Zalman NB32J Gold Northbridge Heatsink<base href="http://www.atruereview.com/" /> <link rel="shortcut icon" href="http://www.atruereview.com/images/favicon.ico" /> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1" /> <link href="http://www.atruereview.com/templates/rt_versatility_iii/css/template_css.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" /> <link href="http://www.atruereview.com/templates/rt_versatility_iii/css/style10.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" /> <link href="http://www.atruereview.com/templates/rt_versatility_iii/slimbox/slimbox.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" /> <link href="http://www.atruereview.com/templates/rt_versatility_iii/css/rokmoomenu.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />  <link rel="shortcut icon" href="http://www.atruereview.com/images/favicon.ico" /> <style type="text/css"> td.left div.moduletable, td.right div.moduletable, td.left div.moduletable-hilite1, td.right div.moduletable-hilite1, td.left div.moduletable-hilite2, td.right div.moduletable-hilite2, td.left div.moduletable-hilite3, td.right div.moduletable-hilite3, td.left div.moduletable-hilite4, td.right div.moduletable-hilite4, td.left div.moduletable-hilite5, td.right div.moduletable-hilite5, td.left div.moduletable-hilite6, td.right div.moduletable-hilite6, td.left div.moduletable-hilite7, td.right div.moduletable-hilite7, td.left div.moduletable-hilite8, td.right div.moduletable-hilite8 { width: 175px; 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The northbridge fan gave out on me. It had been slowly dying for months and was the loudest fan in my case as it stuttered along on its last leg. I decided that a passive cooler would be the best choice to replace my northbridge cooler. Passive coolers do not have a fan; therefore, the northbridge cooler would be 100% quiet. There aren't too many passive northbridge coolers on the market; therefore, I decided to try the Zalman NB32J Gold Northbridge Heatsink, which I purchased from CaseCooler.com.</p> <p align="center"><a href="atruereview/NB32J/nbinpackage.jpg"><img src="atruereview/NB32J/nbinpackageth.jpg" alt="Zalman Gold Northbridge Heat sink In Package" border="1" width="250" height="126"></a><br> <font size="-1">Click on image for larger picture</font> <br> </p> <p align="left"><b>Overview:</b></p> <p align="left">The Zalman NB32J kit comes with thermal paste, thermal epoxy, instructions, and a push pin setup. The instructions will come in handy when attaching the push pin bracket.</p> <p align="left">Thermal epoxy enables the heatsink to be applied to virtually any chip. This includes video cards as well as northbridge chipsets. I would not recommend using the Zalman for newer video cards like GeForce 4. </p> <p align="center"><a href="atruereview/NB32J/nbparts.jpg"><img src="atruereview/NB32J/nbpartsth.jpg" width="250" height="172" alt="Zalman Gold Northbridge Chipset Heat sink and Parts" border="1"></a><br> <font size="-1">Click on image for larger picture</font> <br> </p> <p align="left">If you do not like using epoxy on your chip, the NBJ32 uses a push pin bracket system that supports almost all of the northbridge push pin setups on the market. The small metal bracket that connects to the heatsink has a groove in it that allows for adjusting the push pin position. The push pin will then line up perfectly with the hole in the motherboard. If you have ever used a blue or crystal orb, you will understand how the push pin hole in the orb may be slightly offset compared to the motherboard holes. </p> <p align="center"><img src="atruereview/NB32J/nbattach.jpg" width="300" height="185" alt="Zalman Gold Heat sink Bracket, Nut and Push Pin" border="1"><br> </p> <p align="left"><b>Installation:</b></p> <p align="left">Before telling you about the installation, I would like to note that I do not possess the nimblest of fingers. Little nuts and bolts frustrate me when I have to work with them. </p> <p align="left">The installation for me began as a pain. I was removing my old chipset cooler when one of the push pins broke. After fumbling around for about 10 minutes, I gave up and unscrewed the motherboard to remove the broken half of the pin. I would like to note to everyone to be careful when removing the existing heatsink. </p> <p align="left">When installing the Zalman northbridge heatsink, it will be helpful to have a jewelers screwdriver set handy. The nut and screw that attach the metal bracket to the heatsink are very small. The screw is a tiny Phillips screw. Look at the diagram in the directions for it will show how to attach the bracket. If the nut is on the wrong side the installation is a pain.</p> <p align="left">Once the arms were attached to the heatsink, I proceeded to attach it to the motherboard with the push pins. The push pins have springs around them. Because of not wanting to put my case on the bench, I struggled with aligning the push pins with the motherboard holes. Finally, after a few minutes of frustration, more from the broken pin of the old heatsink and the lack of nimble fingers, I decided to try the thermal epoxy.</p> <p align="left">The epoxy is easier to use in an installation. Only problem is that the heatsink will never separate from the chip. Only a little bit of each part of epoxy is needed. Each part is very thin and will run over the chip if too much is used. It takes about 15 minutes for the epoxy to cure but for me it was better than spending another fifteen minutes fighting with the push pins. </p> <p align="left">I have talked to other people who have used the Zalman northbridge and they informed me they had no problem installing it. I just chalk up my experience with the push pins to fat fingers and being too lazy to take my computer to the bench to work on it.</p> <p align="center"><a href="atruereview/NB32J/nbonboard.jpg"><img src="atruereview/NB32J/nbonboardth.jpg" width="200" height="214" alt="Zalman Gold Heat sink on the Motherboard" border="1"><br> </a><font size="-1">Click on image for larger picture</font> </p> <p align="left"> My bus is only 266 MHz on this board; so, I overclocked the RAM and PCI bus by about 10% to put more of a load on the chip. I did notice that the top of the heatsink was mildly warm. In theory, this means that more heat can be extracted from the chip. Of course this is not a scientific test because I do not have a temperature sensor in my northbridge chip that would provide me with the ability to monitor the temperature performance of the Zalman versus the original stock chipset cooler.</p> <p align="left"><b>Conclusion:</b></p> <p align="left">Zalman is 100% quiet and will not wear out like fans do. The heatsink is large and will cool better than most active coolers on the market. You can get away with overclocking the bus and northbridge using the Zalman Gold Chipset Heatsink. Using push pins the heatsink might be a bit of a struggle to put on, but it is easier to install than other chipset heat sinks like the orbs. </p> <p align="left"><b>Pros:</b></p> <ul> <li>100% quiet</li> <li>Fits almost all motherboards and with adhesive can be used almost anywhere</li> <li>Inexpensive, less than almost all other active northbridge coolers on the market</li> <li>Provides enough cooling for overclocking</li> </ul> <p align="left"><b>Cons:</b></p> <ul> <li>Takes nimble fingers</li> </ul> <p align="left"><b>Rating:</b><br> Excellent</p> <p>(Ratings Possible Terrible, Very Bad, Bad, Fair, Good, Very Good, Excellent) </p> </td> <td background="../Images/sidebackrt.jpg"width="25" height="739"> </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25" background="../Images/botlftcor.jpg" height="23"></td> <td background="../Images/botback.jpg" height="23" width="490"></td> <td width="25" background="../Images/botrtcor.jpg" height="23"></td> <tr> </p> </div> </td> </tr> </table> </div> <div id="footer" class="clr"> <div class="rk-1"> <div class="rk-2"> <div id="the-footer"> <script type="text/javascript"> var gaJsHost = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? 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