Is it ok to install A8N-SLI Premium upside down?

[Mark]

Many new cases are reverse ATX and the mainboard gets rotated to where the
CPU is at the bottom of the case. I also know that the heat pipe on the
A8N-SLI will not function optimally in this orientation. However I see this
being a lot, even Maximum PC has a system being auctioned for charity this
way. How badly does this affect the temperature of the north bridge? Can it
still be cooled adequately without added case fans? I would like my system
to be quit but still cool enough to not harm components.



Thanks,

Lothar

 

[Paul]

Many new cases are reverse ATX and the mainboard gets rotated to where the
CPU is at the bottom of the case. I also know that the heat pipe on the
A8N-SLI will not function optimally in this orientation. However I see this
being a lot, even Maximum PC has a system being auctioned for charity this
way. How badly does this affect the temperature of the north bridge? Can it
still be cooled adequately without added case fans? I would like my system
to be quit but still cool enough to not harm components.



Thanks,

Lothar

If you are a "reverse-ATX" aficionado, buy A8N-SLI Deluxe.
If you like your computer the "regular ATX" way, buy the Premium.

Why would you buy components that are not compatible with
one another on purpose ?

I guess my respect for the above mentioned outfit, just dropped
a notch. Since the case is cheap, compared to the rest of
the components, I'd just rip all that stuff out of the
reverse-ATX case and put it in a regular one. Problem
solved.

If you buy the Deluxe, you can remove the chipset heatsink
fan and find an aftermarket solution to suit your tastes.
That is the easy way to do it. Have a big block of metal
milled specially for the job, to fit the space between
the two video cards. Or use the Swiftnets.com chipset heatsink,
and if any part of it gets in your way, grind it off. The MCX159-CU
has a sound rating of 18dBA (which doesn't mean anything, unless
you know how it was measured - best if the same person measures
the hardware to be compared). There is a picture here:

http://www.swiftnets.com/products/mcx159-CU.asp

Trying to "fix" the Premium, just doesn't make sense.

Paul

 

[Mark]

I have the premium, but need a new case. Most of the new high end cases are
reverse ATX. I posted to see if anyone has experience with this or a
definitive answer.

Thanks,
Lothar

 

[Paul]

I have the premium, but need a new case. Most of the new high end cases are
reverse ATX. I posted to see if anyone has experience with this or a
definitive answer.

Thanks,
Lothar

I like the answer here. One guy glued a heatsink to the top of the
chipset block on the Premium.

http://vip.asus.com/forum/bbs_view....nguage=en-us&topic_page=3&page_cnt=3&recc=267

In the first posting in this thread, "Akele" reports "the chipset
becomes too hot to touch" when the Premium is installed upside-down
in a Silverstone case.

http://forums.pcper.com/showthread.php?t=396193&highlight=a8n-sli+premium

Since some users claim to have a hot chipset, even when the board
is right side up, I would check the temperature immediately after
you install the board. If you cannot keep your fingers on it for
two seconds, without getting burned, then you'll need to retrofit
something to assist the cooling process. That could range from placing
an 80mm fan over top of the chipset, adding a heatsink to the
top of it, and so on.

One reason for the chipset to get hot, even when the board is upright,
is if the MOSFET heatsink is not receiving cooling air. For example,
if you use a water block on the processor, there will be no cooling
air spilling off the CPU fan to cool the MOSFET heatsink. The
heatpipe moves the heat from the chipset, up to the MOSFET sink.
You must have some air passing over the MOSFET sink, to properly
cool the thing.

The reason I am concerned about dealing with the Premium, is the
fact that the MOSFET heatsink and the chipset block are fastened
together. To "fix" the problem, you'll need to take care of the
MOSFET end of things as well, and there really aren't any retail
solutions you can slap on there. Maybe you could find some
aluminum heatsink stock somewhere, and cut a chunk to fit the
MOSFETs, but it won't be nearly as easy as using one of these
on the chipset.

http://www.swiftnets.com/products/mcx159-CU.asp

The nice thing about the Deluxe, is the cooling solutions for
the chipset and the MOSFETs are independent of one another. If
the chipset fan starts to make noise, you can always put the
MCX159 on there, or use a Zalman heatsink.

Paul

 

[John Lewis]

I have the premium, but need a new case. Most of the new high end cases are
reverse ATX.

Survey potential candidates on Newegg.com. Each entry on the website
comes with internal pictures.

I posted to see if anyone has experience with this or a
definitive answer.

And it is <NOT> OK to mount the board "upside-down" A decent rear
case-fan in a 'normally-oriented' tower should easily cool the
heat-pipe heatsink. A 120mm slow-speed fan is quite suitable. And a
dual-fan power-supply will also help -- some are very low noise and
have a max fan-speed user-accesible tweak.

John Lewis