Modding Gigabyte's "Crazy Cool"

**gvblake22** · August 7th, 2007

Well, as many Gigabyte GA-965P-DQ6 (and similar "crazy cool" featured board) owners have unfortunately found, you cannot use an aftermarket processor heatsink with a backplate because it interferes with the "Crazy Cool" heatsink on the back of the motherboard. Simply removing this heatsink will also force you to remove the chipset and MOSFET heatsinks because the NB is secured only by the threaded holes on the Crazy Cool heatsink and all other MOSFET and SouthBridge heatsinks are connected via heatpipes.

So what is an enthusiast to do?! I decided to just cut off the section of Crazy Cool heatsink under the processor socket. First step is to remove the heatsink from the motherboard...

Notice the large thermal pad covering the entire heatsink

To protect the thermal pad and hopefully prevent too many aluminum shavings from sticking in the thermal pad, I placed it in a Saran-Wrap cocoon.

Now for Mr. Crazy Cool to meet Mr. Jig Saw!!!

Cutting went surprisingly well, but (as you can see) my Saran-Wrap idea didn't quite work as well as I had hoped...

So after some meticulous picking and wiping, I got it clean enough to re-install onto the motherboard.

There is now room for the retention bracket and I can finally install a REAL heatsink!!!

So if it doesn't fit, just cut it up!

Dread · August 7th, 2007

There are very few things in the world that can't be
'fixed' by the generous and judicious use of power
tools, and the rest with a hammer.

Nicely done.

Yellowhello · August 7th, 2007

Nice idea. BTW, what cooler is that?

**gvblake22** · August 7th, 2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by yellowhello

what cooler is that?

It's a COOLINK U8-120 which is exactly like the more expensive Noctua NH-U12F but doesn't come with a fan.

Yellowhello · August 7th, 2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by gvblake22

It's a COOLINK U8-120 which is exactly like the more expensive Noctua NH-U12F but doesn't come with a fan.

Yes, but the same level of quality?

**gvblake22** · August 7th, 2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by yellowhello

Yes, but the same level of quality?

Who knows, seems to work ok for me. I don't have the "real thing" to test, so I really can't say for sure. :dontknow:

Yellowhello · August 7th, 2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by gvblake22

Who knows, seems to work ok for me. I don't have the "real thing" to test, so I really can't say for sure. :dontknow:

Eh, looks pretty good!

Dr. V · August 7th, 2007

Good job on the mod!

Lead Head · August 9th, 2007

Good job blake! Does the crazy cool thing really improve temps?

halutzparilla · August 9th, 2007

pretty impressive... question, how bout people like me without a a Power Scroll Saw???

August 7th, 2007	#1
gvblake22 Modder-ator Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Tempe Desert Posts: 6,417 Blog Entries: 1	Modding Gigabyte's "Crazy Cool" Well, as many Gigabyte GA-965P-DQ6 (and similar "crazy cool" featured board) owners have unfortunately found, you cannot use an aftermarket processor heatsink with a backplate because it interferes with the "Crazy Cool" heatsink on the back of the motherboard. Simply removing this heatsink will also force you to remove the chipset and MOSFET heatsinks because the NB is secured only by the threaded holes on the Crazy Cool heatsink and all other MOSFET and SouthBridge heatsinks are connected via heatpipes. So what is an enthusiast to do?! I decided to just cut off the section of Crazy Cool heatsink under the processor socket. First step is to remove the heatsink from the motherboard... Notice the large thermal pad covering the entire heatsink To protect the thermal pad and hopefully prevent too many aluminum shavings from sticking in the thermal pad, I placed it in a Saran-Wrap cocoon. Now for Mr. Crazy Cool to meet Mr. Jig Saw!!! Cutting went surprisingly well, but (as you can see) my Saran-Wrap idea didn't quite work as well as I had hoped... So after some meticulous picking and wiping, I got it clean enough to re-install onto the motherboard. There is now room for the retention bracket and I can finally install a REAL heatsink!!! So if it doesn't fit, just cut it up!

August 7th, 2007	#2
Dread Jumpmaster Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Lansing, KS Posts: 644	Re: Modding Gigabyte's "Crazy Cool" There are very few things in the world that can't be 'fixed' by the generous and judicious use of power tools, and the rest with a hammer. Nicely done. AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+ Toledo @2211.3 MHz MS-7125 Rev 1.0 nForce4 K8N-Neo4 Plat Phoenix 6.00 PG 05/22/2006 BIOS 2 x OCZ4001024PF 1 GB PC3200/400 3-3-3-8 2T nVidia XFX GF8800GT 512 DX9c Samsung SyncMaster 930B 1 x WD800JB / 2 x WD2000JD HP DVD640 OCZ 520ADJ SLI PSU

August 7th, 2007	#3
Yellowhello Foto Lord Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Pacific Grove, CA Posts: 4,351	Re: Modding Gigabyte's "Crazy Cool" Nice idea. BTW, what cooler is that?

August 7th, 2007	#8
Dr. V Yes - the Doctor is back. Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada Posts: 1,700	Re: Modding Gigabyte's "Crazy Cool" Good job on the mod!

August 9th, 2007	#9
Lead Head Join Date: May 2006 Location: Rhode Island USA Posts: 1,716	Re: Modding Gigabyte's "Crazy Cool" Good job blake! Does the crazy cool thing really improve temps? Opteron 64 165--1.5GB DDR--ECS KA1 MVP(thanks HL!)--x1800GTO 256MB--Seagate 320GB SATA--Antec 550 Watt--Antec P180

August 9th, 2007	#10
halutzparilla ako the pinoy Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: by the beach Posts: 1,698	Re: Modding Gigabyte's "Crazy Cool" pretty impressive... question, how bout people like me without a a Power Scroll Saw??? Abit IP35-E C2D E6750 G0 @ 2.66ghz [TR Ultra120EX] EVAG 8800GTS [TR HR03] Corsair [2gbDual@800] 820GB HDD[120/200/500] Antec TP 550W Silverstone Temjin 09 Saitek Eclipse1 & Razer DeathAdder Windows Vista Ultimate 32bit

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