nForce4 Temperature specs?

[T101]

I am currently considering how to rebuild my cooling solution for the nForce4 SLI chipset on my motherboard (I use a modified Zalman NJ47 + 40 mm Fan at the moment), but I have no hard data on how much heat this chip can handle. I have so far worked on the principle of ICs being able to handle 60C (which is fairly common and safe), but I would like to know some real numbers before I start figuring out a better solution to cool the chipset without a fan.

 

[T101]

*bump* not a single user that have any hard facts?

 

[ajikan]

I don't exactly have any facts but,
I used to have a nforce 4 SLI chipset motherboard (msi k8n sli platinum, same as yours) and I used the Zalman NJ47 without a fan and it worked well without any problems at all.

 

[T101]

Ajikan: Did you have any case fans that blew air over it? because that makes it very efficient. Unfortunately I can not position any of my case fans to blow enough air over it to be really efficient. I also have cut away two rows of fins just to make space for the graphics card. The drawback with the solution I use now is that I use a fan, and that I can not use the second PCI-E x16 slot for a secondary graphics card. The latter is not that much of a problem at the moment, but can be in the future. So I am on the first hand trying to find a better cooling solution that is fanless, and secondly, if possible, find some sort of heatpipe that I can use, to route the heat away from the chipset to a secondary heatsink (much easier to cool the thing if it is away from the graphics card).

With my temperature sensor inserted into the center of the Zalman NJ47, and no fan attached, I turned the computer of when it reached 60C (it climbed a degree per second, roughly). With the fan, it hovers around 41-43C.

 

[GadgetBuilder]

No hard facts on how much heat the NF4 can handle but I use the NB47J on it along with a regular case type fan mounted inside the case to stir the air. Even a very low fan speed is enough to improve the cooling considerably. SpeedFan controls the CPU and chipset fans independently, where low fan speed keeps the machine very quiet.

More on my cooling adventures:
http://www.gadgetbuilder.com/Computer/ComputerCooling.html

 

[T101]

Yeah, with an Antec Sonata, the cooling would be perfect. My brother uses one. I have considered how to mount a 120mm fan in the P160W case I have, similar to how it is mounted in the sonata. However that is not such an easy task.
I have low noise now, but I think I could get an even quieter PC, and I would like to find a solution that allows me to use both PCI-E x16 slots eventually.

 

[mb103051]

i recently tested an asus a8n-e with the stock fan/heatsink using a temp probe and monitoring device [compunurse] and it was reading at idle 114.0f and under load it was running 120.0-123.0f.kinda hot i thought and i have real good case cooling.
i now have modified the nf 4 cooling by putting on a better heatsink which i bought off newegg for 6.99$.its the coolermaster gold heatsink and comes with a 40mm led fan on it.
i made 2 L shaped legs for it to mount to the motherboard like the original mounted and it made a huge difference in temps,i now run at idle 96.0f and 110.0f under load.i made the legs out of the original fan from asus and mounted them on the heatsink with jb weld and drilled a small hole and inserted a screw thru the leg into the first heatsink fin.its the exact same size as the original heatsink and sits square on the board not diamond shaped.the asus one dosent have any fins to speak of its mainly a flat piece of aluminum with some fins on the outer edge that say asus.this cooler master set up i put on here works great,it never feels hot at all just slightly warm under load.the fan spins at 5000 and is quiet and looks good in my windowed case.it blows 5.5 cfm.i tryed it with a sunyon fan 40mmx20mm with 9.0 cfm and no difference in temps so i put the 40mmx10mm led fan back on.i can change the fan without removing the heatsink as it screws into the fins on the heatsink.i was always curious as to the temps of the nf 4 chip and now i know it runs pretty hot in stock form.
have any questions or pic email me and ill send them to you.i swear this thing runs so much cooler now..........

 

[Doctorweir]

I only cool passive with the Zalman cooler...I ran the HTT@300MHz and put a probe on the bottom of the heatsink (in the middle above the core). Under load it gave me 50C max, which should be perfectly fine

 

[T101]

Zalman NJ47 + Fan: Idle - 41C, Load 46C
Zalman NJ47 and no fan: There seems to be no maximum temperature, it just keeps climbing. I did not dare to let it run higher than 60C. I can not get enough airflow from the front case fan over the passive heatsink. The air pressure are too low when the air has passed over the harddrives.

Temperature was measured with the cases thermal probes (built into the Antec P160W case). I have checked that they indeed do measure temperature correctly.

 

[Doctorweir]

Having the GPU fan that also blows at it helps to keep it sufficiently cooled passive

 

[forumposter32]

Thanks for posting the temperatures. I knew it was cooler to the touch. I had an odd *beep* when playing BF2 and I knew it might be a temperature warning. Well, it went away after placing one of those Coolermaster 40mm LED fans taken off a heatsink. I bought one from tigerdirect.ca before they run out. It says "while supplies last" or something like that.

 

[T101]

Doctorweir: Actually, the air blowing over the heatsink from my 7800GT heats it up rather good, making it less efficient, and requiring me to use a higher RPM on the fan in order to compensate, moving the air away faster (the fan is mounted on the zalman to blow air the same direction as the GPU cooler).

I wish there were some third degree suppliers of heatsinks to cool your nForce4, since it is quite a lot of work to bend one yourself and install on the chipset. Otherwise I think a copper block mounted on the heatsink with a heatpipe moving the heat away to a secondary heatsink, placed more directly in the airflow out of the case, would be rather efficient and silent.

Problem now is not really cooling the chipset, since it runs rather cool with current solution. I just need to find another solution that allows me to use the secondary PCI-E x16 slot, which unfortunately is placed side by side to the chipset, making it impossible to use the zalman heatsink.To be able to use a second graphics card, I need to find a solution that is no higher than the original HSF, but preferably does not need a loud fan in order to cool the chipset. Watercooling would perhaps be suitable, but beyond my budget.