NB fan mod for Maximus Formula

[dealmaster]

As any MF/RF/P5E owner knows, there's next to nothing to attach a north bridge heatsink to, so getting one on that hot X38/X48 is difficult. I found a guide online for a way to do it and I adapted it a little bit, but didn't take pictures throughout the entire process, so only the end results are visible.

I went and bought some 3" screws at Lowe's that were the same diameter as the motherboard screws. I just brought one with me and found one that matched and I was good to go. I also grabbed a couple rubber washers while I was there as well. The screws came with matching nuts.

The idea was to take out the center motherboard screw and run this long screw through the motherboard, the screw hole, and out the back of my case, where I'd use a rubber washer and a nut to secure it on the back of the case. I'd use another rubber washer and a nut to secure it down to the motherboard itself, so it would be held securely to the motherboard and would also provide support for the board.

Then I'd use 2 nuts to clamp down on the fan once I got it adjusted to the right height. I had to make sure they were tightened about as tight as I could possibly get them to cut down on vibration and clicking noises. Here's what I came up with:


The mod from further out.


Closer in. Link Depot, I know, but at 50mm it doesn't matter that much.


Cable management!

This mod has dropped my NB temps by 10C on idle and 12-13C on load, so it was definitely worth it to cool off one of the hottest components in my system. I'd definitely recommend doing this to anyone who's got one of these boards and doesn't have active cooling on it.

 

[Jolly-Swagman]

Looks great and does the job, more important!

 

[chawks2]

Excellent work dealmaster!

I did a similar mod. After I fridged my Max Rampage, I used 2 x TR-HR03 on both the NB & SB. However, oc suffered because my temps were too high, due to a combination of crazy volts to the NB and the Scythe not having an active fan to dissipate the heat.

So...went through my bag 'o tricks and found an old 80mm case fan and mounted it on my 3870. My temps dropped 15C on the NB allowing me to get a silent, adequate oc.

 

[Brolloks]

Looks good, that will do the trick.

I just glued two of those 30 mm fans together to cover the rest of the NB HS, temps dropped from 50 C idle to 34 C and 45 C load.

 

[Randyman...]

I'm also right in the middle of dealing with insanely high Maximus NB/SB Temps . I see everyone talking about the Freezer Mod - is that REALLY neccesary to get the NB/SB sinks off, or would QUICKLY disassembling the MoBo after it has been at 55*C be enough to get the stock Maximus NB/SB sinks off?

And do you guys think adding AS5 to the stock heatsinks would be worth the effort? Or just toss a 40mm fan on the NB? I'm assuming if the NB runs cooler then the SB will also run cooler since they share the heatpipe???

Last Q - I'm REALLY eying the Thermalright NB/SB heat sinks like chawks2 uses, but will they fit with an Ultra120 in there (doesn't look like it to me)? I know they have the "SLI" version that offsets the heatpipes, but I think that will also cause clearance issues. I run an 8800GTS in PCIe #1 and an Areca RAID card in PCIe #2.

Sorry for all the Q's, but I really need to get these NB/SB temps under control! Thanks

 

[w2richwood]

i would go with a fan first and see how that works out
Rich

 

[Randyman...]

Will do. I'll try it when I get home (I have a 40mm waiting, now I just need the right screw )

 

[chawks2]

I'm also right in the middle of dealing with insanely high Maximus NB/SB Temps . I see everyone talking about the Freezer Mod - is that REALLY neccesary to get the NB/SB sinks off, or would QUICKLY disassembling the MoBo after it has been at 55*C be enough to get the stock Maximus NB/SB sinks off?

Check out the middle of this thread, I give a step by step to remove the stock cooling using the fridge NOT the freezer method.

And do you guys think adding AS5 to the stock heatsinks would be worth the effort? Or just toss a 40mm fan on the NB?

It's really up to you. My primary purpose for doing it was to WC in the future. Right now my machine is super quiet, maybe a little bit warmer than I want.

Ultra120 in there (doesn't look like it to me)? I know they have the "SLI" version that offsets the heatpipes, but I think that will also cause clearance issues. I run an 8800GTS in PCIe #1 and an Areca RAID card in PCIe #2.

I can tell you those HR03's JUST miss the PCB of the vid card. You dont have to worry about the stock cooler because it's facing the other direction, but you are limited in space due to the proximity of the NB. It also depends on the size of your CPU cooler, to be honest, I did NO measurements and completely lucked out, my Scythe misses the HR03 by 1 or 2mm.

 

[Nebulous]

Nice, very nice! I added a 70mm fan to my NB as that dang sink does get quite hot I'll be swapping it out for a MCW30 soon tho

 

[Anubis_386]

Wish I'd done this with my Maximus Formula .. Nice work ...

 

[dealmaster]

Thanks for all the responses guys. I was considering putting another 50mm next to the current one and taping them together and then tossing a couple of 40mms onto the sinks between the CPU and the rear exhaust. I just like fans! If I get to it today, I'll post some pictures of my NB sink just covered with fans.