What kind of temps can the nForce4 Ultra chipset take?

carl4286 · July 13th, 2005

I was just looking inside my comptuer (a shuttle xpc small form factor barebone, the sn25p) to see if my NV5 silencer was working alright... anyway, the computer was on when I was fishing around inside (stupid, I know) and I decided to fee around on the chipset and CPU heatsinks. The xpc has an nForce4 Ultra chipset, actively cooled with an aluminum heatsink and a small 40mm fan (very quiet, probably around 5cfm). I could barely touch the surface of the heatsink for 5 seconds before the burning became unbearable.... this is when I touched the TOP of the ALUMINUM (doesnt conduct heat nearly as well as some other metals) heatsink, about an inch above the surface of the chipset. From the feel of it, the top of the heatsink was probably upwards of 60C (just guessing), and I can't imagine how hot the chipset itself was.

My old Gigabyte motherboard, which also used the nForce4 Ultra chipset was passively cooled with a very short aluminum heatsink with not alot of surface area, and it was never very hot at all.

So what kind of temperatures are safe for my chipset?

~~FX-Fragger~~ · July 13th, 2005

mine goes upto 45c

***Deimos*** · July 13th, 2005

Regarding the top of the heatsink: It's aluminum, yes? When aluminum or metal or steel has been in the heat for awhile, temperatures may start to build up. This can be observed on a regular thermometer if it's been outside for awhile. The arrow might be pointing at 100 F (35 C), when it is infact only 80 F (25 C) outside.

As for the safe temperature for the nForce 4 chipset: A safe temperature can be 70 Celsius. I beleive I remember some companies saying this, such as Gigabyte. I was skeptical, because that is VERY hot! Other people seem to be running at the same temperature, I guess that is standard.

carl4286 · July 13th, 2005

Thanks Solid Snake. I can understand the heat building up concept with a passive heatsink, however the chipset heatsink has a 40mm fan that blows straight infront of the intake (blows perpendicular to the airflow into the cooler, about three inches infront) for my NV5 Silencer. So most of the heat should be sucked right out of the case after it cools the chipset any my 6800GT.

70C is a pretty good temp. I just hope thats a realistic number...

Quote:

Originally Posted by FX-Fragger

mine goes upto 45c

Do you have a temp probe on yours, or does the nForce4 chipset have a thermal diode in it? Can I get the temp of mine without digging up the heatsink and putting a thermal probe underneath?

***Deimos*** · July 13th, 2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by FX-Fragger

mine goes upto 45c

That'd be a great temperature to get, because anything over 75 C is probably pushing it, and you don't want a fried motherboard. I myself am finding it hard to think that 70 C is a safe number, but if a company says so, you'll have to take their word for it.

carl4286 · July 13th, 2005

I hope Shuttle is as confident as Gigabyte. I believe I voided the warrenty on the barebone... the installation of my (quite large) NV5 silencer into my small form factor system involved, hmm... a drill press, a milling machine, a metal vice, a hack saw, some high grit sand paper, and a metal file.

If my chipset overheats on my irriplacable motherboard (without the purchase of a new $400 barebone), at this point its my problem and not Shuttle's.

***Deimos*** · July 13th, 2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by carl4286

...involved, hmm... a drill press, a milling machine, a metal vice, a hack saw, some high grit sand paper, and a metal file.

Lol, using those tools on any computer hardware is very risky and probably shouldn't be done, but if the componets work the way you want them to afterwards...success! :lol:

Dr.SharK · July 13th, 2005

I have an Asus nForce 4 A8N-E and my temp is about 40 for CPU and 55 for GFX (X850 XL)

carl4286 · July 13th, 2005

Well I had a trusty (and not dangerous around computers at all) 150psi air compresser right alongside me the whole time so while my dad was drilling/sawing/sanding away I could blast the metal chips out of the motherboard.... yup, I'd say overall a complete success...