nForce4 Chipset Waterblocks?

slimeballzz · Post by **slimeballzz** » Sun Oct 23, 2005 10:06 pm

I have a MSI K8iN Neo4 SLI Platinum motherboard and can't stand the chipset cooler. It's on a fanmate at the lowest setting but at odd times it makes a weird noise as if it's not spinining smoothly.

Anyways does anyone know of any nForce4 Chipset waterblocks that will fit on my board?

nici · Post by **nici** » Mon Oct 24, 2005 5:40 am

Do you have SLI or not? If you do a zalman gpu block just might fit, the smaller of the two. It fits on my DFI Ultr-D at least, i had to bend the mounting brackets a bit and used screvs instead of push-pins just to be shure.

If you dont have SLI it looks like almost any chipset block should fit.

haelduksf · Post by **haelduksf** » Mon Oct 24, 2005 6:04 am

You don't really need to worry about compatability, pretty much any waterblock you can buy has an NF4 version. All you need to worry about is getting the right version.

There are a couple of blocks designed for SLI: one from AquaComputer, one from MIPS. They're both European though, and pricey.

slimeballzz · Post by **slimeballzz** » Mon Oct 24, 2005 4:58 pm

NOT running SLI. So anything works? I thought everyone was having a clearance issue with their video card? Like a 1" gap of space only?

HaloJones · Post by **HaloJones** » Tue Oct 25, 2005 4:33 am

You really shouldn't need a waterblock on a chipset. A good sink like the Zalmans shld be fine even if you're heavily overclocking. Very few chipset waterblocks are worth using as pretty much every one of them is very restrictive and will seriously damage your overall flowrate and therefore he cooling throughout the rest of the loop.

nici · Post by **nici** » Tue Oct 25, 2005 11:06 am

If you have really low airflow like you probably have in a watercooled setup, the nF4 becomes really hot even with the zalman NB47J, it definately need a fan to blow over it.

Seeing as the chipset is not placed exactly between the gpu slots but slightly lower, it should be able to handle a waterblock too when only the upper slot is used.

The old zalman GPU blocks dont add any restrictions to the loop, its just a straight-thru hole with no bends.. They are pretty cheap too, like 20€ and you get two of them and you can always sell the bigger one as theres mounting hardware for two blocks in the package

This is my opinion based on my own experiences with a reserator and a nF4 mobo, i highly recommend watercooling the chipset. Either with the old GPU blocks, or with the new Chipset block from zalman seeing as both are cheap compared to competing products.

Heres a pic of the smaller GPU block on the chipset on my DFI mobo, its a tight fit and the block is very slightly off center but it works great

The chipset looks like its slightly lower on the MSI mobo so it should have better clearance.

slimeballzz · Post by **slimeballzz** » Tue Oct 25, 2005 12:44 pm

I think it would be fine with the Zalman IF I provide good airflow to it. But the setup I'm trying to build is with minimal airflow so I'm trying to be on the safe side to watercool the chipset. May not be necessary but I don't want to run into any heat issues then drain the wc system just to add another block.

My plan so far is:

2x Papst 4412 F/2GL @5v (MIGHT need a third fan or increase voltage to 7v)
2x PA120.1 (with shrouds if possible)
Swiftech Storm
Swiftech MCP350
Swiftech MCRES-Micro

All on 3/8" ID tubing

I do like the Zalman block as it does seem like there is no restriction at all. Just wondering if there is anything else that is similar to that? Just want to keep my options open.

vapb400 · Post by **vapb400** » Wed Oct 26, 2005 5:57 pm

It seems that most of the other waterblocks are made in Germany/Italy and are very hard to get in the US. The Koolance block is supposed to fit as well, but it uses small tubing.

http://www.koolance.com/shop/product_in ... ucts_id=86

Pgh · Post by **Pgh** » Wed Oct 26, 2005 6:16 pm

This block from Polarflo is versatile:

http://www.polarflo.com/index.asp?PageA ... D=127&HS=1

I bought one for my video card but haven't yet mounted it. It is available with long 3/8" barbs (that fit well with Reserator tubing).

I know part of it is made of Delrin - but even Swiftech is using Delrin now so it must be okay.

slimeballzz · Post by **slimeballzz** » Thu Oct 27, 2005 1:09 am

I would take the Koolance BUT only if it had larger fittings.

The block from Polarflo looks like a very good candidate but I wonder how much more restrictive it could be compared to the Zalman.

What is Delrin??

I do like the other Polarflo VGA chipset cooler:
http://www.polarflo.com/index.asp?PageA ... &ProdID=56

But I can't find the dimensions to compare with the other Polarflo block.

Pgh · Post by **Pgh** » Thu Oct 27, 2005 6:02 am

The marketing text for that Polarflo block says:

"The low profile design will fit into the smallest cases and with the low flow performance, you don't have to worry about your pump-life."

So it's supposed to work well with low flow pumps. I hope it does because I plan on using mine with a Reserator - which is a very low flow pump.

