MSI K8N neo2 Platinum nightmare

Lelisevis · May 23, 2005, 11:39 PM

My day today has gone from bad to worse. Let my tale of woe commence.

It all started 2 days ago when my Fiancee decided to treat me with a brand new Akasa Evo33 heatsink. It's a truly beautiful piece of kit that should provide some monsterous cooling if I ever get the damn thing on my system. My current motherboard is the MSI K8N Neo2 Platinum which has to win my personal award for being the most poorly designed board ever, dont get me wrong it performs incredibly and can't be touched for overclocking but trying to connect anything to it is a nightmare.

Ok screwdriver in hand I took off my current Akasa heatsink which is just a stock cooler with a copper base. Out came the motherboard and off came the stock bracket. On goes the new backing plate and it's all smiles. I pick up my processor and start to clean off the silver paste and give it the once over. DISASTER a bent pin........NO not a bent pin, a pin bent double truly right back on it's self. After the initial shock and tears I decided to try to straighten it.

PING, in my left hand a processor sans one pin. My screams were reported nearly 3 miles away by a deaf man. Oh well perfect excuse to treat myself to a venice core 3500+ but first how far could I push my luck? I piled everything back into the box and went back to my local store minus missing receipt. The guy being a bit of a dilbert took a look and said it looked fine he couldnt see a fault so he would RMA it for me. Cue

.

Feeling slightly better I drove home to play with my new heatsink. DISASTER, on offering up the heatsink I realised the fan blows air through the fins from bottom to top. Ideal on any system except the K8N Neo2 which unfortunately places my X800XT directly blocking the fan intake. For a second I honestly considered giving up computers and going back to modding cars but it would be like cutting off my arms.
Now you've stopped laughing at my misfortune I could use some advice, the store Dilbert has offered to replace my processor with a Venice core 3500+ as soon as it comes back which will take about 10 days. Now do I buy a new mobo in which case I could use some recommendations or do I mount the fan on top of the Akasa Evo33 and pull air through it as opposed to blowing through it. I seriously doubt drawing air will be as good as pushing it so the advantages of a better designed mobo would mean I could fix 2 fans and push and pull air.

Necrosis · May 24, 2005, 12:50 AM

Or get some sticky zip tie mounts, and mount a fan right infront of where your heatsink & video card meet.

Lelisevis · May 24, 2005, 01:02 AM

Nice idea however you misunderstand

. The fan pushing the air actually sits on the graphics card so tight I couldnt slip a sheet of paper between them. The whole idea is that the fans should blow front to rear and out the 120mm exhaust but some genius at MSI decided to mount the heatsink vertically instead of horizontally. The heatsink is a pure work of art.
Take a look here and pick one up before I buy them all as house ornaments.

Necrosis · May 24, 2005, 01:09 AM

I actually am switching over to PCI-E but I currently have the same motherboard. However, the DFI I'm replacing it /w has the same layout. Hmm..does the heat sink have the holes on both sides for the fan? I take from your first post it does. The best thing I can offer is have it blow air down to the viddy, and then use a fan to push that air back. I would think with the fan being moved to the other side it would allow enough clearance to make this possible. You also might think about a squirrel fan so you can direct the air flow so it doesn't hit the viddy.

Lelisevis · May 24, 2005, 10:03 PM

Thanks Necrosis, all your advice is taken on board. If the DFI your buying is the same layout I'd seriously consider another option unless your planning on water cooling. The Evo does have holes for 2 fans which will make it a great buy once I get my injured CPU back. To be honest im going to be switching to PCI-E come christmas and I regret buying the X800XT not for it's performance but for the fact im stuck with AGP for now.

Lelisevis · Jun 3, 2005, 10:50 PM

Still no knews on my poorly processor so Ive had plenty of time to consider my problem. Basically it boils down to 2 choices
1)flip the fan and mount it on top drawing air up and away through the fins.
2) Leave fan blowing air down through the fins.

Trouble with option 1 is im not sure the fan will be able to draw enough air through the fins to be effective so it'll probably be running full speed constantly. Option 2's drawback is that it will be blowing all the warm air straight onto my graphics card which can't be too healthy for it.

