SPCR

Hey guys..
I'm planning on a new system soon.

Motherboard of choice is going to be one of the DFI LanParty NF4 series because of their O/C capabilities.
Of course being here i'm thinking about quieting it down by replacing the chipset HSF, but as many of us know it's not that simple because of the location.

I remember i bumped into a thread here that said it's possible to put the video card on the second PCI-Express slot, and run the card on X8 instead of X16, while performance loss is insignificent (at least for current generation of cards).

Now I wonder if this is possible on the Ultra-D (nForce4 Ultra) version of the motherboard without any modifications (besides jumper placement)?
Or does it have to be the SLi version of the board?

I might consider modding some VGA headpipe zalman cooler i got and make it fit the chipset, this seems to me like the ultimate solution for good temp and O/C while keeping the noise level to a minimum.
I've seen it done on a SLi motherboard in CeBIT this year (and got a picture of it actually).

It is possible on the ultra-D board. In fact I and several others on this forum have already set systems up in this way. You just have to shift the jumper blocks and then you can plug the card into the lower slot with no problems.

Just as a word of warning about using the passive zalman chipset hatsink (NB47J) on the chipset. Make sure that it is getting some airflow from either the cpu heatsink or some other fan. I found that I was getting some instability due to the chipset overheating when I first installed. This was during the middle of the Australian summer and it was about 35C, it was because I was using a heatpipe tower heatsink that blew air across the motherboard and so it wasn't giving the chipset any airflow.

Good luck.

hey thanks for the info!
Guess it's time i start ordering the parts.

Actually u didn't get me right about the chipset.. i didn't mean the NB47J. I don't think regular chipset passive cooling can do this.
I plan on modifiying an old zalman VGA heatpipe heatsink to fit the chipset.. something like what Asus and Abit did in their new motherboards. I'm sure they got the idea from what i saw in CeBit:



I got this exact same cooler, and this is what i'm gonna try and preform..
Only i think i will bend the pipe the other way around, torwards the front intake fan.

I see.

OK then, you'll have to let us know how your modding goes.

while on the subject, i just entered thermalright's website:
http://www.thermalright.com/a_page/main ... 120_k8.htm

It says the the Ultra-D got a problem with the XP-120, that you cannot use the first PCI-Express slot.. for some reason i imagined i already saw this board and cooler without such a problem.. this is kind of worrying cause i plan maybe also using Thermalright's V1 as the VGA cooler in the future, i doubt there will be enough room like this.. and guess i'm gonna have to use the second PCI-Express slot indeed..

Maybe I'll just go on the XP-90 or SI-97 coolers..

I am pretty sure, it should right away. Just plug the card in the second pci express slot and you are set.
Thanks

Actually, on this board the first PCIe slot is not the first PCIe x16 slot but it is the x4 slot. Have a look at this pivture and you'll see what I mean.

http://www.dfi.com.tw/Upload/Product_Pi ... SLI-DR.jpg

Perhaps you already knew that and were refering to the lack of room for the V1 cooler. The answer is yes, you would have to use the seccond x16 slot in that case. But at x8 speed there is no real performance penalty for this generation cards.

oh yea.. silly me, i forgot about that first PCI-e slot..

Though no way a V1 will fit there if i'm gonna use XP-120 and the X16 slot.

Since i'm not sure i can find a pretty quiet UV sensitive 92mm fan, I think i'll stick with the XP-120 (i do have a 120mm fan that fits these requirements).