Zalman NB heatsink with copper block

I'm getting two zalman NB heatsinks for my NF7-S (the second is for the southbridge) and I had an idea. What if I put a bit of copper between the zalman and the northbridge. Not really a thick piece, maybe just like an 1/8 of an inch.

Does that sound like it would help? Maybe be overkill?

maybe it will be nice, but how will you merge te copper into zalman ??? if u can merge it well (like stock AMD HS), and got good thermal paste, nice.

BTW how will u attach Zalman into SB ? i think with zalman size it will bump into you vga card, after all mine does not get hot at all, and just for your information, the new NF7-S SB did not come with HS ( old one does )

JML said:

I'm getting two zalman NB heatsinks for my NF7-S (the second is for the southbridge) and I had an idea. What if I put a bit of copper between the zalman and the northbridge. Not really a thick piece, maybe just like an 1/8 of an inch.

Does that sound like it would help? Maybe be overkill?

Click to expand...

I would suggest grinding down 1/16-1/8" off the Zalmans base, then use Arctic Silver Adhesive to mate the two surfaces together. Use a C clamp if you have one to get the necessary pressure to assure a tight joint.

This is basicly how I make silversinks, and this idea of yours may be nice once finished.

nicotine- I plan on using arctic silver adhesive to join the copper and the zalman. I just checked the location of the southbridge on my board and it doesn't seem to be in the way. The northbridge zalman heatsinks go straight up, they don't spread out like the zalman flower heatsinks, if that's what you're thinking.

While you've said your NB does not get hot (what version of the board do you have?) I have read in another thread that they get pretty hot and a member reported having sound problems until they put a heatsink onto their southbridge. I haven't run mine yet, so I don't know.


Silversinksam- You read my mind, I was actually thinking of taking a little bit of the base off once I saw how thick the base was in the pics. Perhaps it might be easy to run a hack saw between the fins though and lessen the base that way. I'm gonna order what I need and get some pics up when it arrives.

I doubt it's gonna do anything more than just transferring heat to the Zalman Aluminium heatsink.

The only plus i see about it is that it can hold a bit of the heat first, but eventually it will just fill to maximum and become purely a conductor. Sure, it transfers heat fast, but wont it just be the same if you put the heatsink directly on the SB?

Instead, it gives you more chance to go wrong, you're going with 2 joins instead of 1. 2 places to go wrong instead of 1 place.

I can see the logic in having a copper core, so that heat is spread throughout the heatsink, but this isnt the core, just another "mat" for the aluminium heatsink to rest on.

IMO, u should just put it directly on the SB.

well, i use NF7-S Rev 2.0 and run it at FSB 200 or DDR 400, I think most people get hot on SB because they overclock their FSB too high and run it with more volt, and for my NB i also use Zalman's (blue one) and it only get warm after playing about two hour of Zero Hour ( run it with 1.6 V, ambient about 30 C, Tropic !!) with only get air flow from back case fan.

Maybe i just misplace or get confused with NB and SB location, i just checked again and think SB located on the midle between agp slot and IDE slots, a little lower (correct me if i'm wrong), i also planning to get taller heatsink for my SB but it stuck to my R9600XT ram sink.

Basicly, copper will absorb heat better, and alluminium will dispate heat better, both joined = Best Heatsink ! ( I think ).

If you got more budget, try get Vantec Iceberg Copper version ( not the one with blue LED), it looks like org Abit NB cooler except it made of copper. and it comes with 2 more copper ram sink ( square size). u can use it one for SB and the other for such as your HD chip or mem, and the vantec it self you can use it for SB or VGA

The only thing I see this helping is spreading out the heat over a greater area of the HS. But it won't do much.

Just take off some from the bottom, which is too thick, and you'll get better results.

@nicotine - aluminum only dissapates heat quicker when there is no heat being applied. So it cools off faster after your computer is turned off in other words. Copper works better when the comp is on. Also, even if it did work out to be a good melding of the 2 metals and the aluminum did dissapate the heat quicker, the adhesive between the 2 metals would be a HUGE limiting factor in how well the HS works.

I use NF7-S Rev 2.0 run at DDR400, at 1,7 V. I think most people get them hot, because maybe they run their FSB too high. Mine only get warm (NB)after playing Zero Hour for about 2 hour and does not get any sound prob at all. (use Zalman also, Blue one)
and the SB a little bit coller than NB

AS will do the job ! as the cooper best at absorbing heat and the alluminiun best at releasing heat, both = Best Heatsink ( i think)

Maybe i just get confused about NB and SB location, i just checked again SB located in the middle lower betwen AGP slot and IDE slot, if i use a taller heatsink, it will stuck to my R9600XT ram sink ( correct me if i'm wrong ).

if you got more budget, try Vantec Iceberg (like org Abit NB cooler except it made from copper), it comes wit 2 more additional ram sink ( square size) mode from copper, one will fit on SB and the other you can fit it on your harddrive mem or chip (maybe). and youcan us the vantec for your VGA or NB

NovaShine said:

I doubt it's gonna do anything more than just transferring heat to the Zalman Aluminium heatsink.

The only plus i see about it is that it can hold a bit of the heat first, but eventually it will just fill to maximum and become purely a conductor. Sure, it transfers heat fast, but wont it just be the same if you put the heatsink directly on the SB?

Click to expand...

Well transfering heat is exactly what he's trying to accomplish. I guess my Silversinks don't work, thx for letting me know Also I am sure most heatsinks Like Alpha also must be useless with thier Copper Aluminum hybrids. (Granted JML and Myself do not use cold forging to mate the joints like Alpha implements, but Arctic Silver adhesive, used properly does a decent job

novashine- I'm not worried about the connection between the copper and the zalman as AS adhesive is pretty good at joining things

nicotine- the vantec looks like a nice cooler, but I'm trying to eliminate (sp) another fan from my pc. I'm not looking at my board and case at the moment but I think my case's airflow will cool the zalman well enough.

nicotine said:

if you got more budget, try Vantec Iceberg (like org Abit NB cooler except it made from copper), it comes wit 2 more additional ram sink ( square size) mode from copper, one will fit on SB and the other you can fit it on your harddrive mem or chip (maybe). and youcan us the vantec for your VGA or NB

Click to expand...

note that the 2 square sinks are aluminium (but copper coloured in the case of the copper iceberq...)

Yeah AS adhesive is definatly the way to go for this project. However, if you feel ambitious you can always try to use silver solder to meld the copper and aluminum parts together. It's pretty risky to do this as there is a chance of setting a fire or burning yourself pretty bad if it's done wrong.

Sorry for the double post, my mistake.

pauldenton, Well i got info about Vantec from the seller on local store, maybe i should checked again with peoples reviews, anyway thanks for the info.

JML, eliminating fans in my case is my goal too, but how ?
Water cooling, Quite and Risky ?!

nicotine said:

JML, eliminating fans in my case is my goal too, but how ?
Water cooling, Quite and Risky ?!

Click to expand...

Water cooling is key for true quietness! I have all my water cooling stuff sitting in my room, I'm waiting to finish modding my case which is taking me forever, too tied up with school work right now. The computer stuff in my sig isn't even in a case, its on anti-static bags in their respective boxes I know I know, not good for my stuff.

My wc stuff- Dtek White Water, ehiem 1048, JR120 Rad modded with an extra hose fitting, and a panaflo l1a fan (VERY quiet!) and some other stuff I can't think of at the moment, all from dtekcustoms. Check out the WC section, it's a lot of fun!