# Custom MB Cooling Integrating Thermaltake Extreme Spirit II With Stock Heat Pipes



## Paraleyes

*UPDATE:* *







* *For interior CPU duct info, see posts #12, 16 & 17,*










Utilizing a pair of Thermaltake CL-C0034 Extreme Spirit II North Bridge (northbridge) and South Bridge (southbridge) heatsink and fan (HSF) chipset coolers, I attached them to the stock cooling blocks of the copper heat pipe system on my ASUS P5N32-E SLI PLUS or Striker Extreme motherboard by removing the copper cooling fins(See Image 1) from the north bridge and the Ai Lifestyle shield over the south bridge so the stock heat pipe system can work in tandem with the Extreme Spirit II creating an entirely custom and impressively efficient upgraded cooling system.

After removing the stock copper heat pipe cooling system with a pair of small needle nosed pliers pushing the plastic retainer pins back through and out, I cleaned off the old and dried up thermal compound(See Image 2) found on the underside of the stock cooling blocks, cleaned the surfaces and applied Arctic Silver 5(See Image 3) on the necessary surfaces. Starting with the South Bridge, I removed the â€œAi Lifestyleâ€ shield(See Image 4) from the stock heat pipe block. Then using some longer bolts I purchased to match the thread pattern of the hardware supplied with the Extreme Spirit II coolers, I reattached the stock south bridge heatpipe cooler. Notice the clearance available over the stock block here(See Image 5 â€" Image 6).

I did not want the new fan to blow directly on where will soon be a 2nd GTX 260 below the south bridge, so in hopes of evacuating the heat generated from the south bridge chip as quickly as possible and while I considered the cooling system of the graphics cards as well, I decided an angled position would be the most efficient way of doing so. And so before installing the Extreme Spirit II I went ahead and trimmed the fins on one side using a small carbide tipped circular saw blade(See Image 7). Here is a close up of the trimmed fins(See Image 8). With the corner edges of those fins shaved off, I was able to mount the Extreme Spirit II at a slight angle allowing for airflow in the direction I desired. These next two pictures show how the Extreme Spirit II fits along side a GTX 260 above(See Image 9) and below(See Image 10). I also fancied a small heat shield out of an aluminum can(See Image 11) that I will use to protect the 2nd GTX 260 I intend to purchase in the next weeks. I donâ€™t know if it will help protect that bottom GTX 260 from the heat generated by the south bridge chip or not, but I know it wonâ€™t hurt. That is the whole reason I trimmed the corners and mounted at an angle in the 1st place, because I didnâ€™t want it to blast hot air directly on the back of the bottom GTX 260 core. Mounting the Extreme Spirit II on the south bridge was challenging, but with a stubborn diligence to make it work, I was able to make a custom bracket out of an old expansion slot shield(See Image 12) with a pair of 8 Inch needle nosed pliers, a vice grip, some tin snips, a cordless drill and a black Sharpie. The upper end of the bracket needed to be bent down so the securing nut would still clearance the back of the upper GTX 260. Have another look here(See Image 13). And of course hereâ€™s an up close look at how the south bridge Extreme Spirit II upgrade turned out(See Image 14).

Okay with the south bridge upgrade complete, Iâ€™ll move on to the easy part being that the north bridge doesnâ€™t have any clearance issued to worry about. My plan was to have the fan blow the air through the heatsink in the same direction as my Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro all to be sucked out the rear of my case with my rear exhaust fan. I removed the stock north bridge copper heat pipe cooling system the same way I did with the south bridge saving the black plastic clips for who knows what. Then I secured it with screws to the side of my project countertop flush to the top allowing me to make a single clean cut removing the stock fins from the block(See Image 17). After sticking some super fine grit sand paper to a long sanding block, I cleaned up any imperfections the saw made making sure to create a very flat surface for mounting the Extreme Spirit II cooler to(See Image 18). Here is a close up of how the north bridge Extreme Spirit II upgrade turned out(See Image 19).

I thought I should point out that if desired, one could easily upgrade the 40mm X 40mm X 10mm fan included with the Extreme Spirit II with any 40mm X 40mm X 20mm fan, either by mounting it on the opposite side of the heatsink(See Image 15), or by predrilling a new hole to relocate the screw and allowing the wider fan to fit directly over the chip.(See Image 16). This fan upgrade may not be compatible in all circumstances if clearance is an option and hardly necessary as the stock unit is a very efficient design to begin with.

Iâ€™m super happy with how everything turned out. Here, you can see how I was able to retain the stock mosfet cooling(See Image 20). After upgrading my CPU cooler, I was unable to use the top ASUS cooling fan, so I ordered a couple of 30mm case fans that screwed perfectly into the top mosfet cooling heatsink.

Here are some pictures of the finished product. (Image 21 â€" Image 22 â€" Image 23 â€" Image 24) And here is a final look at my P5N32-E SLI PLUS or Striker Extreme with the dual Thermaltake Extreme Spirit II coolers installed and working flawlessly with the original cooling system. (Image 25 â€" Image 26 â€" Image 27 â€" Image 28)

Please donâ€™t make fun of my thermal paste mess under these two Extreme Spirit II coolers. I ran out of Arctic Silver 5 of which I had enough to reinstall the stock heatpipe system. I was forced to use the included ceramic thermal paste between the Extreme Spirit II blocks and the stock blocks and did not expect it to act the way it did. Lesson learned. However, at the end of this post, you will be able to see the outstanding results Iâ€™ve had using this cooling system. I am thoroughly impressed with the included ceramic thermal paste.

