.
But I'm going to start to overclock and I'm wondering if it is OK to put AS Ceramique on the north and south bridges.
Is it worth it? Will it help?

If not, what are some other cheap solutions? I say cheap because I'm not even 100% sure they are running hot. Because, like I said, I'm not even sure where that SYS temp probe is.
I've just heard that the north bridge runs hot on this board.

Are there any other temp probes on the board other than cpu and sys? I'm using Everest to track those temps, but I'm wondering if some other application might find more probes and be more specific about what they are.

Any advice on this is appreciated. I have enough Ceramique so it won't hurt to paste both bridges. However, I would like to make sure it at least won't make them hotter or screw something up or if it simply isn't worth it and I need a better solution. Not sure what kind of factory paste is used on the bridges or if its any good.

Skyguy has a TT Extreme Spirit 2 on his DS3. PM him for helpage

 

[skyguy]

I put Ceramique on my NB as well, the stock stuff they use is garbage, not to mention poorly spread, etc. Pulling off the NB is really quick, and definitely worth the bit of time. Just scrape off the hardened crap, then use some Rubbing Alcohol and Q-tips to get ALL of it off. Then Ceramique.

As for the NB getting hot, it will, depending on how high your overclock is and volts..........more specifically, how high your FSB is and your MCH volts. Higher the FSB, the hotter the NB will get. Also, if you need to bump up MCH volts for stability, then that will make it hotter as well. My FSB is over 450 and MCH is +0.1v for me, so I definitely need NB cooling at those levels.

I'm a bit of a cooling nut, so I got the Thermaltake Extreme Spirit II for the NB. Very good little heatsink, highly recommended. Is it cheap? Depends on your definition.....it's about $20-$25 or so. If that's too steep for you, then ghetto rig a small 60mm or 80mm fan onto the NB and use zip ties or elastics to hold it down. That'll help keep the NB cool......won't be pretty, but it'll get the job done.

Hope that helps.

 

[robx46]

If I rig a small fan on the northbridge, should I have it blow in or out? The way the sink is designed, it looks like it might cool better with the air blowing in through all those channels.
But I've never had a fan on a northbridge before, and I don't plan on anyting more than a moderate overclock, at least not right now.

What is the max temp that you would want to see on this board before you really need to do something about it?
Say it hits 55c stressed out with a moderate overclock, is that too much?

I know the northbridge on my old dell + Prescott 3.2 got up past 60c on idle sometimes, even with AS on it. I never crashed or anything. And I used a manual temp probe, so the end of the probe was still a couple centimeters away from the chip itself.