# Thermalright HR-05 SLI Northbridge Cooler Review



## MjrTom

Bump - Review finally finished


----------



## RyGuy

Nice results Tom! Good pictures too.


----------



## The Duke

Sweet, got my HR-05 about the same day







but the 165 that came with it isn't a CCBBE








Hope to get er done tommrow being I'm in the midst of moveing desk, PCs, etc... into a different room


----------



## MjrTom

Thanks guys









Quote:


Originally Posted by *The Duke* 
Sweet, got my HR-05 about the same day







but the 165 that came with it isn't a CCBBE








Hope to get er done tommrow being I'm in the midst of moveing desk, PCs, etc... into a different room









Yeah im pretty impressed at the moment, this cooler should help me get some nice high FSB's on this board. Im tempted to attach a fan now just to see what I can get out of it









Let us know how you get on with your chipset cooler


----------



## Niko-Time

Nice review







I may have to pick this up if my nb gets too hot


----------



## someone153

Wow thanks! When I get my Conroe I'll be sure to get one of these.


----------



## adam144

Crap, I wish I'd got one of these instead of that damned Evercool VC-RE. It actually gave me worse temps than the stock cooler..


----------



## MjrTom

Quote:


Originally Posted by *adam144* 
Crap, I wish I'd got one of these instead of that damned Evercool VC-RE. It actually gave me worse temps than the stock cooler..

To be honest im suprised the difference i really makes.

I will get round to putting a fan on it soon as well


----------



## Burn

I used one and have never looked back, on my Ultra-D. I will again be using one on either the Commando or the QuadGT


----------



## BrinNutz

Quote:


Originally Posted by *adam144* 
Crap, I wish I'd got one of these instead of that damned Evercool VC-RE. It actually gave me worse temps than the stock cooler..

You must not have seated it right..because it does..about 10C


----------



## gonX

Quote:


Originally Posted by *BrinNutz* 
You must not have seated it right..because it does..about 10C

It's on a DS3. There's no doubt why it isn't lower.


----------



## Mootsfox

Very nice! I think I got my HR-05 SLI at the same time as you and theduke









I have mine at a 45 degree angle to blow air over the voltage regulators on my graphics card.


----------



## MjrTom

Nice one









I wanted to put mine at a 45 degree angle but did not have the clearance. think I need a bigger case


----------



## Mootsfox

I never used that form padding though, I was worried how it would work at a 45 degree angle. Now I can move the HR-05 around a bit on the chipset, but it stays flat if I don't touch it


----------



## thealmightyone

When I got my HR-05-SLI, I didn't bother reading the instructions (as usual) and put the sticky foam on the chipset rather than the heatsink. Wasn't until I glanced over at the sheet that I saw I kinda did it wrong. Didn't really matter, though.


----------



## MjrTom

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Mootsfox* 
I never used that form padding though, I was worried how it would work at a 45 degree angle. Now I can move the HR-05 around a bit on the chipset, but it stays flat if I don't touch it









I wanted to put mine at a 45 degree angle but my graphics card gets in the way. Im planning on getting a new case soon so might free up a bit more space internally. Just got to find a case thats not too huge.


----------



## Nokternol

I have one of these turning up tomorrow to replace the broken fan on my Asus, hope i gt anything like the results tom got


----------



## MjrTom

yeah you wont regret it









Let us know how you get on


----------



## Insomnia

If I put it on like this, then the 6-pin cable won't fit on the side anymore. So I won't be able to get a second VGA card with this cooler. I also have a fan on it.

I have a Asus GeForce 7900GT


----------



## MjrTom

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Insomnia* 
If I put it on like this, then the 6-pin cable won't fit on the side anymore. So I won't be able to get a second VGA card with this cooler. I also have a fan on it.

I have a Asus GeForce 7900GT

Yeah the correct orientation is with the cooling fins at the 12 oclock position as you look at the board. this should mean that the fins sit above the graphics card. i.e 180 degrees to the orientation i have it at.

