Motherboard heatsink

[razordazor]

Well I recently bought a Gigabyte ga970a-d3 motherboard and today I noticed that the heatsink that is on the motherboard between the CPU and PCI-E16x slot got quite hot to the touch, the heatsink does not have a fan on or anything so i was wondering if it's normal that it get a little hot.

So should i worry about that and if so are there any fans or better heatsinks that i could buy for that.

 

[C12Friedman]

That is your northbridge heatsink. It should feel hot to the touch but it should not be hot enough that you cannot keep your finger on in for a few seconds.
Improving airflow within your case should help - what is you current case and fan configuration?
There are aftermarket HS's and HSF's for the northbridge but I'd recommend looking at your airflow situation before considering that purchase (if needed)

 

[razordazor]

Well I did not know that it is allright for it to be hot to the touch, i guess if i can keep my finger on it for as long as i like it is ok then. Currently i have 1 fan on the back of the case, ofcourse there is a fan on the CPU and the Graphics card. Ussualy i have the case open so air flow should not be a problem.

 

[C12Friedman]

The reality here is that keeping the case side on should improve airflow over the motherboard which helps the north and south bridge cooling. Adding an intake fan or two to the front of the case (if possible) should help here I would think.

 

[razordazor]

Hm, ill try that out. Currently my CPU's max temperature during internet surfing and such is around 43 degrees so i think thats pretty normal. Will try putting the side on and see if it works better.