MP 1,1-5,1 Cooler Northbridge on The Mac Pro 5,1 Dual CPU

[MIKX]

^^ The fan I'm looking at has a 2 pin/connector wire. How did you connect these two wires to the USB cable?
[doublepost=1554828765][/doublepost]My Northbridge Tdiode is currently at 169 degrees Fahrenheit, very warm and toasty...

My NB is at 39°C / 102°F this morning. -
I Googled " USB to Molex cable" ordered it and when it arrived cut the ends and soldered them to the Sunon Black & Red wires.

Google is your friend
[doublepost=1554851846][/doublepost]e

I have an adapter changing SATA power (2nd SuperDrive) to 3-pin fan connectors.

You can run the SATA cable ( extension ? ) down to the CPU tray area and will be able to close the side cover. The Sunon fan comes without a connector - you need to solder the SATA cable to the fan wires.
[doublepost=1554852462][/doublepost]

If I'm using the two USB data pins from the bluetooth header for a PCI-E Wifi/Bluetooth combo card/adapter (handoff), I suppose that means I have two spare power pins that could be used for a small fan for the northbridge. Any thoughts?

Is the magnetic bearing expected to have a good lifespan in the mostly vertical 75 degree or so angle?

No idea, that is why I bought two of them but I imagine due to the fact that there is no contact - that more than 5 years is feasible.
Look at the webpage https://www.digikey.jp/product-detail/en/sunon-fans/MB50101V2-000U-A99/259-1548-ND/2757786

 

[Reindeer_Games]

This was my solution! It's just a set of RAM fans and other non-conductive stuff. I mounted it to the back wall with some tape so tray in/out's are a breeze still; I ran power from a SATA port adapter. I made two sets but run only one cause all four fans are bit too much extra noise.



It keeps the Northbridge ~70 deg C most warm days; ~63 deg C on cooler days.

 

[MIKX]

View attachment 831398 View attachment 831399 View attachment 831400

This was my solution! It's just a set of RAM fans and other non-conductive stuff. I mounted it to the back wall with some tape so tray in/out's are a breeze still; I ran power from a SATA port adapter. I made two sets but run only one cause all four fans are bit too much extra noise.

View attachment 831403

It keeps the Northbridge ~70 deg C most warm days; ~63 deg C on cooler days.

Good idea ! As A test you could mount them ( using tape) directly facing the NB heatsink, I'm pretty sure that you will see a much greater temp reduction if their CFM is up to it.

Can you post a link to the RAM fan(s) unit please ?

 

[Reindeer_Games]

No problem, but the units you listed might be a lower cost option. The one I used was a pre-made RAM fan unit from G.Skill.

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA4YU2AJ2193

I liked the pre-wired dual fan setup and how I could get all the air flowing in the back corner-and get the benefit of a cooler Northbridge. It's a good 10 deg C cooler for the most part, but you are prob right that I could squeeze a bit more from it.

 

[MIKX]

Reindeer_Games

Thanks for the link. There is nothing on that link regarding the fan thickness nor CFM info.

EDIT : I found this https://www.gskill.com/en/product/ftb-3500c5-d

The " FTB-3500C5-D " set you have are 50mm x 50mm x 11 mm and 8.50 cFm. = GOOD !

But . . the whole unit is 151 mm x 66 x 67 which is gonna be tight. = Not so good
If you can hack the fan holder to fit near the Northbridge heatsink the TWO 11 mm fans at 8.50 CFM combination would also help cool CPU A = nice idea.

Whichever way you situate them, they will need to be very close to the NB chip. if you can somehow rig them that way you will be pleasantly surprised with the results.
"No pain . .no gain. "

The Sunon fans are 11 CFM which is what makes all the difference and are about ¥500 US$6.290c each but the shipping was ¥2,600 almost US$24 ! I should have ordered 4 of them instead of two !

Today in Japan cold & rainy. Just got home 45 mins ago. After bootup the NB chip was at 37°C / 98.6°F but stabilised and still holding at 40°C / 104°F after 5 minutes and currently.

NOTE : I'm going to leave intake & exhaust RPM setting as is for the present but it's looking like they can be reduced in summer somewhat.

Edit : Now at 11:15 pm NB Chip is @ 44°C 111.2°F

 

[MIKX]

Getting warmer here in Japan as Spring progresses but yesterday ( Thursday ) was uncommonly cool for this time of the year/Season. Over the past three days my Northbridge Chip has held steady at 44 ~ 45°C / 111 ~ 113°F.

The real test comes early June to late September here..

 

[joot]

I got a $8.45 50mm X 50mm X 10mm Sunon fan blowing Willy nilly onto my north Bridge and temp dropped from 174 degrees (F) to 154 degrees (F). Very impressive.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00TGBSI08?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_pd_title

 

[MIKX]

Joot

Great ! Quite a drop !

