Yes.Revivalist said:@ clocker2 - That's very interesting! So did you actually run the same exact setup with and without the northbridge block to eliminate all other variables?
Obviously the tube routing was slightly different, but all the other components (including the OS and BIOS settings) were unchanged.
Actually, check that.
I had to move the vid card from PCI-E slot1 up to slot2 to unshroud the northbridge chip.
I didn't do that until my waterblock arrived, so that change was not documented with the air cooler in place.
NB temps diddrop and the CPU/GPU did not rise with the additional block installed.
Sorry, but it would be a giant hassle to replace the NB back to air to test how significant the vid card move might have been.