Quote Originally Posted by aster View Post
Seems stock NB & Mosfets heatsinks are removable without removing heatpipes!
Sweat, but do you think MCW30 & MIPS P5E Mosfets waterblocks will fit on top of heatpipe?
You can do what you are asking, but I would not suggest it. First--the NB. The heat-pipe assembly is one large piece. The NB gets compound (get rid of the Pond scum and apply your own compound) and a a large copper block encased in the heat pipe assembly sits on the NB. Then, you have ANOTHER layer of compound to apply before installing the finned heatsink on top of the copper block, (which is installed on top of the NB). That's TWO layers of compound that heat must try to infiltrate. Gigabyte has the same setup. The MOSFETT finned heatsinks sit on TOP of the HEATPIPE and mine had little contact (also Pond scum). This means there is also compound UNDER the heatsink to make contact with the MOSFETTS. Another TWO layers of compound. So, the only way I can see to efficiently install your own MCW30 etc., is to completely remove the heatpipe assembly. Let me add that after chipping away the patented Asus Pond Scum imported from a secret Pond in Louisanna, and applying Arctic Cooling MX2 compound (to ALL areas), my temps drastically improved. I mean DRASTICALLY! Please don't misunderstand--the Asus Maximus II Formula is one of the best boards Asus has ever made and it can easily keep up with the X38/X48 boards. The heat-pipe assembly is very, very pretty, but really is not as effective as Asus would like you to believe. For instance, with my board--the solid copper block embedded in the heat-pipe assembly (for the NB), was installed at a slight angle, meaning it wasn't flat. It didn't make complete contact with the NB chip and in order to have the NB finned heatsink make complete contact with the top of the copper block, I had to put thermal compound on very think on the "lower" side. I eventually was able to force the copper block to lay flat, so---just beware. I think most buyers of this board would probably be just fine the way it is straight out of the box, but I know from experience of the "Pond Scum" issue, and I want the best thermal solution I can get. I have no problems with the current heat-pipe assembly, getting my Intel E8600 CPU past 4GHz on air with no voltage adjustments other than RAM. That is really SWEET. Soon, I will cool everything with water and go for the 5GHz mark.