Only other choice is a new mobo with the heatsink mounting bracket holes running vertical instead of horizontally. Can anyone recommend an agp mobo that matches the above requirements but can also perform and overclock as well as the MSI K8N Neo2 Platinum?

Necrosis · Jun 5, 2005, 03:37 AM

Hmm it's a real waste of money to go out, and buy another MB just got get a heatsink to fit. Lucky for you it will take a normal 80mm case fan. I would replace the fan /w one more powerful, and put it on top blowing down. Depending on the clearance between the bottom of the heatsink & your video card; I would make an air scoop. Some thing that will push the air "away" from the video card. You can then place a fan in your side panel to exhaust this hot air. If you have a dremel, and some plexi or lexan there is no reason you couldn't glue some thing together that would work.

Lelisevis · Jun 14, 2005, 12:52 AM

IT'S BACK ONLINE

.
My beloved PC is back up and running after 3 weeks. The store finally gave up with my daily whining and they have swapped out my 64 3200+. It's gonna be a late late night for me.
It also appears that my mobo worries were misplaced, Ive fitted the Akasa Evo-33 with the fan blowing down over. My processor temp has dropped from 41C idle to 34C idle and thats with it set less than halfway and it's silent. Set the thing to full speed and my desktop actually hovers

.
One added bonus is my X800XT Ram chips are now experiencing a permanent blast of icy cold air which can only be a good thing.
Ive just dug my camera out and i'll post a few pics of the new setup once Ive caught up with all my updates.
Signing off....A very happy Lel

Lelisevis · Jun 15, 2005, 10:43 PM

Weird as hell, had the rig back up and running for a few days and Im getting some crazy temps.
My AMD 64 3200+ now idles at 22/24C

. Under load it hits 35/38C. Surely no air cooled system could be showing those temps???
Im using the new Akasa evo-33 heatpipe tech sink and a Akasa pax power amber fan all snug and tight on Akasa silverpaste.
Spec is as below with latest bios updates @ stock speeds.
Am I just lucky?

Necrosis · Jun 15, 2005, 11:18 PM

Hmm..well it's not impossibe. Do you update to the latest v1.8 bios recently?

Lelisevis · Jun 15, 2005, 11:53 PM

I did, I also updated to the latest AMD64 drivers too. Load tested with SNM for 20 minutes and it stayed at 40-42C. The bios reports the same and the whole thing stays cool to touch.

What do you think have I at last discovered a good HSF for the K8N?

Drakon · Jun 16, 2005, 01:39 AM

Did you manually update the bios, or did you use the MSI tool to do it?

Lelisevis · Jun 16, 2005, 02:08 AM

MSI tool, it took ok and has been verified in the bios. On the latest core centre too.

Drakon · Jun 16, 2005, 04:38 AM

If I get my machine working, I guess I should update the bios. Is it safer and more reliable to update it with the MSI tool?

Necrosis · Jun 16, 2005, 02:02 PM

I don't know if it's more reliable but I always used it /w no problems.

Necrosis · Jun 16, 2005, 02:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lelisevis

I did, I also updated to the latest AMD64 drivers too. Load tested with SNM for 20 minutes and it stayed at 40-42C. The bios reports the same and the whole thing stays cool to touch.

What do you think have I at last discovered a good HSF for the K8N?

It's a combination of two things.

