Rampage X48 Cooling

ATLPIMP

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Jun 27, 2002
Messages
1,125
Recently migrated from 780i to passive Rampage Formula x48 motherboard. While I'm pleased with the decision, I have one concern. The northbridge runs very hot(~60* load), especially above 1333MHz. Using the added cooler included with the board actually does not lower temps at all. Perhaps due to my BATX case.

I have a close tolerance for what I can use (see pic), and the only thing I've been able to find is the HR-05 SLI, This seems like it would allow me to offset the heatsink to clear my CPU heatsink. But, with this cooler on my board how can I reasonably manage cooling the rest of the components? I don't really want to spend $100 on trying to cool this thing so inexpensive components would be nice, but I'm not sure what's required for each component.

Northbridge.jpg
 
you could always do a ghetto rigged fan thats blowing on the heatsink.. thats definitely under 100 bucks :p

or get a couple 60mm fans and glue them to the northbridge heatsink.. unless you can fit something larger on it.. i havnt seen that board in person..
 
a 60mm fan would overlap the portion of of the heatsink directly above the northbridge.

I have spent a lot of time modding this case and a lot of money on the internals (still not done). The case will have a laser cut side window to see the internals. So, there will be no 'ghetto rigged' fan hanging halfway off my northbridge!:D

Basically, I don't have a problem paying for a nice part, but I don't know what will fit. It's a shame that I'm having these issue, because the board ocs like a champ (460fsb so far), but it gets too hot at anything above 333.
 
lol might as well start working on water cooling if you plan to put a lot of money into that case/system.. atleast you will get more stable temps and better overclocks maybe..
 
lol might as well start working on water cooling if you plan to put a lot of money into that case/system.. atleast you will get more stable temps and better overclocks maybe..

This seems to be the norm these days... 'just go uber leet water cooling'. There's plenty of options out there, that I'm sure do MUCH better than the Asus contraption. However, figuring out what will fit in mine is where I'm asking for help.

I know that the results I'm seeking can be had with quality air parts.

Thanks for your help so far, but I don't think you understand where I'm coming from... or trying to get.
 
I have the p5e deluxe board, which is basically the same thing

Because I run a larger Full Tower ATX case, my northbridge temps are under control even with high voltage.

You just need well placed airflow :)

I also tightened down the heatsinks and added some rubber washers to the backs of the clips to increase mounting pressure. I suppose I should actually take off all the heatsinks and reapply with a better thermal paste, but I didn't see any improvement with higher mounting pressure...it's just not worth it.

Just be creative about your airflow and you'll get better temps.
 
There's nothing really to do about that other then get maybe an antec spot cooler. The reason is because the northbridge heatsink is like one giant part that also cools the mosfets and everything else. I did redo the TIM and I'm about at 60 C as well
 
Not sure if you already did so, but reapplying TIM is always a good idea. I did on my maximus formula and i think it gets only up to about 50 or so at load? not quite sure but it seems to be cool enough
 
I did not modify the cooling in any way (basically out of the box, in to the case), and mine loads at ~60* at 333MHz. What's getting me is the temps. I'm thinking about the Thermalright HR-05 SLI. That would offset the sink to clear my CPU sink.
 
If so, you're going to need something to cool the south bridge as well. I know that EVGA sells these tiny little fans specifically for that, i think they're like 2 bucks.

edit: and you'll need to cool the mosfets somehow too. the entire cooling system is one huge copper block connected to everything. that is, unless they changed the design on the x48 boards.
 
Not sure if you already did so, but reapplying TIM is always a good idea. I did on my maximus formula and i think it gets only up to about 50 or so at load? not quite sure but it seems to be cool enough

wow what are you ambient temps? Mine is 60 idle :X But then again I did bump the voltage on it...
 
Mine is 56C idle and loads into the low 60s. The included fan made ~2c difference.
 
wow what are you ambient temps? Mine is 60 idle :X But then again I did bump the voltage on it...

well on my maximus (with rampage formula x38 bios flash), i'm running my q6600 at 3.6 and 4 gigs ram at 1066 5-5-5-15, clock twister at moderate, 400 fsb. I dont remember my exact nbv but i believe its like 1.59 or 1.61. I can't say for certain but I'm pretty sure my idle bios nb temp is around 46? I haven't actually measured nb temps during load but I assume theyre no higher than the low 60's. I know that isn't much help, but if i remember correctly, those are my approximate temps.

