Chipset Coolers -- Useful or not?

[stevieray]

Does anyone have any opinions about chipset coolers? Do they actually work? Are they worth the money and electricity? Any recommendations?

Thanks!

 

[nate42nd]

I have heard if you plan to do some OCing.....it may be a good idea. Otherwise it should be fine. With the mobo you have...you should not have many problems with heat (from what I've heard) I am no expert but watch a lot of videos and do a lot of reading.

 

[Antman]

Yes, chipset coolers "work". For just a few dollars, you can move more heat off of your chips and into the chassis, where of course, you need proper airflow for your case. Some passive coolers lift the heat a bit further above the board plane, allowing for more efficient removal. Disallowing for voltage anomolies and/or savage spikes and/or other forms of abuse or accident, heat dissipation is the biggest factor in extending the life of your gear. Keep in mind, thorough heat dissipation is a commitment, not an installable part.

Plan on getting new gear in a <5 year cycle? - save your money. Rarely clean ALL the dust out of your case? - save your money. Is your computer sitting on carpet? - save your money.

I always browse the clearance bins at the various PC stores for good values and "cool" looking designs that will add to the aesthetic appeal of systems that I build.

 

[stevieray]

Thanks for the info, guys.

I plan on OC'ing my system, and am ordering a new CPU cooler as it is, so I may as well add a chipset cooler to the list. Since there isn't any way to monitor the temps inside the FSB (at least I can't find a way) its better to just cool the thing than to just cross my fingers and hope.

 

[smarteyeball]

If you're planning on a high OC (pumping a lot more volts through the North Bridge) then it's definitely a good idea.

 

[stevieray]

The odd thing is the rather limited selection of them. There are hundreds of CPU coolers of all different shapes and sizes, but only a handful of coolers for chipsets. I would think that OC'ers would want to protect their mobo's as much as their cpus... they can both be expensive to replace.

 

[Antman]

Not an advertisement for CoolIt

The lack of selection is a reasonable indication of their lack of real efficacy beyond a certain point. Speedfan reads my NB (MCH). Not sure exactly where it is physically grabbing the temp from. If your mobo is not listed in his database, you can upload your config and soon(ish) you will get included. I took a few minutes to research your mobo. Did not find anything pertinent.

Then I opened RealTemp and noted the 16 degrees Celsius that my CoolIt Eliminator is holding my CPU cores at. Of course, this reading is basically at idle. When cranking at 3.45, it runs about 48C. I do have an Asus fan (mobo accessory option) on my NB chip radiator assembly. This is in addition to the efficient cooling design and is in place only to address the lack of airflow to that part of the board due to the chiller unit.

I don't game, my OC'd platform is a video editor. As such, I don't push my NB very far.

Nice board, BTW.

 

[smarteyeball]

The odd thing is the rather limited selection of them. There are hundreds of CPU coolers of all different shapes and sizes, but only a handful of coolers for chipsets. I would think that OC'ers would want to protect their mobo's as much as their cpus... they can both be expensive to replace.

CPU sockets are much more uniform in design and therefore easier for companies to make a 'one size fits all'. Chipset coolers however differ much more greatly so there is less range