GA-MA78GM-S2H ----> wobbly Southbridge heatsink !!!???

Forums › Home Theatre (including HTPC and EPG Collector) › GA-MA78GM-S2H ----> wobbly Southbridge heatsink !!!???

aucklander

477 posts

Ultimate Geek

#22836 10-Jun-2008 08:05

Hi all!

I got all the parts for the system on Friday (June 6th) and assembled it on Saturday.

I found an oppinion that the Northbridge of this mobo runs hot. Really hot. So I removed the side panel after watching freeview for a couple of hours and attempted to touch it gently with the back of my finger. It is really hot, indeed!! AFAIK, if you cannot touch a surface for more than 5 sec it means is around 55 - 60 deg C. The processor stays at 30 - 35 C, the heatsink just feels a bit warmer than the case ! (too bad the stock fan is so noisy - perhabs I will have to look into replacing it - any advice? - the iCool application supplied with the mobo does not work, it changes nothing, the controls are locked on the highes speed but I can hear the fan speed going up and down)

Is it normal for the NB to get so hot? can it be damaged?
I have some problems with the picture quality and I was advised to install a discrete graphic card (nVidia). Is this going to keep the NB cooler as well, considering all the video tasks are not done there anymore? For the moment I have a small (and noisy!) fan pointing towards NB... I really do not like it.

BUT THE BIGGEST CONCERN is about the Southbridge. The heatsink appears not to be properly secured in place, it is moving around, approx 3 mm from one side to the other. Very easily, without forcing it too hard. The NB heatsink doesn't do that. Both heat sinks appear to be kept in place by some spring loaded fixings, which you can press, and they come back. They work the same in my oppinion, on both NB and SB. The SB heat sink even comes off the mobo if you try and pull one corner (very gently, of course, just enough to feel it is moving). The good news is the SB is not hot at all. It has no reason to be, I have only one PCI sclot occupied, no usb devices or SATA HDDs.

Please help me with your ideas. Shoud I remove the mobo and try to tighten the fixing mechanism? Can it be done? I did not look at the back of the mobo, I have no idea what to expect.

Is it better to return it and try to get a replacement? can I consider this defect a manufacturing defect?

Your help will be much appreciated as I have the PC in my car ready to go there after work.
Ideas before 16:00 will be highly appreciated.

mobo Intel DH55PJ, RAM: 4GB RAM, Nova-T 500 HD + Avermedia Trinity tuner card, Geforce 520 video, 120GB SSD Sandisk + 640 WD + 1000SG, Win7 Home Prem 64-bit, Media Portal 1.15.0; BTC 9019URF Cordless Keyboard, Panasonic 55" (HDMI cable), HTPC Case Silverstone Grandia GD05B.

Disrespective

1926 posts

Uber Geek

#136879 10-Jun-2008 09:02

First i have to apologise as i don't have my gear with me here at work so can't check whether my conditions are the same but maybe i can put some of your fears at rest.

Northbridge: This will run very hot, especially if you're trying to use the onboard graphics for freeview. Freeview is an incredibly intensive process and having an integrated graphics solution deal with it is not ideal. A discrete graphics solution will help reduce the northbridge heat significantly. If you get a silent 8600GT (or even an overkill silent 9600GT) you'll not be adding any more noise to the system but you have to have good airflow in the case to make sure that you don't kill the card with excessive heat. If you don't want to use a discrete card then i'd go get a third party heatsink like some of the zalman ones and you'll fare better on the temperature front.

Your picture quality issues could be attributed to either the fact that the onboard graphics isn't up to the task (this is what i'd think, especially is your picture quality issues are when you're running freeview) or it's getting too hot. It could well be a bit of both.

Southbridge: A loose heatsink isn't the end of the world. I've had several cpu heatsinks that are quite loose but it doesn't really matter too much so long as it's still making contact. You'll not have much luck tightening the mounts either as they are just a split plastic pin that has a lip that locks out when it goes through the mobo. If you desperately don't like it have a look at some of the Zalman heatsink options. With time the thermal compound between the chipset and the heatsink will eventually harden and will eliminate (or atleast slow down) all the movement you're currently experiencing.

So to sum up, don't worry about the southbridge, it'll be fine. And if i was in your position (and i was for a while) i'd go get a discrete graphics card and use it for the graphics processing (I got a second hand 8600GT for $120 6 months ago)

aucklander

477 posts

Ultimate Geek

#137011 10-Jun-2008 14:05

There are so many manufacturers for the same card !!
Let's take the 8600GT for example. You can get them from MSI, Asustec, Generic, and many others. But the code-name is the same, 8500GT. Any advice how to narrow it down? I suspect the difference is the quality of the components and of course the life expectancy...

like all the others, I am after results with minimum expenses...

I suspect I will have to upgrade to Vista as well, in order to sort out all the PQ issues listed above?

Disrespective

1926 posts

Uber Geek

#137030 10-Jun-2008 14:51

I run Windows XP Pro and have no PQ issues at all. I have the Gigabyte 8600GT.

The differences between the manufacturers 8600GT's are generally heatsink design and core clock speeds (Although the latter are more often than not exactly the same) Pick a card that has a decent looking/working cooler and is within your price range and you'll be away. I chose the Gigabyte as it had the best silent heatsink option for me.

FreddyK

84 posts

Master Geek

#137043 10-Jun-2008 15:33

The picture issues hes talking about is something I and many other experience running when Freeview under XP. The systems are blurry, stuttery playback especially noticable for me with with a tickertape scrolling across screen. Under VISTA the issue is no more.

