Replacement of chipset heatsink fan for Socket A Epox

  • Thread starter Thread starter b.lehrer
  • Start date Start date
B

b.lehrer

I have a Epox 8RDG A3G board. It is six years old,
It works fine but the fan died on me.

I ordered a fan from the Epox store but when I called
about the shipment, I found that the phone was
disconnected. NOT GOOD.

Can anyone tell me where I can a replacement fan?

Thanks
Bob
 
b.lehrer said:
I have a Epox 8RDG A3G board. It is six years old,
It works fine but the fan died on me.

I ordered a fan from the Epox store but when I called
about the shipment, I found that the phone was
disconnected. NOT GOOD.

Can anyone tell me where I can a replacement fan?

Thanks
Bob
Click to expand...

Forget it, Bob. A chipset fan is redundant, unless you are going to do
severe overclocking in a case that is improperly cooled. If the chipset has
a heatsink, remove the dead fan and call it good. This could be an
improvement, actually. Chipset fans are LOUD. Better not to have
ne. -Dave
 
b.lehrer said:
I have a Epox 8RDG A3G board. It is six years old,
It works fine but the fan died on me.

I ordered a fan from the Epox store but when I called
about the shipment, I found that the phone was
disconnected. NOT GOOD.

Can anyone tell me where I can a replacement fan?

Thanks
Bob
Click to expand...

Is that the right model number for the board ?
I tried the Crucial.com motherboard list and didn't get a
match.

Is there a picture of the board on the web somewhere ?
I'd prefer to inspect the board for issues, before suggesting
something.

This is an example of a generic after-market solution.
This will handle a decent heat output (at least for
a solution without heatpipes).

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835108072

http://www.swiftnets.com/products/mcx159-CU.asp

"Brackets allow adjustments as follows: center to center distance
between mounting holes ranges from 2.05" (52.1mm) to 2.41" (61.4mm)."

That would be the diagonal dimension, assuming there are two
holes on a diagonal axis on either side of the chip.

An example of the thing fitted to a motherboard.

http://www.swiftnets.com/assets/images/products/MCX159-CU/ASUS-A8N-SLI.gif

There was one other nice solution, but it looks like it may be
discontinued by the manufacturer. I'm surprised the
MCX159-CU is still available. Swiftech makes nice stuff.

Paul
 
Paul wrote:


Is that the right model number for the board ?
I tried the Crucial.com motherboard list and didn't get a
match.

Is there a picture of the board on the web somewhere ?
I'd prefer to inspect the board for issues, before suggesting
something.

This is an example of a generic after-market solution.
This will handle a decent heat output (at least for
a solution without heatpipes).

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835108072

http://www.swiftnets.com/products/mcx159-CU.asp

"Brackets allow adjustments as follows: center to center distance
between mounting holes ranges from 2.05" (52.1mm) to 2.41" (61.4mm)."

That would be the diagonal dimension, assuming there are two
holes on a diagonal axis on either side of the chip.

An example of the thing fitted to a motherboard.

http://www.swiftnets.com/assets/images/products/MCX159-CU/ASUS-A8N-SLI.gif

There was one other nice solution, but it looks like it may be
discontinued by the manufacturer. I'm surprised the
MCX159-CU is still available. Swiftech makes nice stuff.

Paul
Click to expand...

You have a few options:

- Go to a mom/pop computer store and ask them for a 486 CPU fan
(probably used - I would be surprise if they have it new). Cut off
the fan connector and join the two wire with your old fan - use
electrical type to wrap them up. Or just connect the fan to your PS
connector.

- Find a new graphic cards cooler kits - most would have a small fan
and some heatsink for the memory chips.

- Like the previous person mentioned - don't bother with the fan. The
heatsink alone would good enough.
 
- Like the previous person mentioned - don't bother with the fan. The
heatsink alone would good enough.
Click to expand...

