Abit IS7 Northbridge fan

[alius]

Well, my northbridge fan has been making weird noises for a while, heard it was a common problem with the IS7 boards and that it wasn't a big deal. So I didn't really do anything about it, it didn't seem like it was overheating either because I havn't had any crash issues related to overheating at all. It had been particularly annoying me lately so I opened up my case and low and behold it was actually loose, hanging down almost touching my 9800 pro. Turned off the computer immediately and took it off.

Question is, does the chipset really get hot enough to need a heatsink? The heat sink actually wasn't even touching the chip for who knows how long. I mainly just don't want to have to reseat it if I don't have to, as I would have to buy some arctic silver or something.

Call me an idiot, offer advice, complain about your day. Whatever floats your boat, I would like to know what the general consensus is though.

(I'm posting this from another computer, not using that one for now I guess.)

 

[MDE]

At the very least, put the heatsink back onto the NB. You can unplug the fan if you want, I've been running mine with the fan unplugged for a year.

 

[RallyMaster]

Get a passive one. Those Abit NB fans sure are loud.

 

[alius]

So no ones going to say "Leave it off, its fine!"? Thats really what I was hoping for, I really didn't want to have to play around with ordering parts and all that.

 

[Zap]

Nah, you should have at least SOMETHING on it. Don't just leave it bare - too risky.

 

[MDE]

Like I said, clip it back on a the very least. The fan however, is completely optional.

 

[alius]

Somehow I missed that response, thanks.