1. Your new heatsink

2. The new bios corrects the temp. probe in that board.

May 23, 2005, 11:39 PM	#1
Lelisevis Howlin at the moon Join Date: Sep 2003 Posts: 1,663 Rep Power: 0	MSI K8N neo2 Platinum nightmare My day today has gone from bad to worse. Let my tale of woe commence. It all started 2 days ago when my Fiancee decided to treat me with a brand new Akasa Evo33 heatsink. It's a truly beautiful piece of kit that should provide some monsterous cooling if I ever get the damn thing on my system. My current motherboard is the MSI K8N Neo2 Platinum which has to win my personal award for being the most poorly designed board ever, dont get me wrong it performs incredibly and can't be touched for overclocking but trying to connect anything to it is a nightmare. Ok screwdriver in hand I took off my current Akasa heatsink which is just a stock cooler with a copper base. Out came the motherboard and off came the stock bracket. On goes the new backing plate and it's all smiles. I pick up my processor and start to clean off the silver paste and give it the once over. DISASTER a bent pin........NO not a bent pin, a pin bent double truly right back on it's self. After the initial shock and tears I decided to try to straighten it. PING, in my left hand a processor sans one pin. My screams were reported nearly 3 miles away by a deaf man. Oh well perfect excuse to treat myself to a venice core 3500+ but first how far could I push my luck? I piled everything back into the box and went back to my local store minus missing receipt. The guy being a bit of a dilbert took a look and said it looked fine he couldnt see a fault so he would RMA it for me. Cue . Feeling slightly better I drove home to play with my new heatsink. DISASTER, on offering up the heatsink I realised the fan blows air through the fins from bottom to top. Ideal on any system except the K8N Neo2 which unfortunately places my X800XT directly blocking the fan intake. For a second I honestly considered giving up computers and going back to modding cars but it would be like cutting off my arms. Now you've stopped laughing at my misfortune I could use some advice, the store Dilbert has offered to replace my processor with a Venice core 3500+ as soon as it comes back which will take about 10 days. Now do I buy a new mobo in which case I could use some recommendations or do I mount the fan on top of the Akasa Evo33 and pull air through it as opposed to blowing through it. I seriously doubt drawing air will be as good as pushing it so the advantages of a better designed mobo would mean I could fix 2 fans and push and pull air.

May 24, 2005, 01:02 AM	Thread Starter #3
Lelisevis Howlin at the moon Join Date: Sep 2003 Posts: 1,663 Rep Power: 0	Nice idea however you misunderstand. The fan pushing the air actually sits on the graphics card so tight I couldnt slip a sheet of paper between them. The whole idea is that the fans should blow front to rear and out the 120mm exhaust but some genius at MSI decided to mount the heatsink vertically instead of horizontally. The heatsink is a pure work of art. Take a look here and pick one up before I buy them all as house ornaments.

Jun 14, 2005, 12:52 AM	Thread Starter #8
Lelisevis Howlin at the moon Join Date: Sep 2003 Posts: 1,663 Rep Power: 0	IT'S BACK ONLINE. My beloved PC is back up and running after 3 weeks. The store finally gave up with my daily whining and they have swapped out my 64 3200+. It's gonna be a late late night for me. It also appears that my mobo worries were misplaced, Ive fitted the Akasa Evo-33 with the fan blowing down over. My processor temp has dropped from 41C idle to 34C idle and thats with it set less than halfway and it's silent. Set the thing to full speed and my desktop actually hovers. One added bonus is my X800XT Ram chips are now experiencing a permanent blast of icy cold air which can only be a good thing. Ive just dug my camera out and i'll post a few pics of the new setup once Ive caught up with all my updates. Signing off....A very happy Lel

Jun 16, 2005, 01:39 AM	#12
Drakon DriverHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Floatin'... Posts: 4,957 Rep Power: 0	Did you manually update the bios, or did you use the MSI tool to do it? Last edited by Drakon; Jun 16, 2005 at 04:37 AM.

Jun 16, 2005, 04:38 AM	#14
Drakon DriverHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Floatin'... Posts: 4,957 Rep Power: 0	If I get my machine working, I guess I should update the bios. Is it safer and more reliable to update it with the MSI tool? Last edited by Drakon; Jun 16, 2005 at 05:52 AM.

May 24, 2005, 12:50 AM	#2
Necrosis HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: Ohio Posts: 8,838 Rep Power: 131 System Specs	Or get some sticky zip tie mounts, and mount a fan right infront of where your heatsink & video card meet.