I cant do this as my CPU heat pipes get in the way









If fitted correctly it does not impede SLI on most boards


----------



## zelox991

i have a question
what is ur graphic card 6600???7800???
and i think the graphic cooler is zalman, but i was wondering if i bought a zalman vf900, will it fit with the hr 05 sli like u positioned or i have to use another position?
thx so much


----------



## Robilar

That thing is huge compared to the thermaltake extreme spirit II's I mounted


----------



## JacKz5o

Quote:


Originally Posted by *zelox991* 
i have a question
what is ur graphic card 6600???7800???
and i think the graphic cooler is zalman, but i was wondering if i bought a zalman vf900, will it fit with the hr 05 sli like u positioned or i have to use another position?
thx so much

Look in his system specs









Quote:

Graphics Card:
XFX 6800GT 256MB (OC) 400/1100 - Zalman FS-V7

I myself got the VC-RE and it keeps me under 40C during load which is great compared to the 51-53C load before with stock cooling









Quote:


Originally Posted by *Robilar* 
That thing is huge compared to the thermaltake extreme spirit II's I mounted

Haha, was the stock heatpipe cooling that bad?


----------



## zelox991

thx man
i really appreciate it


----------



## alexisd

You guys think it work like the jing thing cooler?http://www.performance-pcs.com/catal...oducts_id=4638


----------



## zelox991

but will a zalman vf900(the full one instead of half) fit one of these hr 05 sli???
http://www.jirulda.com/blog/wp-conte...00/zalman2.jpg


----------



## The Duke

I like the HR-05, but is it just me or do you guys also feel the clamping is rather weak and should be firmer?
Thinking that I'll redo it when the MB gets transfered to the UFO case and make up my own retainer


----------



## Mootsfox

Quote:


Originally Posted by *The Duke* 
I like the HR-05, but is it just me or do you guys also feel the clamping is rather weak and should be firmer?
Thinking that I'll redo it when the MB gets transfered to the UFO case and make up my own retainer









I agree 100% I mounted mine at an angle and without the supplied padding square. I can tilt mine off the chipset, but if I let it go, it goes back to being flat against the die.


----------



## Robilar

The nice thing about the thermaltake models is they are mounted by screws through th mount holes. Those little plastic clips with springs are a bit cheesy


----------



## Robilar

Quote:


Originally Posted by *JacKz5o* 
Look in his system specs









I myself got the VC-RE and it keeps me under 40C during load which is great compared to the 51-53C load before with stock cooling









*Haha, was the stock heatpipe cooling that bad?







*


At stock, no but overclocked it became an issue. Passive is never better than active cooling


----------



## MjrTom

Sorry been away for the weekend









Nice to see my thread has come back to life again









Quote:



Originally Posted by *The Duke*


I like the HR-05, but is it just me or do you guys also feel the clamping is rather weak and should be firmer? 
Thinking that I'll redo it when the MB gets transfered to the UFO case and make up my own retainer











Quote:



Originally Posted by *Mootsfox*


I agree 100% I mounted mine at an angle and without the supplied padding square. I can tilt mine off the chipset, but if I let it go, it goes back to being flat against the die.


Yes the mounting mechanism could be improved upon in my opinion. Yes it is easy to knock it and it does move a little when mounted. Saying that tho even if i broke the AS5 contact by knocking it my temps have remained consistant.

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Robilar*


[/B]

At stock, no but overclocked it became an issue. Passive is never better than active cooling


Nah Active all the way........ unless you have one of these coolers


----------



## zelox991

sry but i really need to know, at least an estimate, that will a zalman vf900 fit a hr 05 sli?????









can any one get a pic from the view of i/O plate or the opposite side with graphic cooler and hr sli 05 installed like mjrtim

thx soo much


----------



## Mr Pink57

Quote:



Originally Posted by *MjrTom*


I wanted to put mine at a 45 degree angle but my graphics card gets in the way. Im planning on getting a new case soon so might free up a bit more space internally. Just got to find a case thats not too huge.


I doubt it will regardless. The GPU sits too close on the Ultra-D that it would not angle at 45 degrees. But rep to you as I was curious which one would fit a Ultra-D. As my Evercool is starting to drag ass.

pink


----------



## rsfkevski

Anyone tried this little beauty on an Asus P5N-SLI yet? If not does anyone think that it would work on NB and SB for this overheating chipset? I have the products on the way and from what I could tell with the dimensions and all, everything should fit fine, but I just wanted some input. Thanks.


----------



## Robilar

Quote:



Originally Posted by *rsfkevski*


Anyone tried this little beauty on an Asus P5N-SLI yet? If not, MrTom, do you think that it would work on NB and SB for this overheating chipset? I have the products on the way and from what I could tell with the dimensions and all, everything should fit fine, but I just wanted some input. Thanks.