Northbridge chips vary between 2W and 20W dissipation. 2W can be
handled passively. 20W cannot. What is the chipset in this case ?
That is what I'm trying to find out, before saying anything further.

For an estimate of power dissipation, looking at a series of
Intel datasheets, will give some representative numbers, if you're
interested in seeing what historically the power numbers are
like. Other manufacturers don't make data like that available.

For example, current Intel P45 is 22 watts TDP. G45 is 24 watts TDP.
The MCX159-CU is 1.25C/W thermal resistance with the fan running.
If ambient is 35C (warm air inside the computer case), then
the chip might see 35C + 1.25C/W * 24W = 65C. Which is reasonable.

This is a table for some Aavid heatsinks.

Length Width Height still with
mm mm mm air fan
200LFM

35x35 374624B60024 35.00 35.00 10.00 23.40 7.55 Black anodize
35x35 374724B60024 35.00 35.00 18.00 15.30 5.15 Black anodize
35x35 374824B60024 35.00 35.00 25.00 12.00 4.27 Black anodize

Without a fan, the 1" high, 35mmx35mm heatsink, has a thermal
resistance of 12.0 C/W, which is getting close to ten times the
thermal resistance of the Swiftech heatsink. When a fan is
added, it is only three times as bad. Solving for a 65C
chip temperature, using the 12C/W number -

(65C - 35C) / 12C/W = 2.5 watts passive cooling, 1" tall heatsink

That means the little Aavid heatsink can cool a 2.5W Northbridge
to a temperature at the chip, of 65C. Which would be reasonable
for passive cooling without a fan. When the 200 linear feet per
minute air stream is pointed at the heatsink, it does about
three times better, so maybe 7.5 watts can be handled, with
some kind of fan installed.

That is to illustrate some of the thinking that goes into
making the decision to rip off the fan. The board would have
to be pretty old, to have a 2.5W chip on it.

Paul
 
Forget it, Bob. A chipset fan is redundant, unless you are going to do
severe overclocking in a case that is improperly cooled. If the chipset has
a heatsink, remove the dead fan and call it good. This could be an
improvement, actually. Chipset fans are LOUD. Better not to have
ne. -Dave
Click to expand...

Dave,

Thank you for your input. I will try without anything.

Bob
 
Is that the right model number for the board ?
I tried the Crucial.com motherboard list and didn't get a
match.

Is there a picture of the board on the web somewhere ?
I'd prefer to inspect the board for issues, before suggesting
something.

This is an example of a generic after-market solution.
This will handle a decent heat output (at least for
a solution without heatpipes).

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835108072

http://www.swiftnets.com/products/mcx159-CU.asp

"Brackets allow adjustments as follows: center to center distance
between mounting holes ranges from 2.05" (52.1mm) to 2.41" (61.4mm)."

That would be the diagonal dimension, assuming there are two
holes on a diagonal axis on either side of the chip.

An example of the thing fitted to a motherboard.

http://www.swiftnets.com/assets/images/products/MCX159-CU/ASUS-A8N-SL...

There was one other nice solution, but it looks like it may be
discontinued by the manufacturer. I'm surprised the
MCX159-CU is still available. Swiftech makes nice stuff.

Paul
Click to expand...

Thank you Paul.
I will follow your advice if I need a fan. I will try to go without a
fan
since I do not overclock.

Bob
 
You have a few options:

- Go to a mom/pop computer store and ask them for a 486 CPU fan
(probably used - I would be surprise if they have it new). Cut off
the fan connector and join the two wire with your old fan - use
electrical type to wrap them up. Or just connect the fan to your PS
connector.

- Find a new graphic cards cooler kits - most would have a small fan
and some heatsink for the memory chips.

- Like the previous person mentioned - don't bother with the fan. The
heatsink alone would good enough.
Click to expand...

Thnak you for advice. I will try to go without a fan.
Bob
 
Northbridge chips vary between 2W and 20W dissipation. 2W can be
handled passively. 20W cannot. What is the chipset in this case ?
That is what I'm trying to find out, before saying anything further.

