bmoraski
macrumors regular
Running idle for about half hour. But i should mention it is about 2 feet from AC unit. My other PC's in room are usually about 34 celcious in summer time.
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MP 1,1-5,1 Northbridge Temp
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Sean__Wong
macrumors member
Sean__Wong
macrumors member
I did a little mod with my 2 x 3.46 Mhz 6 Core and a Full PCI Bus.
Cooler Northbridge on The Mac Pro 5,1 Dual CPU
Thanks for the post, I must say this is a very informative read on a problem I've been avoiding for 5 years Since I'm an old school engineer I'll make a passing comment that everyone should carefully avoid blocking a heat sink. I'm pretty sure that obstructing the intake of any fan reduces its...
forums.macrumors.com
Cooler Northbridge on The Mac Pro 5,1 Dual CPU
Just a quick update with Fans speeds achieved, which is "nearly normal" as per "auto" settings
forums.macrumors.com
5,1 Mac Pro water cooled project - Working, with photos
@p11hlf Thanks for the post the watercool and your neat metal work looks good. Will you post your NB Heats sink shroud on thingiverse or another site ? I'd like to get some basic measurements on the Heatsink, I'm a bit stuck as I've only got one cMP 5,1 and I use it ! I'm keen to get a shroud...
forums.macrumors.com
TzunamiOSX
macrumors 65816
TzunamiOSX
macrumors 65816
I have play around with Mac Fan Control so long, but i never get optimal settings with it.
Now i have TGPro running. The advantage of TGPro is that you can add 10% to the standard rpm curve for example.
Here you can also setup, that Intake and Exhaust on 1000 rpm at idle to keep the Northbridge cooler and when the CPUs are calculating the Fans normally speed up.
Sean__Wong
macrumors member
What is the advantage ?
This has worked well for me for many months.
My only complaint is it does not load until AFTER login.
Therefore My NB Deta TºC goes unmanaged until I Login.
TzunamiOSX
macrumors 65816
Then you never used all cores for calulating for a longer time. I had a setup like you for around three months.
The problem: When all cores are working, CPU-Pack-A is getting hotter, but not the Northbridge. The fans does not react to this situation, the CPU-Pack-A goes up to over 90°C and start with throttling.
Meanwhile Mac Fan Pro is thinking: Oh, the Northbridge is pretty cool, Booster-A can stay at 799 and Intake at 1200. Ok, the Exhaust speed up, but this is not good like Booster-A and Exhaust together and i would say it is much louder.
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Sean__Wong
macrumors member
Thanks
I had not considered that yet It did not show as a problem when I ran tests for 45 minutes all cores. I sue VMware fusion so my calcs are "randomised" following the host loads.
I will recheck ! Thanks
Cooler Northbridge on The Mac Pro 5,1 Dual CPU
@h9826790 Yes that is indeed a great idea. I've also been thinking of a way to get more air over the NB Heatsink. I was just brute forcing the problem for a few days with a Macs Fan Control driven brute force attempt at pushing more air through the A CPU ( at rear of the Mac ). I'm just...
forums.macrumors.com
What is temperature is considered “normal” for a dual cpu setup?
My north bridge sits at about 78c
My north bridge sits at about 78c
KeesMacPro
macrumors 65816
IMHO this scenario is quite easy to avoid by either:
- set the Boost A fan more agressively and the Intake less agressive .
In my setup (both fans at NB diode=sensor and min T=55 maxT= 75 ) the intake is between ~800 and ~ 1200 rpm.
The Boost fan is at ~ 1100 at idle and increases with NB T (and indirectly with the CPU load).
At least in my setup the NB Temp is directly related to the CPU(s) load so both are controlled this way.
Or:
- Intake fan set as above and the Boost fan set to "auto" it will spin at ~1100 at idle and respond to the CPU load as the SMC dictates.
This should keep the CPU A at safe Temps (but we know the way Apple weighs noise vs Temps may lead to high Temps before the fan(s) really ramp up).
If not:
- set Intake to NB diode=sensor as above and Boost A as CPU A= sensor min T= 55 maxT = 80
Based on loads of tests the Exhaust fan can be left to auto (=min rpm) as it mainly adds noise and not lowers significantly any Temp .
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KeesMacPro
macrumors 65816
For a dual CPU , running at idle, fans all at "auto" and not being in a tropical climate this is more or less "normal" IMO.
Note that the NB heatsink and die should have good thermal contact , indicated by a Delta NB diode vs NB heatsink of ~ 12 Celsius max.
Sean__Wong
macrumors member
75°C is a common answer. So your machine is ‘normal’. However, most of us having started looking at this weak spot in the design have taken steps to
1. Replace retaining pins
2. Repaste the heatsink
3 clean the heat sink and the fans
4. Put some more ‘modifications’ in place
Here’s my journey.
I run at mid 50°C now
Post in thread 'Cooler Northbridge on The Mac Pro 5,1 Dual CPU'
https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...he-mac-pro-5-1-dual-cpu.2173519/post-28485488
I remember we used to be told it was not necessary by one user in that topic you mentioned. The following was me being told in no uncertain terms not to worry:
I moved on from the 5,1, they just got too old and too many workarounds to keep them working. The 7,1 runs silently and cool all the time.
The best modification on the 5,1 was adding another small fan. That helped a lot.
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fatespawn
macrumors 6502
Don't sweat your Northbridge temperature.
This has been mine at idle for the last 16 years. I mean, probably... I wasn't monitoring it for the first 10 or so. The only thing you'll have to do is reapply thermal paste and perhaps replace the rivets. There's plenty of videos on it. While you're in there, you'll have the opportunity to repaste your CPU's too since you'll have to remove a heat sink to get at the Northbridge. I popped a rivet many years ago and replaced them with nylon nuts. It's been working fine for 5 or 6 years like that.
With an extra small fan (eg noctua) pointed at the northbridge heat sink expect that temperature to remain below 60°C. The computer will be much quieter too.
Issue is just how you fit that fan and power it.
I took power from the spare connector in the top drive section.
Issue is just how you fit that fan and power it.
I took power from the spare connector in the top drive section.
Is this a genuine question or just stirring?
If you have one of these machines you’ll know why.
fatespawn
macrumors 6502
No, I'm not stirring... I have two. One single processor and one dual processor. An extra fan on the northbridge will cause extra noise. An idling 4/5,1 won't ramp up the fans to cool a 75-80deg Northbridge. It's happy keeping the Northbridge where it is. Under load, the fans ramp up, and the northbridge actually cools. The coolest a northbridge will be is under 100% load with the fans at full blast.
But... at idle the northbridge is at its hottest... but will not be cooled because the system really doesn't care that the northbridge is hovering betweein 75-80.
That's just my take. I'm asking how an extra fan would be quieter. I agree it would be cooler.
But... at idle the northbridge is at its hottest... but will not be cooled because the system really doesn't care that the northbridge is hovering betweein 75-80.
That's just my take. I'm asking how an extra fan would be quieter. I agree it would be cooler.
I used a small Noctua fan directly aimed at the Northbridge. This fan was very quiet. With that the other fans nearby didn’t crank up as much, so the whole thing was quieter.
Yes I redid the clips on the northbridge and redid thermal paste.
Don’t care now as both those machines are long since retired. Too old.