I mounted a pair of thermaltake extreme spirit II's on a P5N-E for my brother in law last week. Worked great.


----------



## rsfkevski

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Robilar*


I mounted a pair of thermaltake extreme spirit II's on a P5N-E for my brother in law last week. Worked great.


I'll be getting the HR-05 SLI and P5N-E on Wednesday and if they don't pan out I'll get the TT Extreme Spirit II, thanks for the info.


----------



## Robilar

The thermalrights are excellent (Except they are bloody huge) and double the price.


----------



## MjrTom

Quote:


Originally Posted by *zelox991* 
sry but i really need to know, at least an estimate, that will a zalman vf900 fit a hr 05 sli?????









can any one get a pic from the view of i/O plate or the opposite side with graphic cooler and hr sli 05 installed like MjrTom

thx soo much

Hello, You have not stated which motherboard you intend on using.

Without this info I will try my best.

The dimensions of the 2 coolers are as follows:

VF900: 96mm x 96mm x 30mm
FS-V7: 91mm x 126.4mm x 30mm

Therefore the dimension of interest is the height (from the Core / Shim).

In both cases they are 30mm, therefore if the FS-V7 fits the VF900 will fit also.


----------



## zelox991

sry for the mistake, but i have a "dfi lanparty sli dr",not expert or anything
and thx for the great info, now i just have to order them from newegg,
yes, the hr 05 sli is in stock now


----------



## Mr Pink57

Quote:



Originally Posted by *zelox991*


sry for the mistake, but i have a "dfi lanparty sli dr",not expert or anything
and thx for the great info, now i just have to order them from newegg,
yes, the hr 05 sli is in stock now


It should fit fine in a non SLi setup actually (funny how its the SLi version). As on that DFI the chipset sits more in the middle vs at the end of the top PCIE slot on the Ultra-D.

I just ordered my HR-05 SLi.

Quote:



I mounted a pair of thermaltake extreme spirit II's on a P5N-E for my brother in law last week. Worked great.


Cheapest I found one was about $0.70 cheaper at some no named site.

pink


----------



## MjrTom

Yeah this cooler should fit all DFI boards. The problem arises when you try to run SLI or have a large CPU heatsink that can get in the way


----------



## Mootsfox

Quote:



Originally Posted by *MjrTom*


Yeah this cooler should fit all DFI boards. The problem arises when you try to run SLI or have a large CPU heatsink that can get in the way










Remember that you don't have to mount it square with the die. You can have it in any direction to get it out of the way of your stuff.


----------



## MjrTom

bump


----------



## Regz

hey great informative thread, two quick questions

1, do you have to remove the mb in order to get the stock nb cooler off? mine is attached with 2 white plastic pins

2. also when applying AS5, do you need to remove the stock heat paste? or can you just apply as5 straight on

im thinking of using this on my DS3, but my BT is in the way because its so dam huge, hope it fits lol


----------



## Mootsfox

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Regz* 
hey great informative thread, two quick questions

1, do you have to remove the mb in order to get the stock nb cooler off? mine is attached with 2 white plastic pins

2. also when applying AS5, do you need to remove the stock heat paste? or can you just apply as5 straight on

im thinking of using this on my DS3, but my BT is in the way because its so dam huge, hope it fits lol

Yes and yes.

When putting the AS5 on, be sure to use some Arctic Cleaner to get off all the crap paste from the Northbridge.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835100010


----------



## Regz

ok thanx, thats sure alot of hassle lol


----------



## Mootsfox

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Regz* 
ok thanx, thats sure alot of hassle lol

Yeah, but it's worth it for the temps. I _dropped_ 50C from the stock heatsink to the HR-05 with an 80mm fan at 7 volts.


----------



## MjrTom

hey nice to see this thread has come back to life









It may seem like a lot of hassle at first but the long term benefits far outweigh the grief.

nearly all the NB stock coolers are really inefficient when compared to this monster









my temps did not drop as low as Mootsfox experiences buit still managed to knock 20*C of my NB load temps using this cooler without a fan


----------



## Mootsfox

Quote:



Originally Posted by *MjrTom*


hey nice to see this thread has come back to life









It may seem like a lot of hassle at first but the long term benefits far outweigh the grief.

nearly all the NB stock coolers are really inefficient when compared to this monster









my temps did not drop as low as Mootsfox experiences buit still managed to knock 20*C of my NB load temps using this cooler without a fan










My orginal chipset heatsink was nothing more than a metal box surounding a cheap ass fan that was covered with dust. The paste was some sort of pink gum that melted into an even shape from the high temps. The highest temp I reported at 270FSB was 82.5C (fan was caked in dust). With a new chipset heatsink (free from ASUS) it went down to 70C load, so it wasn't all the dust.