After studying many of the new motherboard products available now primarilly by ASUS, I can see how this very same approach Iâ€™ve taken can be implemented by upgrading the stock heatpipe cooling systems on nearly all of their products; including the P5Q, P5K, P5E and even the P5N series motherboards. Come to think of it, that was the one feature I wasn't very excited about with the ASUS Striker II Extreme; I don't lke dealing with water cooling. In fact, now that the X58 chips are out, the Striker Extreme made a HUGE price drop. Good thing I'm loyal to nVidia, because now that I've got it figured out, I can easilly mount two of these Thermaltake Extreme Spirit II HSFs just over the stock northbridge system by simply removing the waterblock and stock fan(Minor trimming may be necessary here). Furthermore, I will remove the blue sheild from over the southbridge revealing the 1/4 tall copper fins and install one or a pair of 7mm thick fan(s) all the while allowing enough clearance for 3-Way SLI.

I havenâ€™t been lucky enough to see up close and personal many of the very high end motherboards by ASUS's competitors, but from the pictures Iâ€™ve seen at newegg, it looks as though even those nVidia referenced 790i motherboards by EVGA, XFX, etc can be upgraded the vare same way; by adding a few pairs of 30mm fans to the the heatsinks surrounding the CPU, by upgrading the stock northbridge fan with a much more efficient one and by carefully removing the aluminum fins on the southbridge cooling block and adding a Thermaltake Extreme Spirit II. Take in consideration the fact that you would lose the ability for 3-way SLI unless you opted to instead mount a low profile heatsink or a HSF to the top of the existing southbridge cooling block. I would recommend usingArctic Silver Premium Thermal Adhesive to mount something like that. Tons of options are out there. You just have to find the one you need. From the looks of it, even a 10mm HSF should fit after removing those aluminum fins. You'll need to measure to be sure.

Have a friend help hold a circular saw steady for you if you donâ€™t feel comfortable doing it on your own. Youâ€™ll need all your fingers to get those frags. A good carbide tip blade is all you need and the more teeth, the better. I used to install Sun Rooms/Solariums made out of aluminum, so I am quite accustomed to working with metal. I knew Copper was very similar to Aluminum as far as cutting goes, so I went for it. You may want to stop by your local recycling compound and pick up a few pieces of aluminum so you can get a feel for it and know what to expect when cutting it. These soft metals cut super easilly so don't be discouraged; just practice on a piece of extruded aluminum if you aren't sure what to expect.

Here are my overclocking and cooling results with my E6600 under load(See Image 29). As you can see, I like to keep my other monitor on so I can keep an eye on the system. I remember with my previous 7950s that SLI mode disabled the other monitor while gaming though. Iâ€™ll have to use those annoying alarms then; not that I need them anymore, at least not for my motherboard. Thanks to Robilar and his thread on the P5N32-E for pointing out just what I needed to do in order to get my FSB to 410(1640). I did lower my multiplier to 8 until I get my E8500 next week I picked up from mwave.com for $186 + Free Shipping. Otherwise, at a 9 multiplier with my E6600, I maxed out the FSB at 378(1512) and the CPU at 3402MHz. I canâ€™t wait to play with my new CPU!

Here are my overclocking and cooling results with my E8500 under load(See Image 30). I have only just begun to play with this new CPU, so Iâ€™m confident I will be able to get a bit more out of it, but I am at a loss as to why this 45nm CPU runs at such higher temperatures than my previous 65nm E6600. â€"Something to look into, I guess. I'd appreciate any tips or help there!

As far as my motherboard cooling project results goes, it really only depends on what the ambient room temperature is as whatever temperature the motherboard idles, which is usually 28C to 31C, is right where it will stay. Whether Iâ€™m sitting on the internet, or playing Crysis for 10 hours straight, it does not budge more than a single degree. Now those are some impressive results!

Here are images 1-5:


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## Paraleyes

I felt that I should add a few more things here, like please hit the Rep+ button if you liked what you read here.

Keep in mind that this type of modification will most certainly void the warranty, but to me it is more than worth it.

Tools used: Screw Drivers â€" Two sizes of Needle Nosed Pliers â€" Vice Grip Pliers â€" Razor Blade/Utility Knife â€" Palm Sander â€" Fine Sand Paper â€" Large Sanding Block â€" Circular Saw with Carbide Tipped Blade â€" Cordless Drill â€" 1/8â€ Drill Bit â€" Tin Snips â€" Steady Hands â€" Safety Goggles

*Am I seriously writing a disclaimer?! This project worked for me exceptionally well, however any damage or loss to anything or anyone will be done at your own risk.

Here are images 6-10


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## Paraleyes

I took around about 100+ pictures while working on this project, so if anyone would like to see them, just let me know and I'll send you a link to see them.


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## Paraleyes

I see that I forgot to mention; those pictures above are images 11-15.

Here are images 16-20.


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## Paraleyes

Am I having a conversation with myself? Nonetheless; here are images 21-25.


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## Paraleyes

I thoroughly enjoyed modifying this board. I hope the time I took documenting it all in some way does inspire a few of you out there.









