P5N-32-SLI-PLUS North Chipset TOO HOT!
When reading about this mainboard I knew that when I got it it would have issues with hot chipsets.
The reviews were not kidding, the North got to hot to touch even when not OC.
I looked into coolers for the chipset.
Zalman makes some nice ones but they were no larger than the ones that came with the P5N so that would be a waste.
I wanted to stay away form liquid cooling so I turned to a new product made by Thermaltake.
Extreme Spirit II
They are more expensive than most, but are IMO totally effective.
The 40 mm fan has a standard 3 pin connector that taps the power from the main board. PC PROBE II allows full control over the fans. (Run at 80% and they are dead silent)
http://www.overclockers.com.ua/coole...lue-ice/02.jpg
The install was simple; the only negative was that the Main board had to be removed. Aside from that, the hardware made it easy to apply good force to maintain contact with the chipset. The large base easily collected and stored the initial heat and the assembly can be turned to point into any direction.
I have a sonic tower and a XFX 7950GT (Both Massive Passive Coolers)
I was still able to fit these into my system so there should be no problem installing it on any computer as my system can be seen as the worst case scenario. (Size Limited)
I left the OEM heatsinks that rest by the cpu. They cool the MOSFET Banks. I used a dremel to cut the hollow heatpipe and then re-installed it with ARTIC-5.
Taking the heat load off the Mosfets by removing the heat coming in from the pipes made a huge diference up top.
http://www.msprotege.com/members/Brian%20MP5T/NB1.jpg
http://www.msprotege.com/members/Brian%20MP5T/11.jpg
http://www.msprotege.com/members/Brian%20MP5T/NB2.jpg
http://www.msprotege.com/members/Brian%20MP5T/NB3.jpg
http://www.msprotege.com/members/Brian%20MP5T/NB4.jpg
http://www.msprotege.com/members/Brian%20MP5T/NB5.jpg
http://www.msprotege.com/members/Brian%20MP5T/NB7.jpg
http://www.msprotege.com/members/Brian%20MP5T/10.jpg
http://www.msprotege.com/members/Brian%20MP5T/13.jpg
http://www.msprotege.com/members/Bri...20-%20(22).jpg
The Spirit II was able to reduce the core temp of the NB from 80 Deg to a stable 45 Deg. Unreal, this should be standard with the main board or at least something similar on any board designed for the Gamer/OC'er.
Buy them if you are able to, I am very impressed.