I just took off the entire copper heatsink and wiped everything down real nice (took forever to get the stock crap off, they put a ridiculous amount on. The hs looked flat so i didnt lap it, just applied ceramique in a nice thin layer on the nb and sb chips and put the thing back on, made sure to tighten it. I have an hr-05 (or 03 i dont remember which is the nb hs) but decided not to use it since like I said, the stock hs is one big piece connected to everything. I figured messing with the mosfet hs was too much trouble.

hope that helps!
 
well on my maximus (with rampage formula x38 bios flash), i'm running my q6600 at 3.6 and 4 gigs ram at 1066 5-5-5-15, clock twister at moderate, 400 fsb. I dont remember my exact nbv but i believe its like 1.59 or 1.61. I can't say for certain but I'm pretty sure my idle bios nb temp is around 46? I haven't actually measured nb temps during load but I assume theyre no higher than the low 60's. I know that isn't much help, but if i remember correctly, those are my approximate temps.

I just took off the entire copper heatsink and wiped everything down real nice (took forever to get the stock crap off, they put a ridiculous amount on. The hs looked flat so i didnt lap it, just applied ceramique in a nice thin layer on the nb and sb chips and put the thing back on, made sure to tighten it. I have an hr-05 (or 03 i dont remember which is the nb hs) but decided not to use it since like I said, the stock hs is one big piece connected to everything. I figured messing with the mosfet hs was too much trouble.

hope that helps!

damn, everest reports my idle temp at like 58-60
 
hey i just wanted to add, im using a rampage formula and a q9450, have used both watercooling, including the asus nb fan, and now a xigmatek s1283, both resulted in 60 degree nb temps even at stock volt
 
I installed everest ultimate and my reported idle nb temp is 46-47. the nb volt is 1.60-1.62. I ran intel burn test (there's really nothing better) and was surprised to see that my nb temp did not change whatsoever. I don't know if the reporting is off or what but clearly my system is 100% stable and so far I have never had problems with temps. Like I said, all I did in regard to the nb was take off the cooler and reapply TIM. If this is really the reason for my temps (and not an error on everest's part), then I again urge you to do what I did. Here's a screenshot during full load with burntest -

16c6qrs.jpg
 
So tonight I decided to use AS5 on the board and found quite a nice surprise once I got the assembly off.

heatsinkbad1.jpg


heatsinkbad.jpg


heatsinkbad2.jpg


Kind of sucks to RMA the board because of this.
 
shit man that's a bust! best to RMA though, those temps might kill it in the long run anyway..

by the way, I'd use ceramique instead of as5, or mx-2 would be even better. I know as5 isn't "conductive", but wouldn't wanna risk it on a core without an ihs i think. good luck with your new board and report back with temps!
 
X48 does have IHS on northbridge, and no exposed core on southbridge. I've already installed AS5 and put everything back together. Temps are down about 8*C at idle, haven't tested under load. I think I will just keep the board and in the next few weeks I'll get some better cooling on there.

FWIW, the x48 must be different than the X38, the heatsink for the nb/sb is different than the mosfets (not one piece).

http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=197&products_id=22488

and this for the souhbridge:

http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=197&products_id=21311
 
that southbridge cooler looks nice...im thinking maybe when i take apart my comp to put in new ccfl's, i might take out the motherboard and check about the whole mosfet thing. if that's the case i might just put my hr-05 to use and get that sb heatsink... im not so much worried about temps as i dislike the copper heatsink look...i want to actually utilize my hr-05 instead of having it sit in my closet.
 
I understand. I'm a stickler for matching/looks. I live a few blocks away from MicroCenter, and they stock the Noctua cooler (I already have the Noctua CPU cooler) for $35. Better yet, they'll let me return it if it doesn't fit... It's not offset, but it is quite small.

I want to keep my CPU fan vertical, as I have found a 2 degree difference in temps when mounted horizontally, in my case.

You can see in my pictures of the bad heatpipe that it is indeed two different heatsinks for the mosfets and nb/sb. It is my opinion that the northbridge heatsink is not actually copper, or solid copper.

my case:

now-4.jpg


I'm surely going to keep this board, so I don't have to deal with the down time or the chance to get a new board that's defective... after my experience with getting a working 780i board (first board had defective memory controller, second would not post, third worked great), I'll stick with this one and a fan.
 
Perhaps you could just take photos and talk to asus? They may just send you a new heatsink setup?
 
I'm pretty sure they'll at least give you another NB cooler. That damage there looks like someone left the torch on it :/
 
i dont really understand whats wrong with that cooler.

though ive got an OCZ ram cooler on mine, and it seems to spread across the NB/SB HSF so help cooler it a bit, and i think i get maybe 44c or so.
 
I have contacted Asus tech support, with no response yet.

The heatpipe has been punctured.
 