To view the results, you may possibly get a better quality image by clicking the actual links to Image 29 and Image 30. I'm not sure, but either way, here are the final images; 26-30.


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## j_syk

umm, did you really cut that with the circular saw sitting upside down on your lap?
Picture 7, post #2
Find a friend with a table or band saw!

i'd like to find some better options for my mobo, but the graphics card covers the whole SB (or NB? idk, only have 1 on this mobo)
maybe next summer i'll care more, for now temps are low enough that cooling isn't a high priority.

looks good though, and extremely detailed
rep well earned


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## Paraleyes

Yes, I trimmed/nibbled the heatsink on the Extreme Spirit II with a small 19v cordless circular saw with a carbide tip blade. For removing the thick fins from the northbridge, I temporarilly screwed the heatsink to the edge of a table and ran the very same saw through it in one clean sweep.









Thanks for the rep up!


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## Paraleyes

Quote:


Originally Posted by *j_syk* 
i'd like to find some better options for my mobo, but the graphics card covers the whole SB (or NB? idk, only have 1 on this mobo)
maybe next summer i'll care more, for now temps are low enough that cooling isn't a high priority.

Hey J_Syk, check out this Review on the Thermalright HR-05-SLI. It may be more of what you are looking for. Best of luck!


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## MCBrown.CA

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Paraleyes* 
Hey J_Syk, check out this Review on the Thermalright HR-05-SLI. It may be more of what you are looking for. Best of luck!

Holy posting way too much Batman!!

EDIT: so as not to interpret my post as un-welcoming: the Edit option will allow you to modify a single post to add new information.

oh, and asking for rep will not get you any...


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## Paraleyes

Quote:


Originally Posted by *MCBrown.CA* 
Holy posting way too much Batman!!

EDIT: so as not to interpret my post as un-welcoming: the Edit option will allow you to modify a single post to add new information.

oh, and asking for rep will not get you any...









Thanks for the tip, but the extra posts are there so I could include the extra thumbnails(5 per post) as I think they're more convenient than opening a new page. As far as the Rep+ reminder... well, it is just that. So, if you don't like what you read here, don't click it. However, I'm hoping most people will get something out of this thread. I'm just giving back to this site the best way I can, so if it helps even one person, all the extra time was worth it.


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## Paraleyes

Okay, so getting cold air into the case is obviously an advantage, but I thought to myself last week, "What does it do when it gets in there?" Uncertain of precisely how the air was cycling through my case, I decided get certain and create a custom built air duct system from the top of my case to direct air through my cheap @$$ Arctic Freezer 7 Pro HSF and then out the rear.

I made a temporary three sided piece to go on a 12cm fan just to see what would happen and when the CPU dropped 8C, I went ahead and did it right. I bent this out of a single piece of aluminum using some valley metal for roofing and some pop rivets. I picked it up at Home Depot for under $10. And yes, I'm completely aware that most of you will not believe me when I say my CPU load temps went from around 64C down to 52C Real Temp Average. When I say "load temps", I am talking about playing Crysis/Assisin's Creed. That's the most load my PC will ever see anyways other than the occasional video rendering, but I don't even know if that's more intensive or not.

The downside; my motherboard temps went up 3C. I'm guessing because that 12cm fan used to blow all over and even behind the motherboard. I'm cool with this though as my motherboard cooling is completely under control.

I'll be using the duct that came with my case to attach some 3" pipe from outside, but I doubt I'll have time to do it before the end of the year. Dropping 10C or so within ambient room temperatures really surprised me. I can't wait to see what happens when I bring in the cold winter air next month! Of course, I'll likely take off the duct then anyways, or at least make a new one so the majority of the air gets into the whole case rather than just through the CPU HSF.

Update: More "How To"s on air ducts in posts #16 & 17!


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## Ltar

Massive props -- I've never seen a mod like this before. I think I'll be borrowing your duct design, too! ++


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## curly haired boy

ah, ducts. i'm interested in making a duct system for my next build. this is quite informative!

btw, you can post images in the gallery (or an imagehost like imagecross.com, or imageshack.us, or photobucket.com), then have them show up in your posts. it makes things easier to follow, and you don't have to litter your paragraphs with links.









just use the [img ] [/img ] tags around the urls of the images. (be sure to remove the spaces i inserted after the Gs in the tags.)


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## Paraleyes

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Ltar* 
Massive props -- I've never seen a mod like this before. I think I'll be borrowing your duct design, too! ++

Hey, thanks a lot!


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## Paraleyes

Quote:


Originally Posted by *curly haired boy* 
ah, ducts. i'm interested in making a duct system for my next build. this is quite informative!

I came to realize that the Vantec 80mm X 38mm Tornado I was using for my top intake vent was total overkill as my CPU load temps stayed at 49, 50C whether it was on maximum or minimum CFM, so I decided to purchase a Thermaltake 90mm Blue LED Smart Case Fan to replace it. I went with 90mm this time so I could make all my bends easy 90 degree angles and have the vent line up perfectly with the 90mm fan on my Freezer 7 Pro. All I had to do was make an 80mm to 90mm fan adapter out of 1/2" particle board. I actually cut it out of an old wall shelf I no longer use, then drilled four 1/8" holes in each side for the fan screws and routered out a bevel to get the maximum airflow possible into the case after drilling the 3" hole.

