On Mon, Apr 7, 2014 at 10:53 PM, Stan Hoeppner <stan@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote: > Replacing the heatsink is low cost, low risk. If it doesn't fix the > problem and you end up replacing the mobo you can likely use it on the > new board's PCH as well. Good point, I'm down for just owning a good chipset heatsink for this or any other board. > Due to ever increasing integration, most mobos today have a single > system support chip in place of the previous north/south bridge duo. > Aftermarket heatsinks are typically sized such that larger units are for > the "northbridge" and smaller units for the "southbridge". > "Northbridge" heatsinks are typically used for single chip systems as > the mounting footprint and thermal output are similar. Thanks for explaining this, I was getting really confused. > Measure between the approximate centers of the two spring loaded plastic > mounting tabs. You don't need an exact measurement to 1mm, but a > ballpark. The hole spacing is fairly standardized by the industry. > Your measurement should fall into one of 3 ranges, and this will dictate > which heatsink you buy: > > 47.5 - 53mm > 53 - 59mm > 59 - 63mm > I ran home during lunch and tried to get a quick measurement. I kept coming up with 53mm which makes me nervous since it straddles two of your ranges, but I measured twice. Since you say the bigger passive cooler is better anyway, maybe I should get that CNB-R1, with the multiple mounting rings? My only hesitation is if I do ever decide to go with a discrete HBA (and potentially needed more than one if I had more than 8 drives) I would be using more of those expansion slots. On Mon, Apr 7, 2014 at 10:53 PM, Stan Hoeppner <stan@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote: > On 4/7/2014 2:28 PM, Barrett Lewis wrote: >> Sorry for the delay, I didn't want to reply until I got time to get >> down into the machine and do some research. > ... >> On Wed, Apr 2, 2014 at 4:42 AM, Stan Hoeppner <stan@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote: >> >>> There are 6 models of the Asrock z77. All but one contain a PCH >>> heatsink designed to look cool rather than properly cool the chip. The >>> Asrock z77 Extreme 11 has a fan so is an exception, and also has an >>> onboard 8 port LSI SAS controller (9211-8i), so I assume you do not have >>> the Extreme 11. >> >> Mine is the Z77 Extreme4, picture below. > > Yep, same as all Z77s but for the Extreme 11. > >>> With consumer PC hardware random lockups occurring only under heavy disk >>> IO are most often the result of thermal buildup in the PCH (Northbridge) >>> chip. This can occur when all the drives are connected to its SATA >>> ports as in your case, but it can also occur when using one or more >>> SAS/SATA HBAs if the PCIe slots are connected through the PCH. The odds >>> are very good that your lockups are a result of the poor PCH heatsink >>> design on the Asrock boards exacerbated by insufficient case airflow >>> across the heatsink. What case is this z77 board in? Be specific >>> please so I can pull up the schematic. >> >> The case is an NZXT H2. It has all (and only) the stock fans running. > > This case seems to have a have a decent airflow design. > >> Overheating would fit the way it is fine until a long heavy operation, >> and even then doesn't crash until a random time a ways into the >> operation. >> Much of the hardware stuff is outside of my domain of knowledge which >> is why I was leaning towards buying new equipment. > > Replacing the heatsink is low cost, low risk. If it doesn't fix the > problem and you end up replacing the mobo you can likely use it on the > new board's PCH as well. > >> Is the PCH the part I circled in yellow? http://i.imgur.com/safg5iW.jpg > > Yep, that's it. Notice the aesthetic cover attached over the heat sink > fins? The aluminum heatsink under it has high thermal resistance due to > being aluminum and having a small fin surface area. That cover > increases the thermal resistance further by preventing airflow from > reaching the fins. Couple this with the fact that low quality thermal > interface material (TIM, paste, tape) is used on factory installed mobo > chipset heatsinks, and this demonstrates why the chip is likely getting > too hot under IO load. > >> I've been doing a lot of googling and and see that the northbridge is >> usually between the PCIe slot and the CPU but there doesn't seem to be >> any large object in that place on this board. > > Due to ever increasing integration, most mobos today have a single > system support chip in place of the previous north/south bridge duo. > Aftermarket heatsinks are typically sized such that larger units are for > the "northbridge" and smaller units for the "southbridge". > "Northbridge" heatsinks are typically used for single chip systems as > the mounting footprint and thermal output are similar. > >> Can you confirm this is the proper part for me to measure for a new heatsink? > > I can. It is. > > Do not attempt this with the system running. Power down, remove all > external cables and sit the chassis on a table. Ground yourself by > touching the chassis or a metal table leg, etc, to discharge any static > from your body. > > Measure between the approximate centers of the two spring loaded plastic > mounting tabs. You don't need an exact measurement to 1mm, but a > ballpark. The hole spacing is fairly standardized by the industry. > Your measurement should fall into one of 3 ranges, and this will dictate > which heatsink you buy: > > 47.5 - 53mm > 53 - 59mm > 59 - 63mm > > Let me know the measurement and I'll recommend the best unit for your > application. It seems you won't be using all of your expansion slots > any time soon so going with a taller passive unit shouldn't be a > problem. A taller/larger passive unit in a case with good airflow is > preferable to a low profile unit w/fan due to 2/3:1 greater mass, no fan > to fail, no noise. After you select the heatsink I'll give you tips on > removing the current one and installing the new one. Proper > installation is more important than which heatsink you install, as doing > it wrong may result in higher temperatures than what you have now. > > As always, the devil is in the details. > > Cheers, > > Stan > -- To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe linux-raid" in the body of a message to majordomo@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx More majordomo info at http://vger.kernel.org/majordomo-info.html
