Disconnect Northbridge fan?

[TresLunas]

Can I disconnect the fan for the heatsink on the Northbridge of my Gigabyte GA-8IEX motherboard without it burning up or something? I've placed an order for a larger heatsink, because the fan has buggered up somehow, and is making too much noise. I'll leave the heatsink on, but this fan is driving me insane!

 

[NokiaDude]

Dude, if it's crapping out its prolly not doing that much good to cool the chipset. Disconnect it.

 

[jarsoffart]

I think the potential 120 bucks you could lose by killing your Northbridge is more than enough reason to resist the noise for a few days. I know how you feel though; after building my computer I truly understood "Silence is Golden."

 

[R2D2]

If it's still spinning, then it's doing a world of good. Unplug it if you're in the market for a new MOBO.

I'd just look for another heatsink/fan combo. There are several made just for cooling the Northbridge.
R2

 

[TresLunas]

Hmmm, I think I'll leave it on then - I only bought this motherboard a few months ago so I don't want to buy a new one just yet. The fan is still spinning, it's just all of a sudden much louder than it used to be. I took it off and tried blowing dust out of it to see if that would fix it, but no luck.

The heatsink I've ordered is a Zalman, and apparantly doesn't need a fan.

 

[Ketchup]

The Intel 845E chipset does not run hot ( or even warm for that matter) at default speed and does not need a fan. My Epox 4G4A+ doesn't have a fan on the Northbridge, and it is stable all the way to 160! You can go ahead and disconnect it if you want.

 

[de8212]

TresLunas
I had the same situation as you did on my epox 8kha+. Someone suggested this when I posted a thread similar to yours. Sorry I can't give them credit cause I can't find the thread. Anyway try this.
Take the fan off the mobo.
Peel back sticker on the bottom of the fan.
Put one drop of oil in the little hole.
Press sticker back in place.
Put fan back on mobo.
Enjoy.
Worked wonders with mine. YMMV.

de

 

[StanTheMan]

i throw out my Asus A7V133 northbridge HSF, and replace it with Thermaltake Crystal ORB (without the fan).
Works stably for me.. It's been almost one year now

 

[Maggotry]

The NB fan on my Epox 8kha started making noise. I took it off and waited about 30 minutes. It's barely warm. That was about 6 months ago. Still running fine. The sink is still there, just no fan.

 

[Jeff7]

Originally posted by: de8212
TresLunas
I had the same situation as you did on my epox 8kha+. Someone suggested this when I posted a thread similar to yours. Sorry I can't give them credit cause I can't find the thread. Anyway try this.
Take the fan off the mobo.
Peel back sticker on the bottom of the fan.
Put one drop of oil in the little hole.
Press sticker back in place.
Put fan back on mobo.
Enjoy.
Worked wonders with mine. YMMV.

de

Was going to suggest that. Companies like to use sleeve bearing fans to keep costs down a little bit, but they don't seem to last as long, especially small fans.

 

[xXgambitXx]

Originally posted by: TresLunas
The heatsink I've ordered is a Zalman, and apparantly doesn't need a fan.

i'm assuming that you're talking about this guy. if so then good choice. i put that on my KT266A board during my "computer quiet-down" because the noise from my fan was becoming really obvious/annoying. it's been running stable for me for about 3 months now. it's the best passive cooling for a northbridge.

 

[TresLunas]

Originally posted by: xXgambitXx

Originally posted by: TresLunas
The heatsink I've ordered is a Zalman, and apparantly doesn't need a fan.

i'm assuming that you're talking about this guy. if so then good choice. i put that on my KT266A board during my "computer quiet-down" because the noise from my fan was becoming really obvious/annoying. it's been running stable for me for about 3 months now. it's the best passive cooling for a northbridge.

Yep, that's the one. Arrived today, but I haven't put it on yet.


Just want to say thanks to everyone for your help. I ended up disconnecting the fan after all, leaving the heatsink on, and it didn't seem to get hot at all (although I'll replace the heatsink with the Zalman one anyway). Thanks also for the oil idea; I'll remember that one for any future problems.

Cheers!

TresLunas.

 

[JavaMomma]

Mine was pssing me so i just unplugged it since I'm not overclocking or anything
One sec.... OUCH MY FINGER!! hehe just kidding, its warm but cooler then my CPUs heatsink which is running mid 40s.
Its been unplugged for about 6 months or so, I havnt had any problems with it.
Cheap little Abit fan

 

[chizow]

Yah my 8kha+ NB fan had the same mortal symptoms about 2 weeks ago...unplugged it and never looked back....still OC'd with no issues

Chiz

 

[DaveSimmons]

Originally posted by: JavaMomma
Mine was pssing me so i just unplugged it since I'm not overclocking or anything
One sec.... OUCH MY FINGER!! hehe just kidding, its warm but cooler then my CPUs heatsink which is running mid 40s.
Its been unplugged for about 6 months or so, I havnt had any problems with it.
Cheap little Abit fan

It really annoys me how companies put active cooling on mobo and video cards for marketing rather than technical reasons. Then the ultra-cheap fan whines, pulses or just dies. :|

 

[Shide1]

My 8k7a+ fan broke about 7 months ago, so I removed it and have had no problems.

 

[mcveigh]

Originally posted by: chizow
Yah my 8kha+ NB fan had the same mortal symptoms about 2 weeks ago...unplugged it and never looked back....still OC'd with no issues

Chiz

my 8kha has been dying, I disconnected it and within 10 minutes motherboard monitor was sending an alert, the temp was about 130 F I believe.

anyone know what are safe temps for the northbridge?

 

[CrashX]

In case no else notices the trend here, Epox mobo fans suck.
90% of the people in this thread who said their fan died are referring to an Epox motherboard. This is my case as well. I am 2 for 2 on dead fans on Epox boards. A friend who has an Epox is 1 for 1 as well. I have never had a problem with unplugging it and letting it run forever with out it.