With the HR-05 SLI and an 80mm fan, I get 29C idle and around 33-35C load.


----------



## MjrTom

Wow > 80*C is scry territory









My temps were a bit more reasonable to start with, in the region of 50*C when under load. with the Thermalright cooler the temps are about 32*C. (passive, no fan used - Remember!)

Also helped by the fact I live in much cooler climes than you Americans









NB voltage 0.1v above stock, 312MHz FSB.


----------



## Regz

i was told that the only way to accurately measure NB temp is to physically take a measurement with some equipment, is there no simpler way eg via a software?

cheers


----------



## Mootsfox

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Regz*


i was told that the only way to accurately measure NB temp is to physically take a measurement with some equipment, is there no simpler way eg via a software?

cheers


I used a thermal probe stuck to the heatsink base.


----------



## Ninja_Boy

Would it be worth it to upgrade the cooling on my Bad Axe 2? It has a huge heatsink that is effecient, so, I am thinking of remounting?

Will I notice a difference if I switch to another passive chipset cooler?

NiNJa


----------



## MjrTom

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Mootsfox*


I used a thermal probe stuck to the heatsink base.



Ditto. I have 4 thermocouples attached to various parts of my pc.

One stuck to my CPU HSF, one stuck to the HR-05 NB cooler, one stuck to the backplate of my 8800GTS and one monitoring my memory modules.









Accurate temps all day, every day


----------



## swiftshinobi

I've been wondering... which would provide better cooling? The gigantic stock north bridge heatsink (or was it SB) on the P35-DS3P or a passive Thermalright HR-05 SLI?


----------



## Mootsfox

Quote:



Originally Posted by *swiftshinobi*


I've been wondering... which would provide better cooling? The gigantic stock north bridge heatsink (or was it SB) on the P35-DS3P or a passive Thermalright HR-05 SLI?


Since you have basically a single heatsink that cools your SB, NB and mosfets, you would have to buy two HR-05 SLIs, and two HR-09's.

http://www.svc.com/hr-05-sli.html

http://www.svc.com/hr-09u.html

OR

http://www.svc.com/hr-09s.html

http://www.thermalright.com/support_default.htm

Your temps would be lower, but I don't think $90 is worth it.


----------



## prosser13

Anyone know if I can use this heatsink on my motherboard?

http://www.legitreviews.com/images/r...s3_labeled.jpg


----------



## microman

Hr-05 FTW but those stupid little plastic pins it comes with are FTL so here is my setup


----------



## trueg50

Quote:



Originally Posted by *prosser13*


Anyone know if I can use this heatsink on my motherboard?

http://www.legitreviews.com/images/r...s3_labeled.jpg


Should fit, just depends on which one.

An HR-05 IFX regular for the southbridge and another for the northbridge (unless GPU or CPU cooler are big, then use the IFX SLI for where ever its needed.)


----------



## The Duke

Quote:


Originally Posted by *prosser13* 
Anyone know if I can use this heatsink on my motherboard?

http://www.legitreviews.com/images/r...s3_labeled.jpg

By the looks of it, I'd say yes it will fit... but likely partially over the first PCI slot and in a horizontal but parallel to the PCI slot config. Thermalright list dimensions and you can measure the off set if the compatibility section is incomplete with regards to your MB. I measured my SLI-DR to confirm where and how it would fit best before purchasing.
Thermalright has a compatibility section to check too









DANG microman, you really got that thing cranked down


----------



## prosser13

I'm looking to use it on the heatsink BTW









I was hoping to turn it and put the fins either parallel and next to the memory slots or parallel to the memory slots and on the other side of the CPU heatsink?


----------



## Mootsfox

Quote:


Originally Posted by *microman* 
Hr-05 FTW but those stupid little plastic pins it comes with are FTL so here is my setup









Is there any benefit to using those springs?

I held my HR-05 SLI (at a 45 degree angle to the chipset) with two #4-40 1" machine bolts and nuts. I also had them mounted in the opposite way, so the heads are on the top side of the motherboard.


----------

