Can the Enzotech CNB-S1L cool the Nforce4 sufficiently?

comfortablynumb · Post by **comfortablynumb** » Wed Mar 04, 2009 7:10 pm

My northbridge died on my DFI Lanparty Ultra D last year, I replaced it with the Evercool VC-RE. It has a very strong chemical new smell that won't burn off, and being in my room I can't have that. (I'm also very chemically sensitive as well, so it just won't work)

If I rip it out and replace it with the Enzotech CNB-S1L, will that be sufficient enough to cool it? My system:
Nvidia 8400 Gigabyte stock passive cool
1 Globalwin 120mm Intake fan (Ceramic bearing 41Cfm)
1 Evercool 120MM Aluminum exhaust fan I believe it moves up to 70CFM on full
The side panel I can enable a 80MM Fan if need be
PSU is Coolermaster with 1 120MM Fan
AMD 64 (939) 3000+ OEM HSF

fmriguy · Post by **fmriguy** » Wed Mar 04, 2009 10:45 pm

I have an Ultra D and use a Zalman ZM-NB47J for the northbridge. I do have some airflow directed over it though (undervolted 92mm fan). It's WAY cooler than the stock hair-dryer fan/heatsink combo. I would be hesitant to use it in an environment without airflow directed towards it, as it gets extremely warm if I stop the fan. I think it would be a better choice than the Enzotech sink you linked to given that the Zalman appears to have a lot more surface area. IIRC, I think I needed to use the lower PCI-e slot for the graphics card since the heatsink blocks the top one, but I'm not 100% sure....

comfortablynumb · Post by **comfortablynumb** » Wed Mar 04, 2009 11:09 pm

fmriguy wrote:I have an Ultra D and use a Zalman ZM-NB47J for the northbridge. I do have some airflow directed over it though (undervolted 92mm fan). It's WAY cooler than the stock hair-dryer fan/heatsink combo. I would be hesitant to use it in an environment without airflow directed towards it, as it gets extremely warm if I stop the fan. I think it would be a better choice than the Enzotech sink you linked to given that the Zalman appears to have a lot more surface area. IIRC, I think I needed to use the lower PCI-e slot for the graphics card since the heatsink blocks the top one, but I'm not 100% sure....

Thanks for the reply, as for direct airflow, the side blow hole is maybe 6" from the chipset. There is an antec 80mm smart cool fan there I just don't have it plugged in. This is my current chintzy case (but decent airflow)

PCI Express, I would like to keep the card in the slot it's in now because if you move it down one it runs at the slower speed (x4 as opposed to x16)

Yea the stock fan leaves much to be desired, before ripping it out it was still spinning just noisy as and running the chip at 60C+ with the smelly VC-RE it stays around 45C.

In any regard I need to come up with a solution soon, I haven't used my computer in months, I been living on my old Thinkpad

I just hope that smell isn't embedded into the system now..

SebRad · Post by **SebRad** » Thu Mar 05, 2009 6:25 am

Hi, I don't think the heatsink you linked to would be at all big enough to cool the notoriously hot nForce4 chipset. I think people have found the much bigger Zalman NB47J to not be big enough for passive cooling on an nForce4 board.
I think your best bet is going to be ThermalRight HR-05 / HR-05 SLI, review of the SLI version here.
It's big and on right-angled heatpipes so the fins are away from the video card. It probably doesn't need a fan, I have "normal" HR-05 on my i965 motherboard and it works fine with no fan. (But so did the much smaller passive stock heatsink!)
Some Google image search brought me to links to pics in this thread. Not sure if the same LanParty that you have but will give you idea of the fit. The clip-to-base interface is round so the heatsink can be mounted to almost any angle if needed.
Regrads, Seb

jhhoffma · Post by **jhhoffma** » Thu Mar 05, 2009 8:08 am

Another alternative would be the Xigmatek PTR-N881. It used to be a little cheaper than the HR-05 but the Thermalrights seem to have come down a little to the same level.

fmriguy · Post by **fmriguy** » Thu Mar 05, 2009 10:18 am

SebRad wrote: I think people have found the much bigger Zalman NB47J to not be big enough for passive cooling on an nForce4 board.

Yep, you're right about that, if I run it completely passive, it approaches 75deg C. However, the minute I put any undervolted fan near it the temps drop down below what the stock heatsink could offer, usually around 40-45deg C.

That said, given that you really want to use the top x16 slot, comfortablynumb, the Thermalright might be your best option as others have said.

TheAtomicKid · Post by **TheAtomicKid** » Fri Mar 13, 2009 3:26 am

I own one of the mentioned enzotech heatsinks, and currently have it attached to an nforce 4 ultra motherboard. It does just fine, although you'll want to make sure it gets some airflow.

Previous to that, I used an aluminum zalman sink that I modified a bit with some diag cutters to make room for my video card cooler. It did fine too, but I liked the enzo better (it fits under the level of the pci slot, so no need to modify anything, so it looks nicer.

Plus it's copper, and it appears to be slightly larger in surface area, plus a LOT more pins in it.

Atomic

PS: Some modified video card coolers, like the zalman 700's, will spill enough exhaust over the heatsink to do the job, assuming the video card cooler is in the correct position relative to the northbridge. Your mileage will vary.

comfortablynumb · Post by **comfortablynumb** » Mon May 11, 2009 6:14 pm

Ok so I tried the Enzotech I posted above, it definitely does not work, even with a 80mm fan hovering above it within 5 minutes of post I was at 50C and climbing.

If I get the Thermalright HR-05 SLI, with it to being passive am I looking at just throwing away more cash, or would that actually cool the chip, I see they say you can strap a fan to it, I don't know what to do at this point. I know I'm sick of using my laptop and throwing good cash after bad.

Thanks everyone for the suggestions thus far