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Northbridge fan crapping out, how to change?

Last response: in Overclocking
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I finally figured out that my Northbridge chipset fan is the noise coming from my computer by disconnecting the fans one at a time.

My board is an ASUS A8N5X with an AMD CPU. I checked the ASUS site and see that they sell a replacement for about $7-8.

My question is how do I replace the fan? Do I have to remove the mobo to release the pins on the bottom of the Northbridge? Is this easy or a big deal? (I built this computer, so I'm somewhat competent) To me it kinda looks lilke the fan itself could be uncliped from the top of the Northbridge itself without having to remove the chip. Is this so?

Should I stick with the ASUS replacement fan or get an aftermarket fan and or heatsink from the Egg?

Any help appreciated for this old "senior citizen" computer geek.

And,....I'm thinking about a new build and going quad core mostly for online stock and currency trading, I'm not a gamer, would you recommend sticking with the AMD quad cores or moving to Intel?

Currently running 2 monitors but thinking of moving to 4 for all the charts and a live TV feed of subscription financial info and program.

Windows 7 64 bit?

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Overclocking Expert

You should be able to replace the fan. Look at the bottom of the Mobo, I bet it has 4 plastic pins pushed through. Usually smart usage with a pair of small nedle nose you can squeeze the ends of the clips and push them out. On the top of the Mobo you see a plasctic pin with springs to give pressure to the NB chip.

My suggestion (and I have done something like this) is cut the plastic pins off under the mobo, replace the fan and use small plastic screws/bolts to replace the pins that sometimes are sooo hard to get out without damaging them.

Pull the mobo out and take a look. You could always get one of the million NB aftermarket heatsinks out there to just replace the fan and HS assembly. Still have to pull the mobo, take off the old stuff, get thermal paste and a HS.
Overclocking Expert

^5 +1 what Conumdrum said.

You can use #40-4 nylon nuts and bolts to replace the push-pins. I bought mine at my local Ace Hardware store. I think the price was 11 cents each. Very cheap fix for those awkward push-pins.
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Please do not make the same mistake I did. Get an aftermarket fan for the chipset!

I used to have an Asus A8N SLI Deluxe, and I had the original fan fail on me. Asus sent me a replacement stock fan, but that one crapped out too. I did some research, and apparently the stock fans for the older Asus boards have known issues with failing prematurely. I ended up getting a CoolerMaster or some such aftermarket fan, and I never had a problem since.

BEWARE THOUGH! I had bought ANOTHER fan before that one that claimed it was compatible with the board, but it didn't fit! The other one I bought didn't fit very well either, but I managed to clip it into place with some creativity. If you get an aftermarket fan, be wary with how much clearance there is between any capacitors or other components that are close to the chipset.

I hope this helps. This ordeal was a complete nightmare for me!

Shadow703793 said:
Yes, you can run 64 bit on that PC.

As for the fan, I'd look at a Antec Spot Cool or do some little DIY with a 80mm fan.

PS: That system is quite a bit old, may be about time to upgrade to an AM2+ set up.

DDR2/DDR3 + AM2+/AM3 board + this CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
should be about $300 and would offer better performance esp. if doing multi tasking on Win 7,etc.



Thanks Shadow. I will be getting a new NB chipset fan or heatsink and fan for the NB.

I know my system is old and I will be doing a new build soon. I haven't decided between an Intel quad core or an AMD quad core and new mobo, new RAM etc.

What about this AMD quad core: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Should I just go with an AM3 only board?

Conumdrum said:
You should be able to replace the fan. Look at the bottom of the Mobo, I bet it has 4 plastic pins pushed through. Usually smart usage with a pair of small nedle nose you can squeeze the ends of the clips and push them out. On the top of the Mobo you see a plasctic pin with springs to give pressure to the NB chip.

My suggestion (and I have done something like this) is cut the plastic pins off under the mobo, replace the fan and use small plastic screws/bolts to replace the pins that sometimes are sooo hard to get out without damaging them.

Pull the mobo out and take a look. You could always get one of the million NB aftermarket heatsinks out there to just replace the fan and HS assembly. Still have to pull the mobo, take off the old stuff, get thermal paste and a HS.


Thanks Con. I will be replacing the NB fan and heatsink. I've just been procrastinating about taking the mobo out and was hoping I could avoid that, but now I don't think so.

Thanks.

JohnnyLucky said:
^5 +1 what Conumdrum said.

You can use #40-4 nylon nuts and bolts to replace the push-pins. I bought mine at my local Ace Hardware store. I think the price was 11 cents each. Very cheap fix for those awkward push-pins.



Thanks Johnny. The nylon nuts and bolts are a good idea.
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