Which Zalman block are you talking about, the GBW1? That block has almost zero restriction and crappy performance to match. That's what I'm using on my video card now and the GPU temperature went up about 8 degrees C over the stock fan cooler that was originally on the card. I'm going to swap the Zalman for the Polarflow as soon as I get the time to do it.

Delrin is plastic or polymer or something like that made by DuPont. Its not metal.

nici · Post by **nici** » Thu Oct 27, 2005 7:03 am

Pgh wrote:
Which Zalman block are you talking about, the GBW1? That block has almost zero restriction and crappy performance to match.

Yes thats the one.. It may be poor as a GPU cooler, but it performs excellent as a chipset cooler and is easy to fit because its so small. Much better performance than NB47J+fan.

That Koolance block looks very nice, but how do you mount it? Koolance also has some other blocks that might fit most nF4 mobos.

jamesavery22 · Post by **jamesavery22** » Tue Nov 01, 2005 10:36 am

slimeballzz wrote:I would take the Koolance BUT only if it had larger fittings.

The block from Polarflo looks like a very good candidate but I wonder how much more restrictive it could be compared to the Zalman.

What is Delrin??

I do like the other Polarflo VGA chipset cooler:
http://www.polarflo.com/index.asp?PageA ... &ProdID=56

But I can't find the dimensions to compare with the other Polarflo block.

Delrin is a plastic. Pretty sure its the same as Acetal. It will never crack like acrylic, has a large temp range(larger than we need), easy to machine, light, and its relatively cheap. Basically the ideal material for the top of any waterblock.
AFAIK the first to use it was Cathar on his G4 and G5 blocks. Atleast the first to use it in a commercially available block. The Swiftech Storm uses it and so does the DD Acetal Maze4 GPU block.

You can find large rods and sheets of it on ebay for cheap if you ever want to make a top of a custom block too.

~El~Jefe~ · Post by **~El~Jefe~** » Sun Nov 06, 2005 12:29 pm

zalman's original reserator 1 gpu block does not work crappy at all. the flow is so easy through it that the heat is wisked away instead of swishing around with useless claims of "turbulence" being the best.
it cools down effective a 800XT ati card. However, there is a new and more effective gpu heatsink for the Res. 1 Plus series that also works with my old res 1 blue boy.

HOWEVEr! zalman has a northbridge waterblock that has its hoses perpendicular to the board, shooting straight out, very little board clearance is necessary.

this solves any northbridge issue. I agree with nici, the zalman blue tall heatsink for the northbridge is only effective with an air cooled system, dead air near it makes an nhot4 oops, nforce4, get raging hot. "well within tolerance levels" says asus, yes, and they have a lot to be gained from having you buy a new one in 2 years or less. 70+ centigrade is not a healthy chip.

zds · Post by **zds** » Sun Nov 06, 2005 1:35 pm

~El~Jefe~ wrote:zalman's original reserator 1 gpu block does not work crappy at all.

Indeed. It can effectively cool down my Radeon X800 XT, too, and it does that with minimal flow resistance. I bet it has very good C/W per pressure drop value.

~El~Jefe~ · Post by **~El~Jefe~** » Sun Nov 06, 2005 11:58 pm

wow another finnish dood!

nici is no longer alone!

zds · Post by **zds** » Mon Nov 07, 2005 1:27 am

~El~Jefe~ wrote:wow another finnish dood!

nici is no longer alone!

Happy to help :-].

Happy Hopping · Post by **Happy Hopping** » Sat Nov 12, 2005 2:31 am

what would be the normal temperature of the x800 w/o the zalman?

The reason I ask is that I wonder if the Zalman 1+ can cool X1800XL or X1600 or even the X1800XT.

zds · Post by **zds** » Sat Nov 12, 2005 7:37 am

Happy Hopping wrote:what would be the normal temperature of the x800 w/o the zalman?

The reason I ask is that I wonder if the Zalman 1+ can cool X1800XL or X1600 or even the X1800XT.

Good question. If you tell me how I get GPU temps out of Asus X800 XT, I can give you this information :-). Right now I do not know the temps, other than "it runs without problems, also on 30C room temp, also on the 10th hour of the gaming session".

Happy Hopping · Post by **Happy Hopping** » Sun Nov 13, 2005 12:22 am

I am afraid you dont' have access to that kind of measuring technology. It's a laser gun to point to different part of the GPU and measure the temperature.

I was wondering if you record the temperature w/ the cooling fan before you add on the zalman.

~El~Jefe~ · Post by **~El~Jefe~** » Sun Nov 13, 2005 5:07 am

it can cool them down.

its water. water by far removes more heat than air. it wont have as dramatic idle cooling on a cpu as air MIGHT, but on load, it hardly moves up.

