Northbridge cooler for ASRock 970 Extreme 4

[l_n_hughes]

Hello,

Does anybody know of a northbridge cooler that is 100% for sure compatible with the ASRock 970 extreme 4 motherboard? I have looked at several, and they all say they are compatible with "most" intel and AMD setups, but I would really like to be sure before I buy one. Thanks in advance for your assistance.

[tplat]

Re: Northbridge cooler for ASRock 970 Extreme 4

Hello,

Does anybody know of a northbridge cooler that is 100% for sure compatible with the ASRock 970 extreme 4 motherboard? I have looked at several, and they all say they are compatible with "most" intel and AMD setups, but I would really like to be sure before I buy one. Thanks in advance for your assistance.

I just built a new computer and the problem I ran into was finding a CPU cooler that would fit in the case with out hitting the side panel. From all the non stock style CPU coolers I looked at you want to look for one that is compatible with your processor then look up in the specs at its measurements to make sure it will clear your memory cards and not hit your side panel. That's what I had to do. Having enough clearance for the memory cards I bought wasn't a problem but finding one that wouldn't sit to high and hit the side panel took a while looking at about 20 different CPU coolers. I ended up buying a Cooler Master Hyper N520 that fit nicely and was easy to install. Looked up the motherboard you have and it supports AM3+ processor and the CPU cooler I bought doesn't show it supports that but I did see a few other models by Cooler Master that showed it supports AMD3+.

[l_n_hughes]

Re: Northbridge cooler for ASRock 970 Extreme 4

I just built a new computer and the problem I ran into was finding a CPU cooler that would fit in the case with out hitting the side panel. From all the non stock style CPU coolers I looked at you want to look for one that is compatible with your processor then look up in the specs at its measurements to make sure it will clear your memory cards and not hit your side panel. That's what I had to do. Having enough clearance for the memory cards I bought wasn't a problem but finding one that wouldn't sit to high and hit the side panel took a while looking at about 20 different CPU coolers. I ended up buying a Cooler Master Hyper N520 that fit nicely and was easy to install. Looked up the motherboard you have and it supports AM3+ processor and the CPU cooler I bought doesn't show it supports that but I did see a few other models by Cooler Master that showed it supports AMD3+.

Thanks for your reply, but I already have an aftermarket CPU cooler. I am specifically looking for a northbridge chipset cooler. The northbridge chipset is that heatsink looking thing on your motherboard that sits close to your CPU and pci slots. Here is an example of an after market chipset cooler I'm considering. SilenX IXN-40C Copper Chipset Cooler - Newegg.com

[tplat]

Re: Northbridge cooler for ASRock 970 Extreme 4

Thanks for your reply, but I already have an aftermarket CPU cooler. I am specifically looking for a northbridge chipset cooler. The northbridge chipset is that heatsink looking thing on your motherboard that sits close to your CPU and pci slots. Here is an example of an after market chipset cooler I'm considering. SilenX IXN-40C Copper Chipset Cooler - Newegg.com

Oh ok I thought you were talking about a cpu cooler.

[- wardog -]

Re: Northbridge cooler for ASRock 970 Extreme 4

Center to center, what's your NB mounting measure across the holes?

[l_n_hughes]

Re: Northbridge cooler for ASRock 970 Extreme 4

Center to center, what's your NB mounting measure across the holes?

I don't have a very accurate measuring tool here, or the room to get down in there and measure correctly, but its approximately 2 1/8 inches or 54 mm. However I would say that's VERY approximate. Perhaps I misunderstood. I thought this was the ASRock technical support forum and you guys would have access to that information.

On a side note, I see you have the Antec Spot Cooler... do you think that would work well for cooling the NB? Does it move a lot of air?

[parsec]

Re: Northbridge cooler for ASRock 970 Extreme 4

I don't have a very accurate measuring tool here, or the room to get down in there and measure correctly, but its approximately 2 1/8 inches or 54 mm. However I would say that's VERY approximate. Perhaps I misunderstood. I thought this was the ASRock technical support forum and you guys would have access to that information.