In those 1st couple pictures below, you can see how to bend this aluminum if you don't have a metal brake.


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## Paraleyes

This is my 3rd shot at this interior CPU duct and I wanted to make it the last, so I used some masking tape to find the exact angles this time rather than using the, "Ummm... right about there" method. I used my old framing triangle to get the angles and then transfered them to my work bench with some more masking tape. You can see in the last picture how great the angles turned out.


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## curly haired boy

wow. using masking tape to find the angles - i never would have thought of that. +rep for ingenuity!


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## Paraleyes

Here goes Batman bumping away again...

I'd really like some feedback on this. Has anybody else done anything like this? I'm very interested in any and all kinds of aggressive air cooling that you may have attempted.


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## mfb412

wow great job








repped for your clever methods around a cooled computer


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## Hailscott

Nice work!


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## Paraleyes

Quote:


Originally Posted by *curly haired boy* 
wow. using masking tape to find the angles - i never would have thought of that. +rep for ingenuity!










Quote:


Originally Posted by *mfb412* 
wow great job








repped for your clever methods around a cooled computer


Quote:


Originally Posted by *Hailscott* 
Nice work!

Thank you!


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## Tiger_Btn

I have to ask, but it looks like your fan between your CPU heatsink and exhaust fan is trying to suck air IN through the exhaust? also your top exhaust is trying to steal air away from your CPU fan? (if not, you know heat rises? sucking air from high to low seems wrong) wouldnt it be better to have modded your case side door in a similar manner to blow air directly too to CPU fan.


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## Paraleyes

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Tiger_Btn*


I have to ask, but it looks like your fan between your CPU heatsink and exhaust fan is trying to suck air IN through the exhaust? also your top exhaust is trying to steal air away from your CPU fan? (if not, you know heat rises? sucking air from high to low seems wrong) wouldnt it be better to have modded your case side door in a similar manner to blow air directly too to CPU fan.











I thought this was a joke, but it turns out you're actually serious?! I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt that you didn't even read my thread before posting contrary information to what was already there which annoys me even more than ignorance.

Obviously I know what I'm doing here if I was able to drop my CPU temps by an average of better than 10C simply by ducting in some ambient temp air directly through the CPU HSF. The key word here is _"IN!"_ And the fan you're referring to is only meant to move air through the cooling fins over the I/O port side mosfets. It's doing the exact job ASUS intended it to do and with the coldest air in my case passing very briefly through the CPU HSF just before the fan in question, I'd say that I made this ASUS mosfet fan at least 20% more effective with my carefully designed top intake air duct.

Heat rises? Really?! Any heat remaining in the top of my case that the 140mm fan in my PSU does not get rid of, is taken care of by a trio of of 40mm fans installed in the upper most 5.25" bay of my case through the use of an empty HD cooler in which I turned the fans around to work for me as exhaust rather than intake.

Before you go making assumptions about my design, you should at least do me the courtesy of reading my thread before you litter it. Thanks!


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## Tiger_Btn

Sorry mate but there was FAR to much crap in your original post to bother reading through...So I didnt know about your 3 fans in your upper 5.25" bays and I didnt see the ASUS fan was a straight through (thought it had a solid side and an entry side...no good photos of it)


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## Paraleyes

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Tiger_Btn* 
Sorry mate but there was FAR to much crap in your original post to bother reading through...So I didnt know about your 3 fans in your upper 5.25" bays and I didnt see the ASUS fan was a straight through (thought it had a solid side and an entry side...no good photos of it)

Resorting to calling all the very thorough information I provided in my thread, "crap" only makes you look ignorant and all the same, proving my point. Maybe if you'd bother to actually read the threads you reply to, you'd learn the difference between _to_ and _too_. So if it's _too_ much _to_ read, then you should at least be able to appreciate the time I took in documenting my mod in the 1st place and simply move on rather than littering it yet again. You did however motivate me to make a diagram of the airflow inside my case. Thanks!










Check out the slot cooler I made out of an ASUS mosfet fan! It definitely plays a necessary roll in removing the heat produced by the GPUs and southbridge.


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## Arcane.001100

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Paraleyes*


Resorting to calling all the very thorough information I provided in my thread, "crap" only makes you look ignorant and all the same, proving my point. Maybe if you'd bother to actually read the threads you reply to, you'd learn the difference between _to _and _too_. So if it's _too _much _to _read, then you should at least be able to appreciate the time I took in documenting my mod in the 1st place and simply move on rather than littering it yet again. You did however motivate me to make a diagram of the airflow inside my case. Thanks!


OMG! that was _too_ funny!

Great series through..mad props for your thoroughness. I am designing a case mod now...

When I originally picked up my P182 I liked the 'stealth' idea... I still do, however, time to blend a little more efficiency with this sleek box. And to do this I will definately be utilizing the fruits of your labor...I'll document and take pics as well.

So here's my public thank you for your work. "Thank you."


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## Paraleyes

Hey thanks, Arcane! I'm glad I was able to inspire. Feel free to post any pictures of your mod here on this thread, or at least a link to your build log when it's done.

Oh, and nice case! That is one of the nicest looking cases available right now in my opinion. I just couldn't justify the extra Benjamin for it. I'm jealous.