I would get the new waterblock though, its a bit more improved it seems, for the gpu that is. that cpu is lighter now, which i duno how I feel about, I hear it doesnt matter how heavy it is actually, so they just lightened it up to not waste excess material.

from what I gather, a 7800GT uses the least wattage of the new group. It is less than a 850 ATI. x1800 XT i haVe no idea about, but I would safely guess yes. the reserator really moderates temperatures under load. it has a large body of water to deal with, If you have slightly more pure water in the system, it works even better, something to consider if someone has a way too much glycol or additve based mixture. I use 5% water wetter and 95% Poland Spring Steam Distilled water. IT works like a charm and no corrosion in 7 months so far 24/7 operation. I have a clawhammer 754 chip, that thing runs hot on loads, its like an upper end dual core amd on load, 9800 pro is hot card, an x800XL uses less power and heat at max load! x800XT uses the same. 850 about 30% more (waste for an spcr person) I would suggest getting the x1800XL to be honest. I dont think youll see big performance differences, and the lower clocked one always is much cooler on an ATI board.

Teecee · Post by **Teecee** » Tue Nov 29, 2005 1:56 pm

I have read a lot of people talking about what blocks might work and might not with a dfi4 lan party and SLI config but enver actually seen someone do it unless it was a custom modded NB cooler. Has anyone actually bought and used a NB waterblock with a SLI setup?

Sparkytfl · Post by **Sparkytfl** » Tue Nov 29, 2005 5:03 pm

So how much heat does the nforce4 sli put out? I have a reserator and the northbridge block from my current computer, and am debating on whether to use it when my a8n sli premium shows up. if it's going to add a ton of heat into the water and make my cpu and gpu (x2 3800 and x1800xl, already pretty hot) run hotter I'll pass. Hopefully that weird heatpipe thing putting the sink by the back fan will be good enough.

Teecee · Post by **Teecee** » Tue Nov 29, 2005 10:31 pm

My NB can get above 50. I am not worried about temps on it. I just want it to shut up. As long as it is below 55-60 i dont care, just shut that thing up.

nici · Post by **nici** » Wed Nov 30, 2005 6:48 am

Teecee wrote:I have read a lot of people talking about what blocks might work and might not with a dfi4 lan party and SLI config but enver actually seen someone do it unless it was a custom modded NB cooler. Has anyone actually bought and used a NB waterblock with a SLI setup?

Its a tight fit but the zalman GPU block would fit even in SLI, here´s th pici posted earlier to save you the troubleofscrolling

The only limiting thing i can think of would be if the graphics card has tall components just near the chipset wich could get in the way of the waterblock. In this case you could use one of the Koolance blocks posted earlier, for example.

Sparkytfl wrote:So how much heat does the nforce4 sli put out? I have a reserator and the northbridge block from my current computer, and am debating on whether to use it when my a8n sli premium shows up. if it's going to add a ton of heat into the water and make my cpu and gpu (x2 3800 and x1800xl, already pretty hot) run hotter I'll pass.

Of course it will add some heat, but anyway it wont make your gpu and cpu overheat. IIRC the the cpu and gpu temps increased something like 1-3c after adding the chipset to the loop, hardly something to worry about

Teecee · Post by **Teecee** » Wed Nov 30, 2005 1:00 pm

Nici, thanks. I will give that a shot. Since both video cards are water cooled I have a lot of the tall components removed so they might just fit. Thanks for the advice. As you said, a few degrees is nothing when my CPU is 30 and both of my vid cards are 44ish at full load. I could go up 10 degrees and still be happy.

Teecee · Post by **Teecee** » Wed Nov 30, 2005 1:08 pm

Any idea if the ZM-GWB2 will work too or should I get the ZM-GWB1 that is in the picture?

NM. The dimensions on the ZM-GWB2 is 63x45x20(H). The ZM-GWB1 is 27(H). Looks like I would have even more room with the ZM-GWB2. I am gonna order it and let you guys know how it turns out.

Teecee · Post by **Teecee** » Wed Nov 30, 2005 1:15 pm

Its alluminum. Doesn't that cause things to get corrisve faster if mixed with copper?

nici · Post by **nici** » Wed Nov 30, 2005 3:24 pm

Teecee wrote:Its alluminum. Doesn't that cause things to get corrisve faster if mixed with copper?

All the metal parts in the reserator are aluminium(aluminum in US eng.), except for the bottom of the CPU block wich is gold plated copper.

You didnt say what other WC components you have though, i was under the impression that you had a Reserator..

But anyway a good anti-corrosive additive should prevent galvanic corrosion evn if different metals are used.

Teecee wrote: Any idea if the ZM-GWB2 will work too or should I get the ZM-GWB1 that is in the picture?

NM. The dimensions on the ZM-GWB2 is 63x45x20(H). The ZM-GWB1 is 27(H). Looks like I would have even more room with the ZM-GWB2. I am gonna order it and let you guys know how it turns out.

The GWB2 is much wider, i dont think it wll fit

The GWB1 has to be placed slightly off center for better clearance too.. I think i mentioned that in my earlier post.

If you live in a place where you can get the low profile Koolance blocks mentiond earlier thats what i would get, they should fit no probs.

Teecee · Post by **Teecee** » Fri Dec 02, 2005 7:01 am

nici wrote:
If you live in a place where you can get the low profile Koolance blocks mentiond earlier thats what i would get, they should fit no probs.

Thanks boss. I have a Swiftech H20-APEX. I'll see if I can pickup one of those koolance ones.