ZM-NB32J does not require a fan, thus it does not need to be powered, nor does it create noise or vibration. The northbridge chipset can be cooled down to an optimal temperature... more...without generation of noise.
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Plastic push pins may prove to be single application only
Recommend to potential buyers:
yes
Full review
The Zalman ZM NB32J is a gold coloured, passive (i.e. it is not cooled by a fan) heatsink for your computer’s motherboard’s northbridge chip. As PC’s have got faster, northbridge chips, just like processors, have started to run hotter and hotter and it is now common to find small heatsink-fan (HSF) assemblies fitted by the motherboard manufacturer to dissipate this heat. The trouble with this solution is two-fold.
- The HSF is often badly attached, using only a small amount of thermal grease* to provide the interface between northbridge chip and HSF.
- The fan in such units must spin extremely fast to move any significant amount of air due to their small size – this creates a comparatively high level of noise and vibration for the result achieved.
In addition, these fans are notorious for becoming increasingly noisy with age, as their bearings deteriorate.
How does the Zalman product help? Well firstly it is a substantial heatsink, far bigger than the average HSF assembly provided by motherboard manufacturers. With bigger size comes more surface area and significantly greater cooling ability (although see my comments on case airflow below). Secondly, the removal of the old HSF offers the opportunity to properly apply a premium thermal interface material*, such as one of the Arctic Silver products, and therefore increase the efficiency with which heat is transferred from the northbridge chip to the heatsink. (Of course, this can also be achieved by removing your stock HSF, cleaning the old thermal grease* off and correctly reapplying a new layer of an appropriate product and reinstalling the stock HSF). Finally, although marketed as a passive product, it is possible to purchase a quality 40mm fan that can be attached to the Zalman heatsink by means of self-tapping screws. Although this may seem self-defeating at first (after all, we’ve been trying to eliminate fan noise as well as improve cooling), £5 will purchase a quiet and effective fan that will significantly outperform most motherboard manufacturer’s stock items.
I took the opportunity a couple of months ago to fit an NB32J to my Abit NF7-S v2.0 AMD Socket A motherboard. I had noticed that the factory fitted item was red-hot to the touch and somewhat noisy. As an inveterate PC tweaker, I decided the time had come for a change. I purchased the Zalman product for a touch over £5, including postage, from a web store and pulled my motherboard out of my PC. The method of removing your current northbridge cooler varies from motherboard to motherboard, but most are secured by two push pins that pass through two holes in the motherboard. A quick squeeze of these pins on the rear of my motherboard and off popped the old HSF. A good thing too – the factory applied thermal grease covered not much of the northbridge at all (and yet the HSF still got so hot!). I cleaned this off (personally I use a citrus-based product from Akasa to do this though many folks recommend high-purity isopropyl alcohol) and applied a good thick layer of Arctic Silver 3 (unlike CPU’s, northbridge chips benefit from a thicker layer of ‘thermal goo’ as their surfaces are often very uneven – the thicker layer helps ensure good contact with the heatsink). Then I turned to applying the Zalman heatsink. The NB32J has adjustable mounting ‘arms’ at its base which should ensure if fits any motherboard with two mounting holes. (If your motherboard lacks mounting holes you may have to consider using a permanent thermal adhesive – but you will not be able to subsequently remove the Zalman if you decide to go this way). These were easily adjusted for fit and then the Zalman provided pushpins secured my shiny new heatsink to my motherboard.
With my PC re-assembled and allowed to run-in for a couple of days, I re-examined the state of my northbridge after a period of running at full load. The Zalman was barely warm to the touch and the whining noise from the old HSF had gone. Not having access to a thermal probe, I can't provide 'before and after' measurements - but I would be confident in stating that I was getting better cooling with lower noise levels than those achieved by the stock unit. I tested my machine for stability after installation using popular programs such as Prime95 and found no problems at all. Job done!
[NB. As with any heatsink, it is crucial to have good airflow coming through your case – otherwise the heat will simply accumulate in the heatsink rather than be constantly dissipated into a moving flow of fresh air. In practice, you need at least one air intake fan (probably at the bottom front of your PC case) and at least one exhaust fan (sited at the top rear of your PC case).]
The single concern I have over this product is how well the plastic pushpins used to secure it would stand up to being removed and re-used. I suspect the answer is ‘not well’ – but at the price it’s hard to complain.
The package from Zalman includes the heatsink and mounting hardware, thermal grease, thermal adhesive and instructions (which are also available on the Zalman website). Zalman themselves are a reputable company specialising in the production of high quality, noise-reducing computer products.
All in all, I’d say a good product that achieved the result I was looking for at an almost trivial price (by the standards of computer hardware, anyway!). My machine runs at well beyond nominal CPU speeds, at front side bus speeds of up to 230MHz so clearly this product is also of use to the overclocking fraternity.
Recommended.
* Thermal grease is a type of thermal interface material (TIM). TIM’s are applied in between the mating surfaces of heatsinks and the hardware being cooled (CPU, northbridge chip, etc.) for the purpose of ensuring maximum contact, and hence most effective heat transfer, as possible between the two surfaces. Without the appropriate use of a TIM, microscopic deviations from a pure, flat surface would cause the mating surfaces to make poor contact – and hence reduce the efficiency at which heat is transferred. Manufactures generally use generic thermal grease (aka ‘white goo’ or ‘goop’) which is inferior to premium aftermarket brands such as Arctic Silver or Coolermaster. A quality TIM will cost around £4-5 a unit and will be sufficient for several chip applications.
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