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## Arcane.001100

Hey thanks. I will post as soon as I get it underway. I am waiting for the delivery man to deliver the first batch of goodies today.

As for my case, I agree. It is quite expensive, however, at the time of purchase I was sitting a 'little fat' if you know what I mean.

Anyway, I'll keep you posted.


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## Arcane.001100

I have begun a work log here.

I am still wrestling with a few measurements and design features... but will keep the thread current as best I can.

I'm not too worried about my ability to make my machine perform better... although this is a challenge in itself. Instead, I am concerned about my ability to display that which is my inspiration for it's display...


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## Paraleyes

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Paraleyes* 
*UPDATE:* *







* *For interior CPU duct info, see posts #12, 16 & 17,*










Utilizing a pair of Thermaltake CL-C0034 Extreme Spirit II North Bridge (northbridge) and South Bridge (southbridge) heatsink and fan (HSF) chipset coolers, I attached them to the stock cooling blocks of the copper heat pipe system on my ASUS P5N32-E SLI PLUS or Striker Extreme motherboard by removing the copper cooling fins(See Image 1) from the north bridge and the Ai Lifestyle shield over the south bridge so the stock heat pipe system can work in tandem with the Extreme Spirit II creating an entirely custom and impressively efficient upgraded cooling system.

After removing the stock copper heat pipe cooling system with a pair of small needle nosed pliers pushing the plastic retainer pins back through and out, I cleaned off the old and dried up thermal compound(See Image 2) found on the underside of the stock cooling blocks, cleaned the surfaces and applied Arctic Silver 5(See Image 3) on the necessary surfaces. Starting with the South Bridge, I removed the â€œAi Lifestyleâ€ shield(See Image 4) from the stock heat pipe block. Then using some longer bolts I purchased to match the thread pattern of the hardware supplied with the Extreme Spirit II coolers, I reattached the stock south bridge heatpipe cooler. Notice the clearance available over the stock block here(See Image 5 â€" Image 6).

I did not want the new fan to blow directly on where will soon be a 2nd GTX 260 below the south bridge, so in hopes of evacuating the heat generated from the south bridge chip as quickly as possible and while I considered the cooling system of the graphics cards as well, I decided an angled position would be the most efficient way of doing so. And so before installing the Extreme Spirit II I went ahead and trimmed the fins on one side using a small carbide tipped circular saw blade(See Image 7). Here is a close up of the trimmed fins(See Image 8). With the corner edges of those fins shaved off, I was able to mount the Extreme Spirit II at a slight angle allowing for airflow in the direction I desired. These next two pictures show how the Extreme Spirit II fits along side a GTX 260 above(See Image 9) and below(See Image 10). I also fancied a small heat shield out of an aluminum can(See Image 11) that I will use to protect the 2nd GTX 260 I intend to purchase in the next weeks. I donâ€™t know if it will help protect that bottom GTX 260 from the heat generated by the south bridge chip or not, but I know it wonâ€™t hurt. That is the whole reason I trimmed the corners and mounted at an angle in the 1st place, because I didnâ€™t want it to blast hot air directly on the back of the bottom GTX 260 core. Mounting the Extreme Spirit II on the south bridge was challenging, but with a stubborn diligence to make it work, I was able to make a custom bracket out of an old expansion slot shield(See Image 12) with a pair of 8 Inch needle nosed pliers, a vice grip, some tin snips, a cordless drill and a black Sharpie. The upper end of the bracket needed to be bent down so the securing nut would still clearance the back of the upper GTX 260. Have another look here(See Image 13). And of course hereâ€™s an up close look at how the south bridge Extreme Spirit II upgrade turned out(See Image 14).

Okay with the south bridge upgrade complete, Iâ€™ll move on to the easy part being that the north bridge doesnâ€™t have any clearance issued to worry about. My plan was to have the fan blow the air through the heatsink in the same direction as my Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro all to be sucked out the rear of my case with my rear exhaust fan. I removed the stock north bridge copper heat pipe cooling system the same way I did with the south bridge saving the black plastic clips for who knows what. Then I secured it with screws to the side of my project countertop flush to the top allowing me to make a single clean cut removing the stock fins from the block(See Image 17). After sticking some super fine grit sand paper to a long sanding block, I cleaned up any imperfections the saw made making sure to create a very flat surface for mounting the Extreme Spirit II cooler to(See Image 18). Here is a close up of how the north bridge Extreme Spirit II upgrade turned out(See Image 19).

I thought I should point out that if desired, one could easily upgrade the 40mm X 40mm X 10mm fan included with the Extreme Spirit II with any 40mm X 40mm X 20mm fan, either by mounting it on the opposite side of the heatsink(See Image 15), or by predrilling a new hole to relocate the screw and allowing the wider fan to fit directly over the chip.(See Image 16). This fan upgrade may not be compatible in all circumstances if clearance is an option and hardly necessary as the stock unit is a very efficient design to begin with.

Iâ€™m super happy with how everything turned out. Here, you can see how I was able to retain the stock mosfet cooling(See Image 20). After upgrading my CPU cooler, I was unable to use the top ASUS cooling fan, so I ordered a couple of 30mm case fans that screwed perfectly into the top mosfet cooling heatsink.

