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GA-MA770-DS3 Northbridge Temperature Worries...

Zikon

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GA-MA770-DS3 Northbridge Temperature Worries...
« on: April 06, 2011, 02:37:41 pm »
Today I just fitted my PC with some new fans and I'm very happy with the idle temps after leaving it on for a few hours.

Here's a readout in Hardware Monitor:



I noticed that "TMPIN2" never seems to change from 80c, it was at a record low of 78c when I first got into windows, but quickly got to 80c and always seems to stay about there, rarely going to 81c. I figured it was a faulty sensor all this time, but after some googling, now I'm not so sure because I touched the heatsink on my Northbridge and it is very hot! Knowing now that this must be a sensor for the Northbridge, I'm a bit worried that it has been running at this temp all along.

Is it normal for the Northbridge to be running at this sort of temp? I was thinking about replacing the stock heatsink with a Zalman ZM-NBF47 heatsink.

Thanks.

absic

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Re: GA-MA770-DS3 Northbridge Temperature Worries...
« Reply #1 on: April 06, 2011, 04:01:40 pm »
Hi there,

you could be correct in your original assumption that you have a fault sensor and this is actually pretty common. But, if it isn't then you can either do as you suggest, replace the heatsink with a 3rd party one. However, you may have to use some plastic nuts & bolts to refit everything as the originals can become damaged when you remove them, if you are not careful and 3rd party heatsinks don't always have the mounting holes in the correct position.

Before spending too much money though, a cheaper option is to carefully remove the heatsink and re-apply some new thermal paste, as this may be all that's needed.
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.

bytheway_r

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Re: GA-MA770-DS3 Northbridge Temperature Worries...
« Reply #2 on: April 06, 2011, 04:43:05 pm »
These cheap motherboards don't have a NB sensor as far as I know. They all read some crazy value that won't really change no matter what you do.

About the heatsink being hot to the touch, sadly, it's normal, too. I'm not sure how dangerous to the NB it is but I've replaced the stock heatsink with a Thermalright HR-05 on GA-MA770T-UD3P.

Now that I have a GA-790XTA-UD4 in my main rig I can't say I'm all that happy either. Let's just say that 700 series chipset heatsinks aren't too good. The 790 ones are good enough if you aren't overclocking but beyond that they start to run a little too warm, too ( and it's worse because some of the heat from NB is moved to mosfets thanks to the heatpipe ).

Dark Mantis

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Re: GA-MA770-DS3 Northbridge Temperature Worries...
« Reply #3 on: April 06, 2011, 05:56:53 pm »
I would agree that this is one of those instances where a bit of customisation is called for. Either change the heatsink for a better on and use a quality paste or arrange a dedicated fan to play on the heatsink all the time.
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Zikon

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Re: GA-MA770-DS3 Northbridge Temperature Worries...
« Reply #4 on: April 07, 2011, 07:15:53 pm »
Thanks for the suggestions guys, although I'm still not quite sure what to do, I think I'll buy one of those Zalman heatsinks cause they're pretty cheap and have good reviews so nothing to lose really.

Zikon

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Re: GA-MA770-DS3 Northbridge Temperature Worries...
« Reply #5 on: April 09, 2011, 04:06:32 pm »
Okay today I received my Zalman ZM-NB47J and installed it this morning, it was quite fiddly to get in, but it sits in there ok.

I got a little temperature sensor yesterday and took a readout of the stock heatsink after the PC had been on for about half a day, it was reading around 54c which leads me to believe the actual chip would be around or over 60c?

After I installed the Zalman heatsink, the temps are now reading about 43c which is 10c less! A big improvement I must say for just a heatsink with no fan. Still, in hardware monitor it now reads 79c instead of 80c, so yeah, that sensor is defiantly not right.

Hopefully, I've just just breathed a bit more stability and life into this already great Mobo.
« Last Edit: April 09, 2011, 04:07:09 pm by Zikon »

absic

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Re: GA-MA770-DS3 Northbridge Temperature Worries...
« Reply #6 on: April 09, 2011, 04:14:44 pm »
Hi,
pleased to see that the Zalman has brought your NB temps down and that it fitted OK even if it was a little fiddly to install.

I used to use this Mobo (my son is now running it) and I never encountered any problems with NB Temps and, so far, neither has my son but it is well worth knowing that the Zalman ZM-NB47J works well if he should encounter any issues.
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.

Zikon

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Re: GA-MA770-DS3 Northbridge Temperature Worries...
« Reply #7 on: April 09, 2011, 05:05:22 pm »
Hi,
pleased to see that the Zalman has brought your NB temps down and that it fitted OK even if it was a little fiddly to install.

I used to use this Mobo (my son is now running it) and I never encountered any problems with NB Temps and, so far, neither has my son but it is well worth knowing that the Zalman ZM-NB47J works well if he should encounter any issues.
Thanks, and yeah to be honest, it probably didn't need to be done, but replacing a Northbridge heatsink is something I've never done before so I was just really curious to have a go at replacing it.