[Motherboard]Crosshair IV removing NB Heat Sink

[JulianSidewind]

Hello again all,

I recently took my computer apart to get to the mobo (Crosshair IV) and i wanted to see how I could take off the NB heat sink because I wanted to see how easy it would be to replace it. So i turned it upside down, undid the screws, and when I tried to pull it off, it was really quite difficult and the heat pipes were moving more than I thought they should, so i stopped and put everything back. Has anyone taken apart this heat sink before, and if so, how concerned should I be about breaking things.

Thanks.

P.S. I recently ordered a 40mm fan, and I am going to try to macgyver it in between the cpu cooler and NB so it can blow air directly at the chip and see if that lowers temperatures at all. If not, the NB cooler will be plan B.

 

[hunter315]

From the looks of it, that heatsink is joined via heatpipe with the VRM and southbridge heatsinks.

Is your northbridge getting hot? With a heatsink that size it should be staying rather cool as long as you have moderate airflow in your case, if it is getting too hot try increasing airflow a bit to see if it drops your temps rather than getting creative with your northbridge heatsink.

 

[JulianSidewind]

Yea I researched a lot harder now and i found that it is indeed linked to the southbridge and another heatsink next to the cpu. I'll have to dismount the whole thing, and I think I'm going to remove the paraffin wax with alcohol + coffee filter and then replace with an OCZ Freeze I've had lying around for a few years, it still looks good. But as for my temperatures, my NB idles around 60-63 celcius, and after i shut off my computer, I opened the case right away and the heat sink was cool to the touch, so i doubt it was working as it should.