Silent Pipe 2 on EX-58-Extreme

[simon_t]

Hello All- just a quick question that I thought I would ask before I start taking my PC apart to experiment.

I recently built my own i7 system using an EX-58-Extreme motherboard and when setting it up, opted to install the optional Silent Pipe 2 heatsink that comes with it.

I'm just wondering if anyone has experimented temperature wise with and without this heat sink. I'm using a massive Noctua CPU cooler and the silent pipe heat sink is very close to the CPU heat sink. I'm wondering if a lot of the heat from the silent pipe is being transferred to the CPU.

The silent pipe heat sink is also next to my graphics card (HD4870) so I'm wondering, again, if this could be radiating onto the GPU.

I'm not into massive overclocking- the maximum I would consider is about 3.2GHz because I can't be dealing with the extra noise that would be required to cool the system above these speeds.

At present, idle temperatures on both the CPU and GPU aren't anything to worry about but I'm a natural meddler and won't be able to put this one to rest until I've done a bit of research and experimentation! Who wouldn't want to be able to cool things down a few extra degrees??

Thanks guys.

 

[bilbat]

I just put fans on the silent pipe assembly - a few notes on technique toward the bottom of this one:
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/261019-30-ep45-ds3r-memory-type
The proximity issue is not a big one - comparatively, very little heat is radiated, it is convected; i.e., if you have a vertical case, all the heat moves up, unless 'stirred about' by fans.

 

[simon_t]

I just put fans on the silent pipe assembly - a few notes on technique toward the bottom of this one:
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/261019-30-ep45-ds3r-memory-type
The proximity issue is not a big one - comparatively, very little heat is radiated, it is convected; i.e., if you have a vertical case, all the heat moves up, unless 'stirred about' by fans.

Hi Bilbat,

Thanks for the reply. I don't have any fans bringing in air from the front of the case (yet) so I'm guessing the heat from the north bridge heat sink is just going up through the CPU then out.

I'm thinking of just taking the heat sink off...the north bridge can't get that hot, can it??

Thanks.

 

[bilbat]

I'm thinking the x58 (which is still called a northbridge, but no longer an MCH [Memory Controller Hub], it's an IOH [Input/Output Hub]) is pretty much just along for the ride... In previous designs, I always recommend a fan on the MCH if A - you're running fast memory; b - you're running more than two sticks; as then the MCH is doing the work of 'pumping' the memory bus; on the i7, the CPU is handling the RAM; I haven't seen any comparative temp info on the 58... You might try posting over at TweakTown - there's a lot of very astute OCers there...

 

[simon_t]

I'm thinking the x58 (which is still called a northbridge, but no longer an MCH [Memory Controller Hub], it's an IOH [Input/Output Hub]) is pretty much just along for the ride... In previous designs, I always recommend a fan on the MCH if A - you're running fast memory; b - you're running more than two sticks; as then the MCH is doing the work of 'pumping' the memory bus; on the i7, the CPU is handling the RAM; I haven't seen any comparative temp info on the 58... You might try posting over at TweakTown - there's a lot of very astute OCers there...

Thanks for the tip off, I think I will head over there shortly and ask.

I've removed the heat sink and have left my PC on for 15 mins or so (usually enough to get it up to idle temperatures). Although the CPU isn't much cooler (max 1c cooler) the GPU is- the GPU memory on a HD4870 which usually idles at about 55c with my cooling solution is now at 51c and the MOSFETs are a clear 5-6c cooler.

Since taking it out, I've forgotten how big the sink is- it's a hefty chunk of metal. I think it was probably restricting airflow more than radiating heat out, if anything.