EDIT

We need to know the CFM of your fan. Perhaps a search on the Digi-Key webpage will list your fan & it's CFM.
This is the link to my Sunon fan, https://www.digikey.jp/product-detail/en/sunon-fans/MB50101V2-000U-A99/259-1548-ND/2757786

Your Sunon is 15mm thickness, mine is 10mm and this allows a snug fit & a greater control of where the airflow is to be directed to.

In short, 50 x 50 x 10mm + at least 11 CFM seems to be optimum.

If you run Macs Fan Control with Intake and Exhaust set to around 1,000 rpm you will get an even greater reduction.

I highly recommend setting Mac Fan Control to autostart at boot time

How are you powering your Sunon ?

Any chance of some photos of yur setup, fan placement etc. ?

 

[MIKX]

Here in Japan it is early Spring but still "cool " but I feel sure after living 23 years here that from next week the daytime, outside temps will change to "warm".

Since Wednesday I have lowered my Intake & Exhaust fan speeds to 1,100 RPM (Macs Fan Control ) - down from 1,400 RPM for both and have how achieved a Northbridge Chip average temp range from 45°C ~ 47°C ~/ 113°F .

If I can get anything under 50°C / 122°F in Summer I will be content.

 

[joot]

My Sunon is 17cfm. I did what you've done and just cut the end of the fan and connect the end of the fan (2 wires) to a regular USB cable. Connect USB into front end USB of Mac Pro. Very little noise. I just lean it against the north Bridge onto the big CPU cooler.

 

[MIKX]

joot

My Sunon is 17cfm. I did what you've done and just cut the end of the fan and connect the end of the fan (2 wires) to a regular USB cable. Connect USB into front end USB of Mac Pro. Very little noise. I just lean it against the north Bridge onto the big CPU cooler.

WOW ! 17 CFM !​

But you should be getting lower NB chip temps. Are you using Macs Fan Control in conjunction with the Sunon? It's free.

============================================
My goal is to find the "Happy medium " between using BOTH the dedicated Sunon fans WITH Macs Fans Control to have a cooler cMP NB chip AND a cooler CPU Tray space.
============================================
You should be able to get even lower temps than I am.

Currently I'm at 49°C / 120° F having lowered the Intake & Exhaust fan speeds to 1,000 rpm ( Macs Fan Control ) which, given the cool weather here is very nice considering most cMP's NB chips are at or higher than the Apple approved official NB chip's upper operating temp 70°C / 158°F

Surely 70°C / 158°F over a long period will deteriorate nylon rivets.

After all, if the NB Chip's temps are low enough, let's say 45°C ~ 48°C / 113°F ~118.4° F we won't have to allow for the NB "heatsink expansion factor" = the nut + spring + non-conductive washer + metal washer + nut + + extra locking nut should be sufficient.

EDIT : The very fact that Apple opted opted for the spring rivets leads me to assume that if indeed the Northbridge gets very hot that the heatsink will move slightly UP & AWAY from the surface of the NB chip . . ergo . . heat conduction from the NB chip to the NB heatsink will be (1) ( albeit slightly ) reduced (2) thermal paste conductive ability will be lessened, disrupted.

I am fully aware that the Northbridge Chip is rated for high temperatures but .. . at anything over 60 ~70°C it becomes a cMP CPU Tray case heater

 

[octoviaa]

joot

WOW ! 17 CFM !​

But you should be getting lower NB chip temps. Are you using Macs Fan Control in conjunction with the Sunon? It's free.

============================================
My goal is to find the "Happy medium " between using BOTH the dedicated Sunon fans WITH Macs Fans Control to have a cooler cMP NB chip AND a cooler CPU Tray space.
============================================
You should be able to get even lower temps than I am.

Currently I'm at 49°C / 120° F having lowered the Intake & Exhaust fan speeds to 1,000 rpm ( Macs Fan Control ) which, given the cool weather here is very nice considering most cMP's NB chips are at or higher than the Apple approved official NB chip's upper operating temp 70°C / 158°F

Surely 70°C / 158°F over a long period will deteriorate nylon rivets.

After all, if the NB Chip's temps are low enough, let's say 45°C ~ 48°C / 113°F ~118.4° F we won't have to allow for the NB "heatsink expansion factor" = the nut + spring + non-conductive washer + metal washer + nut + + extra locking nut should be sufficient.

EDIT : The very fact that Apple opted opted for the spring rivets leads me to assume that if indeed the Northbridge gets very hot that the heatsink will move slightly UP & AWAY from the surface of the NB chip . . ergo . . heat conduction from the NB chip to the NB heatsink will be (1) ( albeit slightly ) reduced (2) thermal paste conductive ability will be lessened, disrupted.