:O Thats definately not suppose to be there. Just out of curiousity... whats the ideal temp for the N/B? I'm using the Rampage as well. Here's my results (Watercooling on CPU and GPU - N/B & S/B on stock sink)

1strunload.jpg
 
I've installed a 120mm fan blowing over the northbridge area, and temps are now at 45*. Asus insists I return the board, that a new cooling assembly is not possible.


This is now inspiring me to return to watercooling... so I'll wait to send the board in, if I do.
 
I've installed a 120mm fan blowing over the northbridge area, and temps are now at 45*. Asus insists I return the board, that a new cooling assembly is not possible.


This is now inspiring me to return to watercooling... so I'll wait to send the board in, if I do.

If you do go that route, which I'm planning on doing actually...any idea how you're going to cool the mosfets?
 
They have a seperate heatsink.

I thought the mosfets heatsinks were part of the NB cooling system too? I'm looking at my mainboard now and it all looks connected. Am I missing something?

I also have the same quesion, if I decide to upgrade my NB cooling, what could I use for the mosfets, southbridge?
 
You must be missing something; they're two different (seperate) parts.:) Look at my pics.

heatsinkbad1.jpg


Thermalright and Enzotech both make some fine parts for the northbridge, south bridge, and mosfets.
 
question about that gray plastic heatsink, does that actually cover anything besides the top of the mosfet heatsink? If i remember right, it doesn't really do anything.
 
That's not plastic, but alluminum, and the end of the heatpipe passes through it for more cooling. Surely, it has some benefit to northbridge/sb cooling, but I don't see any way it could/would effect the cooling of the mosfets... besides placing a fan on top of it (retail Asus fan), and having air wash over the mosfets.


...it won't be missed.

I'm thinking I'll try and snag up all these parts some time next month, and maybe pay a little less since the core 7 stuff may be out by then.
 
yeah i meant aluminum, don't know why i said plastic. Plastic heatsinks - the future of cooling!

well, I'm basically convinced. As soon as my paycheck arrives I'm buying another hr-05 and some mx-2 and scrapping my stock cooling. Going to get dual hr-05's on the nb and sb. Hopefully my soundcard doesn't get in the way of the hs on the sb.
 
Hello all,

Just in case someone like me comes looking for advice in this thread, I wanted to say what HSF I'm using for the Rampage Formula. I looked around for a week and just couldn't find a straight answer re: a cooling solution for this board.

After reading an almost overwhelming amount of opinions, I went with the Artic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro. This heatsink uses pushpins, but installed significantly more easily than the stock Intel heatsink. It also fits perfectly on the Rampage, with no need for even a minor modification. It's pretty quiet, but my standards on that are pretty low.

Also, a warning. I have the Coolermaster 690. While I really like the case and my temps are all between 37-46c, the combination of the rampage formula and the CM 690 works a bit awkwardly.

There are plastic clips (designed to hold your cabled in place - good idea in theory) within the interior of the case which, once the rampage is installed, are flush against the side of the motherboard. Since the board uses side mounts for it's IDE and SATA connections, these plastic clips are literally flush up against the IDE port.

See here: Maximum PC describes the phenomenon:

http://www.maximumpc.com/article/cooler_master_690
 
yeah i meant aluminum, don't know why i said plastic. Plastic heatsinks - the future of cooling!

well, I'm basically convinced. As soon as my paycheck arrives I'm buying another hr-05 and some mx-2 and scrapping my stock cooling. Going to get dual hr-05's on the nb and sb. Hopefully my soundcard doesn't get in the way of the hs on the sb.

Hrm...I have some HR-05 SLIs I could try out....
 
there's a link in another thread from this forum that shows pics of a maximus formula with an hr-05 on the nb. the guy that posted the pics is using that enzotech (or whatever) sb heatsink, which i personally think looks like shit and probably doesn't do a much better job than the stock hs. I was concerned with an hr-05 on the sb being too tall and getting in the way of the video card, but the dimensions of the enzotech show that it's actually taller than the hr-05, so I won't have any problems.

I'm thinking about even getting the hr-09's for my mosfets but they're pretty pricey - 25 bucks, and I'd need 2 of them. Either way, as soon as I get my paycheck, stock cooling is going away and I'm getting twin hr-05's.
 
Axon, I understand you're talking about a cpu heatsink, I'm/we're after chipset cooling. I'm using a Noctua cooler on mine, and there are no fitment issues in either orientation. I think even the largest; IFX-14, would fit this board without a problem... so the cpu heatsink is pretty much wide open for the end user.

You guys gotta think about water cooling! :D

I'm going to get into this pretty cheap, with all new parts, maybe $175-200 for everything...
 
Back
Top