May 24, 2005, 01:09 AM	#4
Necrosis HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: Ohio Posts: 8,838 Rep Power: 131 System Specs	I actually am switching over to PCI-E but I currently have the same motherboard. However, the DFI I'm replacing it /w has the same layout. Hmm..does the heat sink have the holes on both sides for the fan? I take from your first post it does. The best thing I can offer is have it blow air down to the viddy, and then use a fan to push that air back. I would think with the fan being moved to the other side it would allow enough clearance to make this possible. You also might think about a squirrel fan so you can direct the air flow so it doesn't hit the viddy.

May 24, 2005, 10:03 PM	Thread Starter #5
Lelisevis Howlin at the moon Join Date: Sep 2003 Posts: 1,663 Rep Power: 0	Thanks Necrosis, all your advice is taken on board. If the DFI your buying is the same layout I'd seriously consider another option unless your planning on water cooling. The Evo does have holes for 2 fans which will make it a great buy once I get my injured CPU back. To be honest im going to be switching to PCI-E come christmas and I regret buying the X800XT not for it's performance but for the fact im stuck with AGP for now.

Jun 3, 2005, 10:50 PM	Thread Starter #6
Lelisevis Howlin at the moon Join Date: Sep 2003 Posts: 1,663 Rep Power: 0	Still no knews on my poorly processor so Ive had plenty of time to consider my problem. Basically it boils down to 2 choices 1)flip the fan and mount it on top drawing air up and away through the fins. 2) Leave fan blowing air down through the fins. Trouble with option 1 is im not sure the fan will be able to draw enough air through the fins to be effective so it'll probably be running full speed constantly. Option 2's drawback is that it will be blowing all the warm air straight onto my graphics card which can't be too healthy for it. Only other choice is a new mobo with the heatsink mounting bracket holes running vertical instead of horizontally. Can anyone recommend an agp mobo that matches the above requirements but can also perform and overclock as well as the MSI K8N Neo2 Platinum?

Jun 5, 2005, 03:37 AM	#7
Necrosis HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: Ohio Posts: 8,838 Rep Power: 131 System Specs	Hmm it's a real waste of money to go out, and buy another MB just got get a heatsink to fit. Lucky for you it will take a normal 80mm case fan. I would replace the fan /w one more powerful, and put it on top blowing down. Depending on the clearance between the bottom of the heatsink & your video card; I would make an air scoop. Some thing that will push the air "away" from the video card. You can then place a fan in your side panel to exhaust this hot air. If you have a dremel, and some plexi or lexan there is no reason you couldn't glue some thing together that would work.

Jun 15, 2005, 10:43 PM	Thread Starter #9
Lelisevis Howlin at the moon Join Date: Sep 2003 Posts: 1,663 Rep Power: 0	Weird as hell, had the rig back up and running for a few days and Im getting some crazy temps. My AMD 64 3200+ now idles at 22/24C . Under load it hits 35/38C. Surely no air cooled system could be showing those temps??? Im using the new Akasa evo-33 heatpipe tech sink and a Akasa pax power amber fan all snug and tight on Akasa silverpaste. Spec is as below with latest bios updates @ stock speeds. Am I just lucky?

Jun 15, 2005, 11:18 PM	#10
Necrosis HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: Ohio Posts: 8,838 Rep Power: 131 System Specs	Hmm..well it's not impossibe. Do you update to the latest v1.8 bios recently?

Jun 15, 2005, 11:53 PM	Thread Starter #11
Lelisevis Howlin at the moon Join Date: Sep 2003 Posts: 1,663 Rep Power: 0	I did, I also updated to the latest AMD64 drivers too. Load tested with SNM for 20 minutes and it stayed at 40-42C. The bios reports the same and the whole thing stays cool to touch. What do you think have I at last discovered a good HSF for the K8N?

Jun 16, 2005, 02:08 AM	Thread Starter #13
Lelisevis Howlin at the moon Join Date: Sep 2003 Posts: 1,663 Rep Power: 0	MSI tool, it took ok and has been verified in the bios. On the latest core centre too.

Jun 16, 2005, 02:02 PM	#15
Necrosis HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: Ohio Posts: 8,838 Rep Power: 131 System Specs	I don't know if it's more reliable but I always used it /w no problems.