How many FPS do you get with TV1? In XP/VMR9 I get around 25FPS but in VISTA/EVR its up near 50. Im using an 8500GT, so if you are getting near 50FPS in XP then maybe the 8600GT performs better under XP? I'd be very interested to know.

Vorbis

176 posts

Master Geek

#137103 10-Jun-2008 18:41

My S2H board also has a slightly loose southbridge h/s and hot at the North. Hasn't caused any issues in the few months I've used it. Running Vista I have no issues with picture quality using the onboard video. In fact I bought this board because the onboard vid is supposed to have enough grunt not to need a dedicated vid card.

aucklander

477 posts

Ultimate Geek

#137114 10-Jun-2008 19:06

I will go this way:

1] install new 8600GT (or 8500GT, depending on what I can find - see some thoughts about options below)
2] currently using D-sub, will see if there is any improvement.
3] the video card will not have HDMI but it is HDCP compliant. I will get DVI -> HDMI adapter and check for improvement through the HDMI.
4] if still not happy, upgrade to Vista. Hopefully this would offer a better platform? How can I get the DirectX 10? The card supports DX10 but the cd includes version 9c !!

Can I still use Powercinema under XP (present configuration) with the new card? I would like to keep software changes to a minimum... If necessary, I will go all the way to Vista and MediaPortal. But if I can stick to XP will be very good news.

Video cards thoughts: is there something wrong with a card if it costs only $90 or $120? I would go for a silent one and spend the saving on a good 80mm fan (some advertise 14dB?). One choice for video card: http://friendlycomputer.co.nz/onlinestore/ProductDetails.aspx?productID=1070
Anything wrong with this card?

Vorbis

176 posts

Master Geek

#137117 10-Jun-2008 19:13

aucklander: I will go this way:

1] install new 8600GT (or 8500GT, depending on what I can find - see some thoughts about options below)
2] currently using D-sub, will see if there is any improvement.
3] the video card will not have HDMI but it is HDCP compliant. I will get DVI -> HDMI adapter and check for improvement through the HDMI.
4] if still not happy, upgrade to Vista. Hopefully this would offer a better platform? How can I get the DirectX 10? The card supports DX10 but the cd includes version 9c !!

Can I still use Powercinema under XP (present configuration) with the new card? I would like to keep software changes to a minimum... If necessary, I will go all the way to Vista and MediaPortal. But if I can stick to XP will be very good news.

Video cards thoughts: is there something wrong with a card if it costs only $90 or $120? I would go for a silent one and spend the saving on a good 80mm fan (some advertise 14dB?). One choice for video card: http://friendlycomputer.co.nz/onlinestore/ProductDetails.aspx?productID=1070
Anything wrong with this card?

You can still use powercinema with the new card. There's nothing wrong with an 8500gt in that price range, the 8600GT will perform better if you stretch to it. Fanless models are available if you're worried about noise. Use C1 shoppingmall or Playtech for excellent service/prices. DX10 is Vista only I'm afraid. Afaik there isn't a huge difference in pic quality between dvi and hdmi, the major benefit being HDMI will carry audio as well.

I use mediaportal with both XP and Vista and have no pic quality issues using either the S2H onboard vid or nvidia 8500GT.

Ah, just looked at that card, same as mine. Doesn't require a fan as long as your case has ok airflow.

Same card cheaper here:
http://c1com.co.nz/shop/step1.php?number=11961 $82.45

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FreddyK

84 posts

Master Geek

#137140 10-Jun-2008 19:54

Vorbis, could you post details of your setup? Im interested to know what your running especially the H.264 codec you're using. From my own testings, and from what I've read on the net, ATi has a major problem displaying interlaced video under hardware acceleration. If you are viewing all Freeview feeds without issue under the ATi chipset then you must not be running hardware acceleration?

Vorbis

176 posts

Master Geek

#137148 10-Jun-2008 20:28

Freddy, my mistake. Thought Auck was running dvb-s, but just saw his T-500 in his sig.

Strangely enough after comparisons tonight I'm convinced Nvidia cards display a better picture (in general) than the ati's. Could be my imagination....

aucklander

477 posts

Ultimate Geek

#137332 11-Jun-2008 14:07

Freddy,

I found out about some new drivers : http://game.amd.com/us-en/drivers_catalyst.aspx?p=xp/radeonx-xp
Did anyone try them? Do they fix the problems with ATI / freeview HD ? Do they bring any improvement?

FreddyK

84 posts

Master Geek

#137550 12-Jun-2008 09:16

No those drivers do not fix the issue. Heres hoping Junes release does ...

aucklander

477 posts

Ultimate Geek

#137594 12-Jun-2008 12:28

FreddyK,

did you find this info somewhere, or it is just a hope the community carries from one month to the other they will do something about it? Is there a plan for ATI to ever fix the de-interlacing comaptibility? At a certain point, on a forum from USA, someone said ATI knows about the de-interlacing issues since 2005 and did nothing to the present day.

If there is a chance for this to happen soon, I can delay buying the nVidia card.
What do you think?

FreddyK

84 posts

Master Geek

#137647 12-Jun-2008 15:31

No, Im just hoping they'll get onto it sooner rather than later.

I own a HD2400XT, and its picture quality is better than my 8500GT so if/as soon as ATi fix it, I'll be putting the 8500GT up on trademe :)

Actually I have figured one way around it. If there exists a media player that enableds hardware acceleration on a per channel basis, then I'd be keen to try it because watching non interlaced channels with HW acceleration on, and watching interlaced channels with it off works works quite well, albeit cumbersome.