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Replacing north/south bridge cooler 880GMA

Blu

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Replacing north/south bridge cooler 880GMA
« on: January 02, 2011, 06:00:08 am »
How would I go about replacing the northbridge and southbridge heatsinks on the 880GMA motherboard? I currently want to replace them either with one of the two,

http://www.frozencpu.com/products/11755/vid-154/Akasa_Cool_Blue_Anodized_Univeral_Chipset_Cooler_-_40mm_Blue_LED_Fan_AK-210.html?tl=g40c16s500

Or

http://www.frozencpu.com/products/9919/vid-137/Thermaltake_Spirit_A1000_Aluminum_Forged_Active_Chipset_Cooler_w_Blue_LED_Fan_CLC0051.html?tl=g40c16s500

Also can someone tell me how I go about removing the default heatsinks? Is there a pushpin behind the board or something? Thanks for the help in advance :)

absic

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Re: Replacing north/south bridge cooler 880GMA
« Reply #1 on: January 02, 2011, 10:33:24 am »
Hi,

Removing the stock heatsinks is fairly easy.
If you look at the NB & SB cooling blocks you will see two white plastic push pins. If you press down on the top of the plastic pin and at the same time turn the motherboard over you will see that by pinching the back of the pin together, you can close the holding barbs enough to release the pin back through the motherboard. Try not to damage the pins though, as you may want to re-use them later. Also be careful not to loose the small springs.

When you remove the heatsink you will need to clean the old thermal grease from the chip, but remember to replace this with new thermal grease just before you install the new heatsink.

The new heatsinks should come with installation instruction and also the necessary fittings but if they don't fitting them is basically the reverse procedure as for removing them. If the original plastic pins aren't suitable then you can use a small nut and bolt to hold the new heatsink in place. Be careful though not to damage the motherboard by over tightening them and also make sure that any replacements don't cause a short on the back of the motherboard.
Remember, when all else fails a cup of tea and a good swear will often help! It won't solve the problem but it will make you feel better.

Dark Mantis

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Re: Replacing north/south bridge cooler 880GMA
« Reply #2 on: January 02, 2011, 01:56:59 pm »
It is always possible to use a couple of plastic bolts and nuts to ensure no shorts.
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Blu

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Re: Replacing north/south bridge cooler 880GMA
« Reply #3 on: January 02, 2011, 07:18:53 pm »
Do you think the coolers I picked out will be large enough? The 880GMA northbridge looks like it's cooled by a rectangular heatsink,

Picture,
http://motherboards-reviews.com/motherboards/Gigabyte/GA-880GMA-UD2H/Gibabyte_880GMA-UD2H_top.jpg

Dark Mantis

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Re: Replacing north/south bridge cooler 880GMA
« Reply #4 on: January 02, 2011, 08:27:39 pm »
I would have thought that the coolers would be big enough but the method of retaining them is another matter unless you are just planning to glue them on.
Gigabyte X58A-UD7
i7 920
Dominators 1600 x6 12GB
6970 2GB
HX850
256GB SSD, Sam 1TB, WDB320GB
Blu-Ray
HAF 932

Gigabyte Z68X-UD5-B3
i7 3770K
Vengeance 1600 16GB
6950 2GB
HCP1200W
Revo Drive x2, 1.5TB WDB RAID0
16x DLRW
StrikeX S7
Full water cooling
3 x 27" Iiy

Blu

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Re: Replacing north/south bridge cooler 880GMA
« Reply #5 on: January 02, 2011, 10:06:35 pm »
Maybe I'll just go about removing  the southbridge block as that seems to be smaller and should fit perfectly with a 40mm cooler. Maybe I'll be able to find a modder who would be willing to do a custom northbridge job for me. You say I can glue the heatsink to the board?

Dark Mantis

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Re: Replacing north/south bridge cooler 880GMA
« Reply #6 on: January 03, 2011, 07:57:19 am »
Yes you can use a specail type of epoxy resin that is thermally transparent to glue the heatsink to the chip. I have used it before and it works fine but I must admit to rather using a mechanical device to hold the HSF down.

http://www.candccentral.co.uk/Arctic-Silver-Premium-Silver-Thermal-Adhesive.html
« Last Edit: January 03, 2011, 08:00:03 am by Dark Mantis »
Gigabyte X58A-UD7
i7 920
Dominators 1600 x6 12GB
6970 2GB
HX850
256GB SSD, Sam 1TB, WDB320GB
Blu-Ray
HAF 932

Gigabyte Z68X-UD5-B3
i7 3770K
Vengeance 1600 16GB
6950 2GB
HCP1200W
Revo Drive x2, 1.5TB WDB RAID0
16x DLRW
StrikeX S7
Full water cooling
3 x 27" Iiy

absic

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  • Never give up; Never surrender!
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Re: Replacing north/south bridge cooler 880GMA
« Reply #7 on: January 03, 2011, 03:52:24 pm »
Just a note of caution.

If you do decided to use the Thermal Adhesive that DM has linked to you should be aware that this is a permanent solution and would make any future changes very difficult, if not impossible.
Remember, when all else fails a cup of tea and a good swear will often help! It won't solve the problem but it will make you feel better.

Dark Mantis

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  • 10typesofpeopleoneswhoknow binaryandoneswhodont
    • Dark Mantis
Re: Replacing north/south bridge cooler 880GMA
« Reply #8 on: January 03, 2011, 04:08:53 pm »
Yes agreed absic that you should look on it as a permanent fix and that is one reason why I am not so keen on it but it is possible to remove it afterwards as long as care is taken. I have done it many times.
Gigabyte X58A-UD7
i7 920
Dominators 1600 x6 12GB
6970 2GB
HX850
256GB SSD, Sam 1TB, WDB320GB
Blu-Ray
HAF 932

Gigabyte Z68X-UD5-B3
i7 3770K
Vengeance 1600 16GB
6950 2GB
HCP1200W
Revo Drive x2, 1.5TB WDB RAID0
16x DLRW
StrikeX S7
Full water cooling
3 x 27" Iiy