"Gerhard Austaller" <gerhard73.TakeThisOut@o2online.de> wrote in message
news:4358d05c$0$41151$14726298@news.sunsite.dk...
> Hi
>
> Yesterday the second chipset fan was dying on an A8N-SLI board 
> Anybody experienced the same problems? Now we think of replacing the
> fan with big heat sink without fan. Will that be enough, or should we
> but another fan on it...?
>
> Gerhard
I went through the original A8N-SLI Deluxe chipset fan quickly (within a
couple weeks of getting my computer). I wasn't at all thrilled with the
idea of having to remove the mainboard to install the Asus replacement (I
have neither space nor tools here), so I came up with an alternate plan.
I "solved" the Northbridge chipset fan problem by completely removing the
stock fan, leaving the heatsink in place and mounted to the chipset.
Removing the stock fan is easy. (The only problem is that the enclosure is
held on by four very small screws, and the fan held in place by three even
smaller ones. Because they can easily lose themselves among the other
components if dropped, a magnetic screwdriver makes the whole process much
easier. Finding lost ones easily adds an hour to the procedure.)
I then mounted a Sunon maglev fan (40mm x 10mm, 3-wire) using four #4 x 3/4
inch (2.74mm x 19mm) wood/metal screws (NOT machine screws), securing the
screws between the vanes of the heatsink to seat the fan. In order to have
adequate clearance and visibility, I needed to pull the top videocard (I
have two XFX 6800 Ultras in SLI mode), but that was the only other problem I
had.
The Sunon fan seems to run faster than I'd like (~13,000 RPM), but I don't
know if that's its true speed or if it actually is running at 6,500 RPM. It's
very quiet. (I haven't figured out how to adjust the fan multiplier, if
that's even possible. I bought five of the fans while I was at it, so I'm
covered even if it is at the extreme high end of its range.) Everything
seems to be working fine so far. The nice thing about this fix is that [1]
it doesn't involve removing the mainboard; [2] it's technically and
mechanically easy; and [3] takes about an hour if all goes as planned. The
10mm-thick Sunon fan mounted on the existing heatsink provides adequate
clearance even for the twin XFXs. There may be better solutions, but I know
this one works.
When I eventually upgrade from this machine, and if I have the luxury of
time, I'm going to wait until more mainboards are available and have track
records, and then choose the best. I don't want to go through THIS sort of
problem again. I mean if *I* could come up with an inexpensive, workable
solution, why couldn't Asus do it before they put the board into production?
According to the reviews, the A8N-SLI Deluxe (when *I* bought mine) was the
best board available. (There was no mention of the chipset fan problem in
any of the reviews I read.) I'd have gladly paid a bit more to not have had
the Northbridge chipset fan problem in the first place.
Grrrrr.
Višarr
>> Stay informed about: A8N-SLI chipset fan 
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Yes, it was replaced two months ago