GA-970A-D3 Northbridge way to hot. What are my options?

[soarwitheagles]

Hi guys, and Merry Christmas!

Ok, picked up a new Gigabyte 970A-D3 for a really good price.  As I did the preliminary tests before slapping everything together, I noticed the Northbridge heatsink so hot that I actually burned my finger when I touched it [and no, I usually do not touch any part of the MB, but I accidentally touched the NB heatsink when removing the test GPU].

Retrieved my trusty $10 Infra Red General Heatseeker and wow....73C at idle.  This kinda gives me a red flag.  Never had a NB heat up so badly at idle.

I purchased this MB hoping to slap together a nice quad core gaming rig, and sell it swiftly.

I am here to ask for help.

What are my options?

Here are some options I was considering, but I am not sure which way to go:

1. RMA it!
2. Reseat the heatsink, using some really nice TIM [Arctic MX-4]?
3. Put the rig together, cross my fingers, and hope my customer doesn't notice it or suffer future problems?
4. Purchase a newer, nicer heatsink and install it [I would like to avoid this because I purchased a new motherboard that I feel should have good temps].

5. Other options that I haven't considered...such as:

a. Take the MB to the target range and use it as a target for my Glock.
b. Use it as a space heater [it is winter here now].
c. Cook eggs, tacos, and mushroom soup on it.
d. Realize it is a sign of the end of the world and sell everything and go live in the bush.

Ok, I need some help.

Any suggestions?

Soar

[thexfile]

Wow, I would RMA.

You could fry an egg on it. 

[soarwitheagles]

Wow, I would RMA.

You could fry an egg on it. 

Gigabyte just sent me an email stating they received my request for RMA and it is under approval and I should receive an RMA number within 2 days.  So their service appears to be really, really good.

But, I am not sure how out of spec these temperatures are on the Northbridge heat sink.

Can anyone else tell me if 73C is way toooooo high?  What is "normal?"

Thanks,

Soar

[TFisher]

I dont have the same motherboard as you but here's a pic of my temps. P67A board.

I have a MA-78LMT-S2 board in my machine at work and the Northbridge temp on it is 68-73c all the time.
And its sitting in an Autobody shop on the floor. Temps should be cooler. The other temps are ok.

I always wondered if it was too hot but decided to leave it alone and see what happens.

Its been like that since i built it,probably a year or so. No issues yet.

[soarwitheagles]

I dont have the same motherboard as you but here's a pic of my temps. P67A board.

I have a MA-78LMT-S2 board in my machine at work and the Northbridge temp on it is 68-73c all the time.
And its sitting in an Autobody shop on the floor. Temps should be cooler. The other temps are ok.

I always wondered if it was too hot but decided to leave it alone and see what happens.

Its been like that since i built it,probably a year or so. No issues yet.

TFisher,

Thank you for your kind reply.  Wow, that really is quite a difference!  I use SIW and Hardware Monitor on my Intel i5-3570, and I just checked the temps, and like yours, they appear quite a bit lower.

Well, it is comforting to know that the AMD MB you have is still working well after a year of 68-73c all the time on mode.  I just hope it doesn't  burn your work place to the ground!

Soar

[thexfile]

That seems a bit warm.