Here are some pictures of the finished product. (Image 21 â€" Image 22 â€" Image 23 â€" Image 24) And here is a final look at my P5N32-E SLI PLUS or Striker Extreme with the dual Thermaltake Extreme Spirit II coolers installed and working flawlessly with the original cooling system. (Image 25 â€" Image 26 â€" Image 27 â€" Image 28)

Please donâ€™t make fun of my thermal paste mess under these two Extreme Spirit II coolers. I ran out of Arctic Silver 5 of which I had enough to reinstall the stock heatpipe system. I was forced to use the included ceramic thermal paste between the Extreme Spirit II blocks and the stock blocks and did not expect it to act the way it did. Lesson learned. However, at the end of this post, you will be able to see the outstanding results Iâ€™ve had using this cooling system. I am thoroughly impressed with the included ceramic thermal paste.

After studying many of the new motherboard products available now primarilly by ASUS, I can see how this very same approach Iâ€™ve taken can be implemented by upgrading the stock heatpipe cooling systems on nearly all of their products; including the P5Q, P5K, P5E and even the P5N series motherboards. Come to think of it, that was the one feature I wasn't very excited about with the ASUS Striker II Extreme; I don't lke dealing with water cooling. In fact, now that the X58 chips are out, the Striker Extreme made a HUGE price drop. Good thing I'm loyal to nVidia, because now that I've got it figured out, I can easilly mount two of these Thermaltake Extreme Spirit II HSFs just over the stock northbridge system by simply removing the waterblock and stock fan(Minor trimming may be necessary here). Furthermore, I will remove the blue sheild from over the southbridge revealing the 1/4 tall copper fins and install one or a pair of 7mm thick fan(s) all the while allowing enough clearance for 3-Way SLI.

I havenâ€™t been lucky enough to see up close and personal many of the very high end motherboards by ASUS's competitors, but from the pictures Iâ€™ve seen at newegg, it looks as though even those nVidia referenced 790i motherboards by EVGA, XFX, etc can be upgraded the vare same way; by adding a few pairs of 30mm fans to the the heatsinks surrounding the CPU, by upgrading the stock northbridge fan with a much more efficient one and by carefully removing the aluminum fins on the southbridge cooling block and adding a Thermaltake Extreme Spirit II. Take in consideration the fact that you would lose the ability for 3-way SLI unless you opted to instead mount a low profile heatsink or a HSF to the top of the existing southbridge cooling block. I would recommend usingArctic Silver Premium Thermal Adhesive to mount something like that. Tons of options are out there. You just have to find the one you need. From the looks of it, even a 10mm HSF should fit after removing those aluminum fins. You'll need to measure to be sure.

Have a friend help hold a circular saw steady for you if you donâ€™t feel comfortable doing it on your own. Youâ€™ll need all your fingers to get those frags. A good carbide tip blade is all you need and the more teeth, the better. I used to install Sun Rooms/Solariums made out of aluminum, so I am quite accustomed to working with metal. I knew Copper was very similar to Aluminum as far as cutting goes, so I went for it. You may want to stop by your local recycling compound and pick up a few pieces of aluminum so you can get a feel for it and know what to expect when cutting it. These soft metals cut super easilly so don't be discouraged; just practice on a piece of extruded aluminum if you aren't sure what to expect.

Here are my overclocking and cooling results with my E6600 under load(See Image 29). As you can see, I like to keep my other monitor on so I can keep an eye on the system. I remember with my previous 7950s that SLI mode disabled the other monitor while gaming though. Iâ€™ll have to use those annoying alarms then; not that I need them anymore, at least not for my motherboard. Thanks to Robilar and his thread on the P5N32-E for pointing out just what I needed to do in order to get my FSB to 410(1640). I did lower my multiplier to 8 until I get my E8500 next week I picked up from mwave.com for $186 + Free Shipping. Otherwise, at a 9 multiplier with my E6600, I maxed out the FSB at 378(1512) and the CPU at 3402MHz. I canâ€™t wait to play with my new CPU!

Here are my overclocking and cooling results with my E8500 under load(See Image 30). I have only just begun to play with this new CPU, so Iâ€™m confident I will be able to get a bit more out of it, but I am at a loss as to why this 45nm CPU runs at such higher temperatures than my previous 65nm E6600. â€"Something to look into, I guess. I'd appreciate any tips or help there!

As far as my motherboard cooling project results goes, it really only depends on what the ambient room temperature is as whatever temperature the motherboard idles, which is usually 28C to 31C, is right where it will stay. Whether Iâ€™m sitting on the internet, or playing Crysis for 10 hours straight, it does not budge more than a single degree. Now those are some impressive results!

Here are images 1-5:

Bump it up!


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## morphus1

wicked job dude, ive just installed fans in a line from front to back in a direct line line thru my cpu cooler 4 120 fans in total. agressive enough?

EDIT: just uploaded pics as you can see i havent jack to work with









I've have a sever high top case i think im gonna mod, put heaps of fans in and a window. Any ideas for the mod in regards to the fans and how i should set them up? is the wind tunnel the best way to go ( i think so) Really just any all round ideas (2nd ever mod, first was a ****ta)


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## Paraleyes

Thanks morphus1. Yeah, nice wind tunnel. Any pics posted?


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## Paraleyes

Bump a chicka bow-wow


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## Paraleyes

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Paraleyes* 
I took around about 100+ pictures while working on this project, so if anyone would like to see them, just let me know and I'll send you a link to see them.

