An effective package for northbridge cooling. – Joe.
SUMMARY: A very nice copper chip cooler – can adapt to many cooling requirements.
Titan was nice enough to send us their Titan Chip Cooler #TTC-CUV1AB. This is an all copper, low profile chip cooler that is sold with enough parts to fit many situations. It comes with three metal clips 52, 54.8 and 59 mm long, screws and plastic push pins (with spares!), 3-4 pin power adapter and a tube of silver grease.
The base
is polished and smooth.
Assembling the Titan is easy, although you will need a jeweler’s screwdriver to mount the fan onto the base. I had to bend the mounting arms slightly to align them so that I could use all three screws, although using two should be more than enough.
I was going to test the Titan as a VGA cooler, but the Leadtek GeForce 2 PRO uses a three hole mounting pattern and the Titan could not fit. However, I always use a VGA cooler for Northbridge cooling, so I mounted the Titan on an Iwill KK266 using the 59mm clip – the Iwill fit perfectly.
I used two 4-40 screws rather than the plastic push pins. I find the bolts easier to use and they give more pressure than the clips; it also makes unmounting easier. The fan under power is virtually silent.
To test out the Titan chip cooler, I first ran it at low power on the CPU Die Tester. Then I mounted it on the Iwill KK266 Northbridge chip. I then ran the Iwill at 160 MHz, most conservative RAM settings, running a series of memory tests using the UXD Memory Diagnostic Card to stress the Northbridge. To test the effectiveness of the Titan, I then turned off the fan to simulate a passive cooler.
Northbridge temps were taken with a thermistor placed on the back of the Northbridge chip; ambient temps were taken at 1″ from the fan’s intake to give a Delta.
Test | Delta | C/W | Est. Heatsink C/W |
CPU Die Tester | 14.8 C | 1.27 | 0.89 |
Test | Northbridge Temp | Ambient Temp | Delta | Memory Test |
Fan On, 160 MHz, UXD Test | 38.8 C | 23.1 C | 15.7 C | PASS |
Fan Off, 160 MHz, UXD Test | 46.0 C+ | 23.1 C | 22.9 C | FAIL |
The CPU Die Test shows the Titan to be fairly effective, while the on-board tests very clearly show the benefits over passive Northbridge cooling. I turned the fan back on after Northbridge temps started to hit 50C and still climbing. I reran the memory tests with the same results.
If you are not actively cooling your Northbridge, the Titan is a nifty way to cool it down and maybe get higher FSBs out of your system. The Titan is the first chip cooler I have tested that’s copper, and it’s a welcome addition to chip coolers on the market.
Be the first to comment