On a side note, I see you have the Antec Spot Cooler... do you think that would work well for cooling the NB? Does it move a lot of air?

Regardless of the forum title, 99.999% of the posts here are by ASRock board users. There is one ASRock employee that posts in this forum sporadically, or at least under one forum ID. The moderators (like wardog) don't have direct access to engineering drawings of all the ASR mother boards, and I doubt the ASR employee that posts here would have instant access to that information.

There are no standards for chipset heat sink mounting, so measuring it yourself would be the way to go. You could use a piece of string to run between the two pins on the stock heat sink for a pretty good measurement.

That SilenX chipset heatsink is a work of art given what it is. Its fan is worthless, quiet but moves as much air as a flea fart.

How hot is your chipset? Many tend to run hot and a decent heat sink is needed for those that run hot. But be careful mounting a heatsink, I killed a southbridge doing that. A downdraft CPU cooler helps keep them cool, as well as good case air flow.

[l_n_hughes]

Re: Northbridge cooler for ASRock 970 Extreme 4

Regardless of the forum title, 99.999% of the posts here are by ASRock board users. There is one ASRock employee that posts in this forum sporadically, or at least under one forum ID. The moderators (like wardog) don't have direct access to engineering drawings of all the ASR mother boards, and I doubt the ASR employee that posts here would have instant access to that information.

There are no standards for chipset heat sink mounting, so measuring it yourself would be the way to go. You could use a piece of string to run between the two pins on the stock heat sink for a pretty good measurement.

That SilenX chipset heatsink is a work of art given what it is. Its fan is worthless, quiet but moves as much air as a flea fart.

How hot is your chipset? Many tend to run hot and a decent heat sink is needed for those that run hot. But be careful mounting a heatsink, I killed a southbridge doing that. A downdraft CPU cooler helps keep them cool, as well as good case air flow.

Just so we're all clear, I wasn't trying to be rude with that comment. Its hard to convey emotion in text, but I assure you it was not intended to make anybody angry. It gets about 72 degrees while gaming. The problem is that it sits about a CM from my poor GPU which has to work its butt off to keep up with newer games like Thief, and creates enough heat on its own. I believe I have pretty decent case flow with the front fans pushing air towards the back and the CPU heatsink pushing the air towards the back as well.

[Spyone1]

Re: Northbridge cooler for ASRock 970 Extreme 4

I am not recommending any one of these, nor the seller, but if you go to here, there is a list of Northbridge non-water coolers. There should be enough there for you to research and make a choice.

Acknowledging your lack of offense, it is unlikely (possible, but unlikely) that an AsRock representative would recommend any specific brand/item not manufactured by AsRock themselves.
(Sort of like asking a car dealer what sort of non-standard steering wheel you should get, when they don't make them).

[- wardog -]

Re: Northbridge cooler for ASRock 970 Extreme 4

No harm, no foul l_n_hughes. I apologize for any confusion. Parsec, a very smart and prolific "Support' person nailed it. I ask because I(we) have no direct access to any specs other than the boards I(we) purchase.

One thing to note here is to be sure you remove the protective clear static film covering the NB cooler. Imperative actually. I know why they put it there but really wish they made it clear in plain english using BOLD letters that that needs removed. A sticker over it with that warning and a provided "Pull tab' would be even better. Sadly too many users don't even know it''s there.

The Spot Cool. I dunno. I use them on the mosfet/vrm's where I use water cooling as when wc'ing there isn't suitable air flow in that area to cool them. It may be strong enough to direct some air down onto your NB dependent on how turbulent your front case fans are there inside your case. Then again, you could always twist it to hover directly over the NB too, provided an available or suitable base mounting location.

And in now reading some of your other posts here regarding air flow, I'd maybe say to also look at one of the NB/Fan coolers from EnzoTech. In visiting that page there are "Measure Motherboard Compatibility" links on each products page that you can print out and overlay directly on your specific MB/NB to be sure there's no capacitors or other "device' that will interfere with it's placement and mounting.