I am fully aware that the Northbridge Chip is rated for high temperatures but .. . at anything over 60 ~70°C it becomes a cMP CPU Tray case heater

I've installed my sunon 40x40x10 maglev 5 CFM, and my NB temp now 57-60c.
I've installed the second sunon to cool down DIMM 1,2,3,4 and they're down by 6c.

The sunon is extremely silent (barely audible).

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1pc...531.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.719d4c4dAP0HHW

Special thanks to MIKX.

 

[MIKX]

My cMP has settled down to mostly 47°C / 117°F everyday, all day - Exhaust & Intake fns now reduced from 1,400 rpm to 1099.
Still coolish here in Japan.

 

[h9826790]

Your NB seems cool enough. May be it's time to cool down the PSU more to extend the capacitor's life

https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...when-using-pc-non-efi-graphics-cards.1946672/

 

[MIKX]

h9826790

Yes, agreed, New Noctua on order.

 

[firedownunder]

My temps/settings with Macs Fan Control. No extra fans, live in Florida. Good enough for me








Cheers and thanks to all who've posted useful info in this and other threads

 

[lie2me]

That’s innovative. Just be careful it doesn’t fall off, if the metal is conductive it could create a short potentially.

Duct tape instead?

 

[firedownunder]

...

 

[h9826790]

My temps/settings with Macs Fan Control. No extra fans, live in Florida. Good enough for me

Cheers and thanks to all who've posted useful info in this and other threads

May be you don't care about fan noise. But IMO, it seems your booster setting is too aggressive. Which will keep the CPU at an unnecessary low temperature with much more fan noise, and lower the fan life span unnecessarily.

From my own tests. As long as the CPU run at or below 80C, turbo boost will be always there.

Anyway, if you want to know if the CPU able to run at full speed. You can type the following command in terminal

pmset -g thermlog

AFAIK, as long as the CPU_Speed_Limit shows 100%, turbo boost will be available.

[doublepost=1555341531][/doublepost]For your info. I can keep my W3690 run at ~78C 24/7 without any issue (with Turbo Boost all the time).

 

[firedownunder]

May be you don't care about fan noise. But IMO, it seems your booster setting is too aggressive. Which will keep the CPU at an unnecessary low temperature with much more fan noise, and lower the fan life span unnecessarily.

Not sure I understand what you mean by "too aggressive". My booster fan runs just above minimum 99% of the time and is inaudible. The majority of the time my mac is for run of the mill stuff and htpc. The "max temp" setting for that fan is set somewhat low for the rare occasions I use handbreak, etc. Under Apple's control in such instances (handbreak specifically) I've never heard the booster fan kick in while watching cpu temp rise; with MFC it does, and well before the temp gets too high for my comfort.

 

[MIKX]

firedownunder

I've learned to 100% trust h9826790's observations and advice.

 

[firedownunder]

firedownunder

I've learned to 100% trust h9826790's observations and advice.

I appreciate everyone's input. That said, I'm good.

 

[h9826790]

Not sure I understand what you mean by "too aggressive". My booster fan runs just above minimum 99% of the time and is inaudible. The majority of the time my mac is for run of the mill stuff and htpc. The "max temp" setting for that fan is set somewhat low for the rare occasions I use handbreak, etc. Under Apple's control in such instances (handbreak specifically) I've never heard the booster fan kick in while watching cpu temp rise; with MFC it does, and well before the temp gets too high for my comfort.

That's exactly what I want to point out. Your CPU will warm up when under stress (e.g. Handbrake) and then the Booster fan will spin up more than required. In fact, you can set the upper limit to 99C, and your CPU temperature will stay below 80C.

For your info, this is my own setting.

Booster idle at 900RPM, and won't spin up until CPU reach 73C. Even with this setting. My CPU still won't go above 80C even stress it with Prime95.

 

[firedownunder]

Gotcha. I guess my point is I don't want my cpu hitting 70C, much less 80C (even though it's rated for such). I don't run the cpu intensive programs a lot here do so it's really a non-issue for the most part. I'll probably tinker a bit with the settings. For now just call it my security blanket

 

[h9826790]

Gotcha. I guess my point is I don't want my cpu hitting 70C, much less 80C (even though it's rated for such). I don't run the cpu intensive programs a lot here do so it's really a non-issue for the most part. I'll probably tinker a bit with the settings. For now just call it my security blanket

No problem. It's nothing wrong to do that.

The W3690 rated up to 101C (diode temperature, from the official intel diagnostic tool).

From memory, X5690 even rated up to 105C. IMO, as long as Turbo Boost still active, there is no noticeable benefit to cool down the CPU to below 70C, but shorten the fan's life, and have more fan noise.

But if that make yourself more comfortable, then of course you can do that, it won't hurt anything anyway. I don't think the fan is that easy to break also, especially you only occasionally stress the CPU.