Zalman Northbridge Coolers interfere with an SP-97?

CoolRunnings · Post by **CoolRunnings** » Sat Jan 17, 2004 1:07 pm

Well I finally figured that the annoying buzzing noise I was hearing from my computer was the little northbridge fan on my Abit NF7-S. I'm currently running a Thermalright SLK-947U (with a SP-97 in the mail already) and I need to replace this NB fan with a passive cooler. I'm considering these two Zalman heatsinks but I need to know if they would interfere with proper mounting of an SLK-947U or an SP-97.

ZM-NB32J
ZM-NB47J

Does anyone have any experience with either of these in combination with an Abit NF7-S motherboard and an SP-97 or SLK-947U heatsink? Will they interfere with each other? Any recommendations would be appreciated! Thanks!!!

chylld · Post by **chylld** » Sat Jan 17, 2004 1:36 pm

Welcome to SPCR, CoolRunnings!

From what I've heard, the 47 is overkill for this application - the 32 is more than adequate. (It's already beefier than the heatsink that came with my asus a7n8x-e deluxe). It's also smaller than the 47.

I don't think you'll have any problems since the thermalright doesn't 'flare out' like e.g. the zalman cnps7000a. And even if it did, you can snip the offending prongs off without too much hassle.

Perhaps you can post a pic of your current setup to show how intrusive the thermalright is?

CoolRunnings · Post by **CoolRunnings** » Sat Jan 17, 2004 2:26 pm

Thanks! I think I'll go ahead and order one from SVC, then I'll see if I can get some pics to post.

The Insider · Post by **The Insider** » Sat Feb 21, 2004 2:01 pm

I'd like to hear the final conclusion about whether the SP-97 actually fits with Abit NF7-S w/ Zalman ZM-NB32J or ZM-NB47J.

CoolRunnings · Post by **CoolRunnings** » Sat Feb 21, 2004 2:18 pm

Well it worked. It's really close but it works.

The Insider · Post by **The Insider** » Sat Feb 21, 2004 2:43 pm

Thank you for the information! I'm about to buy the NF7-S mobo w/ ZM-NB32J and I have two main options for the HS solution: Thermalright SP-97 and Aerocool HT-101. The latter is reported to be very effective while using low airflow fans.

The Insider · Post by **The Insider** » Sat Feb 21, 2004 3:01 pm

In this roundup http://www.hartware.net/review_380_11.html (text in German) HT-101 with stock fan at 5V beats both SLK-900A (w/ HT-101 stock fan) and Zalman CNPS7000A-Cu @ 12V when comparing CPU temperatures. However, HT-101 is somewhat louder (1 dB) than SLK-900A with the same fan at 5V and 5 dB louder than CNPS7000A-Cu when fan voltages have been set to 5V for both coolers.

However, the lower CPU temperatures with HT-101 makes it possibe to use it with less airflow (and noise) producing fans in order to lower the noise level of the cooler.

The Insider · Post by **The Insider** » Sun Feb 22, 2004 3:43 pm

CoolRunnings wrote:Well it worked. It's really close but it works.

Were you forced to put the SP-97 in an orientation that is not recommended by the installation guide (the heatpipe curve on upper side)?