[parsec]

Re: Northbridge cooler for ASRock 970 Extreme 4

Just so we're all clear, I wasn't trying to be rude with that comment. Its hard to convey emotion in text, but I assure you it was not intended to make anybody angry. It gets about 72 degrees while gaming. The problem is that it sits about a CM from my poor GPU which has to work its butt off to keep up with newer games like Thief, and creates enough heat on its own. I believe I have pretty decent case flow with the front fans pushing air towards the back and the CPU heatsink pushing the air towards the back as well.

No anger in my post, I was just sayin', so not to worry.

The stock heatsink is rather small and the GPU heat is of course a problem. Not sure about AMD chipsets, but many Intel chipsets have a max temp of 100C. But cooler is better.

[tplat]

Re: Northbridge cooler for ASRock 970 Extreme 4

Well I learned something new with this thread. That you can change the stock GPU cooling block or whatever you want to call them. Wouldn't a good side panel fan pulling air in towards the mobo also help with keeping them cool?

[l_n_hughes]

Re: Northbridge cooler for ASRock 970 Extreme 4

No harm, no foul l_n_hughes. I apologize for any confusion. Parsec, a very smart and prolific "Support' person nailed it. I ask because I(we) have no direct access to any specs other than the boards I(we) purchase.

One thing to note here is to be sure you remove the protective clear static film covering the NB cooler. Imperative actually. I know why they put it there but really wish they made it clear in plain english using BOLD letters that that needs removed. A sticker over it with that warning and a provided "Pull tab' would be even better. Sadly too many users don't even know it''s there.

The Spot Cool. I dunno. I use them on the mosfet/vrm's where I use water cooling as when wc'ing there isn't suitable air flow in that area to cool them. It may be strong enough to direct some air down onto your NB dependent on how turbulent your front case fans are there inside your case. Then again, you could always twist it to hover directly over the NB too, provided an available or suitable base mounting location.

And in now reading some of your other posts here regarding air flow, I'd maybe say to also look at one of the NB/Fan coolers from EnzoTech. In visiting that page there are "Measure Motherboard Compatibility" links on each products page that you can print out and overlay directly on your specific MB/NB to be sure there's no capacitors or other "device' that will interfere with it's placement and mounting.

Thanks for the EnzoTech link. It was a lot of help. Yeah I made sure I removed all plastic covers when I installed the MB. The NB one was barely noticeable, so I can see how that would be easily missed.
This is what I'm looking at.
Amazon.com: Logisys Corp. North Bridge Cooling Fan for North Bridge Processor CC2: Computers & Accessories
Also, its been my experience that replacing existing thermal paste with artic silver 5(my favorite) will lower temps on its own by 5 to 10 degrees. I'll let you guys know how it works out.

[parsec]

Re: Northbridge cooler for ASRock 970 Extreme 4

That Logisys heat sink is 40mm square, and it looks like the two mounting arms slide into slots on the heat sink. So the two mounting holes on the board would need to be 40mm apart, not as measured between their actual positions, but as if one was directly below the other. 40mm is ~1.59 inches. The size is very similar to that of your southbridge heat sink.

Both the original heat sink and this one use the spring loaded pins to apply pressure on the chipset. That is one of their disadvantages, the amount of pressure they apply is minimal, and they tend to wobble due to the two point mounting system.

Replacing the TIM will certainly help, you'll probably find the original application was done rather poorly.

[- wardog -]

Re: Northbridge cooler for ASRock 970 Extreme 4

Were it me I'd keep looking.

Something to keep in mind while employing that Logisys you linked.

Do not bump it after installing lest it slide off the NB and chip the NB while doing so. Allowing a rather sloppy fitment "ear' to sink. Those two mounting "ears' do not mount solidly to the sink itself like, say, THIS one, which I've used before. PITA those little nuts, bolts, and ears were to align properly to the MB holes I'm here to tell you.

But the linked I can see myself being heavy handed in a case some time and "rearrange' it's mounting. Like pulling a cable through from the backside of the case.

Another ***** is as it may slide/be nudged each and every it gets knocked around your TIM will need a reseat period. That is unless you mistakenly give it a hard knock and slide the damn thing plum off, possibly chipping the NB in the process.


Something to think about anyways ...........