North bridge fan?

[adamracer91]

Hi, and thanks for any responses in advance.

This is my first build and I just received my GA-EK58-UP4P motherboard, which will be paired with an i7-920 and a GTX 260 216.

I was familiarizing myself with the manual before tackling the build and I came across numerous mentions of a north bridge fan. Now, I've not really seen anything about north bridge fans on these boards, so I was wondering if I need to purchase one? There is a header for a fan of this nature on the board, but I get the feeling that I do not need one. Although, these feelings aren’t being confirmed with warnings about north bridge and cpu damage.

Thanks,
-Adam

 

[badge]

Not familiar with that MB, but few MB's are released these days with NB fans. Large, effective passive chipset heatsinks are the norm. Be sure the case you choose has good all around airflow that will allow fresh air to be drawn in from the front across the MB and expelled out the back with an exhaust fan. A side fan can also provide additional intake air drawn into the center of the case and directly onto the MB and it's chips.

 

[badge]

With the x58 the NB no longer provides the RAM controller, that function is integrated onto the Core i7 CPU. So, the NB provides much less function with the system. Perhaps NB voltage and effective heat will not be so much of an issue with the x58.

 

[sirgrotius]

I have the same board and am also in the process of setting up all the connectors, etc. I was confused by the NB fan references, but I agree they seem to be out of style.

BTW--is there any reason that the power connectors on MBs are so obtuse? It's really confusing trying to find where everything should be connected. My PC's looking like a jungle inside. I wish there were a pictorial guide.

 

[badge]

I wish there were a pictorial guide.

Is there a MB manual packaged with your unit? It has pictures. ASUs uses something called EZ connector or something like that. Connecting the front panel switches could not be made any easier. :lol:

 

[sirgrotius]

I wish there were a pictorial guide.

Is there a MB manual packaged with your unit? It has pictures. ASUs uses something called EZ connector or something like that. Connecting the front panel switches could not be made any easier. :lol:

The manual includes black and white pictures, but not of the actual things you're connecting. It's basically a layout of the motherboard with a lot of jargon (to me) like PR_LED, etc.

 

[badge]

When you are ready to install the MB into the case (screw it down), try to connect the front panel leads from your case to the MB front panel headers before you screw the board down into the case. This makes that task of connecting the case power on, reset, power LED, HDD LED, etc. much easier. Those black and white pictures of the layout of the MB as well as a detailed picture and description of each individual MB connector/header should be all you need as far as pictures and diagrams used to install the MB. The illustrative writers are getting better all the time. Like the writer describing the illistration almost knows how to install the MB. IKEA is still in busines. :lol: