My First Gigabyte Mother Board GA-870A-UD3

[jolphil]

Hi all,
As the title mentions this is my first Gigabyte MB & discrete Video card..I came here from a long line of As** boards..I do like the 3 ounce copper used to enhance reliability and decrease IR losses , but wonder how many other Manufacturers use it or is this just Marketing hype by Gigabyte.Now more to the point.
This board and possibly similar types, have some well documented problems with the mechanical design of the heat sink..
The North Bridge heat sink in particular, is mounted with just two Nylon spring hold down devices that can be accidentally rocked and even left in a tilted non flat position..As anyone knows this will lead to chip overheating..Overheating is the leading cause of semiconductor long term failures and in the short term a possible cause of instability.In my particular case, a IR temperature heat gauge measured well over 78C at the heat sink..Thus the NB chip temperature  would have to be even higher..Some have reasoned it is a stuck sensor but it is real.Another consideration is the FET chips that power the CPU voltages itself..They are present with absolutely no cooling whatsoever..The measurement recorded with the same Ir device is over 57C ..I knew when I purchased this board that it was void of the normal heat pipes/sinks but Did not know that these high chip temperatures existed..Of course no manufacturers ever would specify that..I presumed that the Gigabyte engineers were prudent enough as most engineers typically are,and would never allow this condition..Even if the Rev 1.0 board slipped by the Rev2.0 and above would address this issue.History has proved otherwise..Marketing has evidently prevailed.
The problem is this:As a consumer,if I modify the board an any way, I will lose my warranty..We are stuck between a Rock and a hard place..I can only blow dedicated fans on the two particular devices and hope for the best..Not what I expected from Gigabyte..
I do not know how well this board will hold and feel let down as it has been in service for less that a month..
I hope this gets back to the people responsible for this decision..
Jolphil

[Dark Mantis]

I would have to agree that it is not a well designed heatsink assembly on the Northbridge chip. There have been a fair few complaints along these lines. I have always suggested mounting a dedicated fan as you know but I really doon't feel that refitting the heatsink a little more securely should have an adverse effect on your warranty. As long as it is done properly nad you retain the orignal parts theycan always be replaced if you have to make a warranty call.

[jolphil]

I really doon't feel that refitting the heatsink a little more securely should have an adverse effect on your warranty. As long as it is done properly nad you retain the orignal parts theycan always be replaced if you have to make a warranty call.

Very true, but if you need to send the board back for some reason,I feel it is less than truthful to modify/replace the original parts on
the board before you send it back..That is precisely why I wrote this piece..This is the "Catch 22"  as consumers we face..
Basically fix it or hope it don't fail..But, my board is so far working with a dedicated fan so I will stop whining and hope like everyone
else it will give long service..
Thanks for your comments DM
jolphil

[Dark Mantis]

You're welcome jolphil, I will keep my fingers crossed for you