Bump


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## Mattb2e

Nice mod, it looks as though the motherboard cooling layout was very well thought out. I saw the screen shot of your E8500 and your temps are considerably high for your processor, especially since your only clocked to 3.8ghz and your not even over 1.2v.

I dont know what the CFM ratings are on your fans but judging by the pics you have taken it looks as though you have a negative pressure system, best for minimizing dust. The only suggestion I have is that may or may not help is installing a fan or a couple of fans, dependent on size, in or in front of your hard drive cage to help pull cool air from your intake fan. Sort of like a push pull type of configuration. Im not sure if it will help you at all but it would be interesting to see if it had any effect on your system temp.

Overall, even without any further modification you have what seems to be a very efficiently cooled case. Dependent on whether or not I replace my motherboard or go with a X58 setup I may just have to work on something to get my motherboard temps down from 41c. I have adequate ventilation, but the stock cooling isnt the best on this board.


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## reedo

subbed for cooling knowledge


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## Paraleyes

Hey, thanks for the input Mattb2erea. I don't know what those temps were before I did my 3rd go at my air duct, but I just went through my realtemplog.txt for my last gaming session playing through Assassin's Creed last night and both cores are running at 46c-49c under the load of that game. I counted only two instances where one core hit 52c in a few days of solid gaming. What does that NV stand for in that log file?

You can see my airflow set up in the picture below. Since that picture was taken, I installed four small coasters on the bottom of my case and cut another hole below the lower VGA fan intake. The little coasters raised the case just enough to allow room for an 80mm fan to be installed in direct alignment with the intake fan of the lower VGA. I also flipped the airflow of the SB fan to blow towards the back of the case. These new changes were done because the lower VGA was running sometimes 12c hotter! Now they both run right at only 51c-52c under load.










I'll post pictures of this mod soon.


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## Mattb2e

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Paraleyes* 
Hey, thanks for the input Mattb2erea. I don't know what those temps were before I did my 3rd go at my air duct, but I just went through my realtemplog.txt for my last gaming session playing through Assassin's Creed last night and both cores are running at 46c-49c under the load of that game. I counted only two instances where one core hit 52c in a few days of solid gaming. What does that NV stand for in that log file?

Im not sure what NV Stands for however the value in the log file for NV should be your GPU temp. I looked at my log file and the temp displayed for that parameter was exactly the same as my GPU Temp. 52c isnt too shabby for a load temp so I think your good with that. I usually run around that temp at 4.0ghz at full load.

Quote:

You can see my airflow set up in the picture below. Since that picture was taken, I installed four small coasters on the bottom of my case and cut another hole below the lower VGA fan intake. The little coasters raised the case just enough to allow room for an 80mm fan to be installed in direct alignment with the intake fan of the lower VGA. I also flipped the airflow of the SB fan to blow towards the back of the case. These new changes were done because the lower VGA was running sometimes 12c hotter! Now they both run right at only 51c-52c under load.
Oh ok so together your 80mm intake fan and your SB cooler fan are providing your GPU's with an air intake to help cool them. Im not a huge fan, no pun intended, of the slot cooler type gpu's they kind of limit your air intake to a small opening, however the exhaust blowing directly out of the case I guess makes up for that fact.

I still think it would be interesting to try an 80mm fan or whatever would fit in your HD cage or in front of it, that could help your GPU's a bit more with getting some cooler air. By the looks of it your case is loud with all those fans lol. My case has 3 230mm fans and 4 120mm fans and ive gotten nothing but complaints from the little lady about it. That and the bright LED's lol. Heres a pic of my case.


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## Paraleyes

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Mattb2e* 
Im not sure what NV Stands for however the value in the log file for NV should be your GPU temp. I looked at my log file and the temp displayed for that parameter was exactly the same as my GPU Temp. 52c isnt too shabby for a load temp so I think your good with that. I usually run around that temp at 4.0ghz at full load.

Oh ok so together your 80mm intake fan and your SB cooler fan are providing your GPU's with an air intake to help cool them. Im not a huge fan, no pun intended, of the slot cooler type gpu's they kind of limit your air intake to a small opening, however the exhaust blowing directly out of the case I guess makes up for that fact.

I still think it would be interesting to try an 80mm fan or whatever would fit in your HD cage or in front of it, that could help your GPU's a bit more with getting some cooler air. By the looks of it your case is loud with all those fans lol. My case has 3 230mm fans and 4 120mm fans and ive gotten nothing but complaints from the little lady about it. That and the bright LED's lol. Heres a pic of my case.

Waoh, nice case! Yeah duh- the GPU temp! I can't believe I didn't figure that out.









Yeah, I definitely have to raise my voice to talk over it, but I have a fan controller to turn them way down while I'm not gaming and then it's barely audible under my desk. I don't hear it anyways with my Tritton Ax Pros on. I had to invest in some good cans, because all my neighbors kept complaining about the noise. Funny thing actually, the old guy neighbor directly across the wall from me asked me if I was running a compressor or generator in my bedroom. I talked him into letting me in his bedroom so I could hear what he was talking about. Sure enough, it's the fans! I just don't shove it all the way against the wall anymore.