For an estimate of power dissipation, looking at a series of
Intel datasheets, will give some representative numbers, if you're
interested in seeing what historically the power numbers are
like. Other manufacturers don't make data like that available.

For example, current Intel P45 is 22 watts TDP. G45 is 24 watts TDP.
The MCX159-CU is 1.25C/W thermal resistance with the fan running.
If ambient is 35C (warm air inside the computer case), then
the chip might see 35C + 1.25C/W * 24W = 65C. Which is reasonable.

This is a table for some Aavid heatsinks.

Length Width Height still with
mm mm mm air fan
200LFM

35x35 374624B60024 35.00 35.00 10.00 23.40 7.55 Black anodize
35x35 374724B60024 35.00 35.00 18.00 15.30 5.15 Black anodize
35x35 374824B60024 35.00 35.00 25.00 12.00 4.27 Black anodize

Without a fan, the 1" high, 35mmx35mm heatsink, has a thermal
resistance of 12.0 C/W, which is getting close to ten times the
thermal resistance of the Swiftech heatsink. When a fan is
added, it is only three times as bad. Solving for a 65C
chip temperature, using the 12C/W number -

(65C - 35C) / 12C/W = 2.5 watts passive cooling, 1" tall heatsink

That means the little Aavid heatsink can cool a 2.5W Northbridge
to a temperature at the chip, of 65C. Which would be reasonable
for passive cooling without a fan. When the 200 linear feet per
minute air stream is pointed at the heatsink, it does about
three times better, so maybe 7.5 watts can be handled, with
some kind of fan installed.

That is to illustrate some of the thinking that goes into
making the decision to rip off the fan. The board would have
to be pretty old, to have a 2.5W chip on it.

Paul
Click to expand...

Thanks for your advice.I will pursue if I need to have a fan.

The board is a EP-8RDA3G with a Nvidia Nforce Ultra 400/MCP chipset.

Bob
 
Northbridge chips vary between 2W and 20W dissipation. 2W can be
handled passively. 20W cannot. What is the chipset in this case ?
That is what I'm trying to find out, before saying anything further.
Click to expand...
A few years ago I built a PC using an Abit AI7 board with uGuru. It's
the only m/b I've ever had with a chipset cooling fan on quite a
small, circular heat sink. After three months the noisy fan failed
completely and I had it replaced by the retailer (which is the way
things work in the UK). The uGuru chip that measured temperatures and
fan speeds had an option to switch the machine off if a fan failed and
the temperature rose dramatically. In this case it did: the heat sink
alone was not sufficient. Intel 865 chipset, I think.
 
b.lehrer said:
Thanks for your advice.I will pursue if I need to have a fan.

The board is a EP-8RDA3G with a Nvidia Nforce Ultra 400/MCP chipset.

Bob
Click to expand...

The chipset is Nforce2.

http://www.epox.com/usa/product.asp?id=EP-8RDA3G

There is an example of someone testing an aftermarket cooler
on an Nforce2 here. He doesn't say how he measured the temperature,
but the chip temp is pretty low with that cooler in place.

http://compreviews.about.com/library/weekly/aafpr-IceberqA1C.htm

OK, I had a look at my A7N8X-E Deluxe motherboard (it uses Nforce2),
and it has a passive cooler on it. There is no fan on that one. The fins
on the cooler are 1" high. If the fins on your heatsink are 1" high, then
you'd get equivalent cooling to the heatsink on my board. If the
heatsink fins are shorter than that, then the heatsink is not as
effective, and the chip temperature could end up higher.

Based on that observation, that a 1" heatsink is usable, that
means the chip must be somewhere between 2.5 watts and 5 watts
dissipation. So it may not be an immediate disaster, if the
fan stops. Use your best judgment, as to what heatsink to use.

This is roughly what the heatsink on my board looks like (Zalman NB32 family)

http://www.xoxide.com/zachco.html

Paul
 
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