Northbridge Chip Corner Chipped. Is this a problem?

E

EPS Sniper

Gawd
Joined
Mar 13, 2000
Messages
609
I was putting in a new northbridge cooler on mobo (Thermalright HR-05/IFX on a Gigabyte GA69GM-S2H) and I accidentally chipped a tiny piece of the corner of the northbridge chip during the install. I have been running the computer with no problems now but am still scared about it all.

I used Arctic Silver Adhesive to hold the cooler on, in addition to the hardware it came with. Needless to say this is a permanent setup, so there's no going back to check things out now. Maybe the AS epoxy sealed up the corner nicely?

My question is, "Is this a problem or will it be a problem in the future?" I'm paranoid as hell about my stuff and hope I didn't screw anything up.

Here are some pics:

Chipped corner:

Chipped-Corner.jpg


Up close:

Chipped-Up-Close.jpg


And the final product (what a pain):

Thermalright-Done.jpg
 
Shouldn't be a problem at all. The corner is far away from the die and it doesn't look to have breached any traces within the chip.
 
If it still works then it's fine. Although replacing northbridge coolers isn't something I usually recommend as it usually causes more problems then it's worth.
 
Thanks for the comments guys. I don't know if it was actually worth the effort or not, but at least I know it'll stay cool and isn't broken. If you're thinking about buying this cooler, keep in mind that the mounting clip and the base of the heatsink are two separate pieces (obviously) and the heatsink will be able to twist back and forth, hence my redone clamping method and use of AS epoxy.
 
I do have a question though - why did you use adhesive instead of paste? I've found that adhesive works as more of a blanket then a transfer material and may make your temps worse, even though you put such a huge heatsink on your northbridge.
 
Just to reiterate what everyone else has said, if your motherboard works now then it probably is fine and will keep on working. If you think that tiny little chip in the corner of the die is bad you should see some of the old abused Socket A Athlons I've got laying about. (That still work fine I might add) :D

I would consider yourself lucky, however. Not lucky because the Northbridge made it past the nick, but because it made it past the use of Arctic Silver Thermal Adhesive. If I remember correctly AS Adhesive is extremely electrically conductive... it's a miracle you managed to avoid a short across a critical SMD resistor/capacitor. Not only that but now you've pretty much guaranteed that you'll never be able to remove that cooler without killing the motherboard (ripping off the northbridge die), the cooler, or both.
 
SharpieFiend said:
I do have a question though - why did you use adhesive instead of paste? I've found that adhesive works as more of a blanket then a transfer material and may make your temps worse, even though you put such a huge heatsink on your northbridge.
Click to expand...

I used the adhesive instead of the paste because I found that even with additional clamping the heatsink could move left and right with moderate effort. The adhesive is supposed to be pretty close in thermal conductivity as the paste, as they are both from the Arctic Silver line of products. AS5 adhesive has a conductance of greater than 7.5 W/mK, which isn't too shabby

Blue Falcon said:
Just to reiterate what everyone else has said, if your motherboard works now then it probably is fine and will keep on working. If you think that tiny little chip in the corner of the die is bad you should see some of the old abused Socket A Athlons I've got laying about. (That still work fine I might add) :D

I would consider yourself lucky, however. Not lucky because the Northbridge made it past the nick, but because it made it past the use of Arctic Silver Thermal Adhesive. If I remember correctly AS Adhesive is extremely electrically conductive... it's a miracle you managed to avoid a short across a critical SMD resistor/capacitor. Not only that but now you've pretty much guaranteed that you'll never be able to remove that cooler without killing the motherboard (ripping off the northbridge die), the cooler, or both.
Click to expand...

I thought for sure that something may happen due to it having silver in it, but Arctic Silver claims that it's meant to conduct heat more than electricity. I do know that if it covers leads on a chip and good pressure is placed on that spot then it could cause problems, but I am hoping that the chip on the corner was far away enough from any critical components inside. I am happy overall with the cooler and have accepted that I will have to keep the cooler on forever or sell it with the motherboard when the time comes.

I appreciate everyone's input on this. I must say that if I had a choice at this point I would have put the money towards something a little more worthwhile and a little less dangerous.
 
Blue Falcon said:
If I remember correctly AS Adhesive is extremely electrically conductive...
Click to expand...

You do not remember correctly. Arctic Silver is completely non-conductive. AS5 is slightly capacitive, but that's the extent of it.
 
I'm sure that Ceramique was developed to be non-conductive due to worries with Arctic Silver's conductivity. Arctic Silver is mildly conductive, but I'm pretty sure that it didn't get near any leads inside the core.

I wish I would have remembered to take the temps down so that I could see what difference this all made. I have used SpeedFan to monitor temps, but I can't really tell what's what.
 
EPS Sniper said:
I'm sure that Ceramique was developed to be non-conductive due to worries with Arctic Silver's conductivity. Arctic Silver is mildly conductive, but I'm pretty sure that it didn't get near any leads inside the core.

I wish I would have remembered to take the temps down so that I could see what difference this all made. I have used SpeedFan to monitor temps, but I can't really tell what's what.
Click to expand...

AS5 is non-conductive, but it is capacitive, AS Ceramique is both non-conductive and non-capacitive.
 
i dont see the problem in letting the HS swivel slightly. it;s not like you're gonna be inside your case daily moving shit around. all the thermalright HSFs i've seen in the last few years swiveled a few degrees without problems. in fact, if you read the Ceramique installation guide, it requires you to swivel the HS to help spread the bead and cover the die.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top