No, I have a shield protecting the upper VGA from the heat generated by the SB. That thing gets hotter than my NB as the 650i still runs all the PCI-e slots through the SB.

Heck, I'll take those pictures now so what I'm talking about is clear. You should be able to see the fan for the HDs now. Oh, and that Corsair memory cooler sitting there isn't permanent. I was just experimenting with it. I'm going to be cutting out three holes in the back of the case next to all the VGAs and use it to suck some more of the heat out. Just sitting it there on the bottom of my case made a few degree difference, so I'm sure it will be worth the effort. Besides, my memory hardly even gets warm, so I don't need it there.


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## grishkathefool

I am curious too. I looked at your screens for your 6600 and the 8500 and I think those temps are a little high too. I now nothing about hte Q6600, but I saw that you were drooped at 1.68v, so I can understand the high temps there.

I understand, as you told Matt that you were on a marathon AC session when you screened the 8500. But I think that 60C is a little high... Your NB and SB coolers look fantastic, by the way. But I think that you have so much going on in there that the air masses are having a hard time being parsed. Look at it this way, you have flow-in from the top direct at the CPU HSF which then vents towards the MOSFETs and then out; however, your talking about 4 different sized fans with different RPMs and different CFMs. The fan that is directly above your CPU HSF (not sure what it is, another MOSFET?) is it sucking up or blowing down; whichever, it is partially obstructing the PSU ehaust fan.

I don't mean to be critical, and I did read the whole of your post, so don't get upset with me as you did that numbskull that skipped through your OP. But, to give you an example, I have a E8400 which, when running at 4.25GHz during a marathon LotRo session doesn't break 45C. Here is a link describing my airflow. It is not nearly as descriptive as yours, but it shows my air mass pattern to some degree.

In Sum, I think that you have done an impressive job modding the NB and SB coolers to fit your set-up. I will certainly bookmark this link for future reference. I learned a thing or two from your techniques and intend to rep you, as well. But I do think that you could bring your CPU temp down by "un-modding" to some extent...

Great thread, bro!!


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## Paraleyes

Wow! I can sure appreciate it when somebody tells me they read this whole thread. Thanks for the tips. I definitely know what you mean about those mosfet fans. To answer your question on those mostfet fans, the ASUS fan next to my exhaust sucked in from either side and blows downward onto the mosfet. The two 30mm fans on the top mosfet sucked upward toward the PSU fan.

I came to find that my vcore had been at 1.5v since way before that last time I looked at my RealTemp log. Isn't that one of the main contributors to high CPU temps? If so, that would account for going over 50C. I never really had that duct build how I wanted it when my E6600 was on this board, so I'm sure it could have been helped by this most recent duct.

I just installed my new XFX 790i Ultra yesterday, but I've been having a rough go at the Crucial Ballistix I picked up for it. In fact, two of the four DIMMs were DOA! -Uuugh! I just ordered some Patriot Vipers about an hour ago. They're almost 3X the price, but per the reviews, they should be well worth the extra.

As for now, I just ground down the inside edge of a lower CFM 60mm fan and installed those two 30mm fans as a push/pull setup on my NB for temporary. I'll be receiving the good stuff from Cooler Guys next week.

I do have some more hardware mods planned for my new MB depending what results I initially get, but I'll start a new build log for this MB. I really think the best thing I can do for my CPU is to install a higher-end HSF like the TRUE or something similar. I was researching on which one will work best for my setup when your post came in.

Hey, I checked out your other post. That was an interesting idea for a memory cooler. I may experiment on that with the use of some heat shields. I'll be sure to give you props for sparking the idea though. Here's some pics of my new setup. Same thing really, just no need for any serious SB heat sinks anymore.


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## grishkathefool

I removed the memory cooling fan, it was what was causing me to collect pockets of air. I use a $20 Masscool HSF and after running FaH GPU and CPU all night long, with a plethora of stuff running right now(60%CPU usage) at 3.6GHz, I am showing 42C CPU, 36C Mobo.

It's my understanding that it's not how much air you move in/out (within reason), nor is it how big a fan you have on your CPU that matters, its how efficiently you are able to remove the warm air and replace it with fresh...

I look forward to the conclusion of your current rig and, too, the beginnings of your next...


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## AxEmAn

Very nice read, I understand the time and effort you put into this, and the fact that you are sharing what information you've already obtained, and have learned through this project, is good to spark an interest for another. Thanks


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## Twysted

+1 rep

Ingenious! and very very clear and easy to follow! great job!


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## Paraleyes

Quote:


Originally Posted by *apt2vanish* 
Very nice read, I understand the time and effort you put into this, and the fact that you are sharing what information you've already obtained, and have learned through this project, is good to spark an interest for another. Thanks


Quote:


Originally Posted by *Twysted* 
+1 rep

Ingenious! and very very clear and easy to follow! great job!

Thanks guys! I'm at it again on my 790i board. Check it out: http://www.overclock.net/cooling-exp...ml#post6806457


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## Jolly-Swagman

Great work and great Mod + Rep to you!!

PS - thanks for the Tip!!


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## Paraleyes

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Jolly-Swagman* 
Great work and great Mod + Rep to you!!

PS - thanks for the Tip!!

Likewise! Thanks for the link!


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## Paraleyes

I know this is old, but I thought I'd bump it because I just think it think I am







. haha


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