# What's this mobo part?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-mobo-part/630933
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [August 9, 2012, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-mobo-part/630933 "2012-08-09T04:52:16Z")
**Posts on this page:** 7
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)
#### Post date: [August 9, 2012, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-mobo-part/630933/1 "2012-08-09T04:52:16Z")
My computer has been intermittently making the most obnoxious grinding noise for weeks. It still did it after I disconnected all components, so I thought it was the PSU, but even after replacing it it still happened. Now I’ve figured out it’s part of the motherboard. I’ll probably end up replacing it (and that means my processor too, _le sigh_), but I want to at least know what the part is called
[ ](http://i410.photobucket.com/albums/pp183/Jragonmiris/IMG_0637.jpg)
It’s the part in the middle, with EVGA X58 written on it. I think it might be an on-board fan of some kind (and the motor is going, causing the noise), but I’m not sure.
---
### Author:  [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)
#### Post date: [August 9, 2012, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-mobo-part/630933/2 "2012-08-09T05:02:38Z")
If those are the DIMMs on the upper right of the board then I think it’s the CPU fan. Check this [doc](http://www.evga.com/support/manuals/files/141-BL-E759.pdf)out for more details.
---
### Author:  [@Jorge\_Burrito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jorge_Burrito)
#### Post date: [August 9, 2012, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-mobo-part/630933/3 "2012-08-09T05:16:21Z")
My guess is it is a fan/heatsink for the X58 northbridge chipset. If you write your mobo manufacturer they would likely send you another one for cheap. It should be relatively easy to mount.
---
### Author:  [@Terry\_Kennedy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terry_Kennedy)
#### Post date: [August 9, 2012, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-mobo-part/630933/4 "2012-08-09T05:18:12Z")
> [@TriPolar](#):
>
> If those are the DIMMs on the upper right of the board then I think it’s the CPU fan.
Nope. The CPU fan is the giant round copper thing above the problem part. The problem is the chipset cooler fan. See [this](http://www.evga.com/support/manuals/files/visual/132-BL-E758_Visual_Guide.pdf) PDF. There are a bunch of EVGA X58 board variants which have different types of chipset coolers, including some passive (no fan) ones. As a first step, try calling the number in that PDF - it claims support is available 24x7.
A post [here](http://www.evga.com/forums/tm.aspx?m=633784) (from 2010) says "Just called EVGA, in less than 10 minutes they had it submitted to management (its a specialty part, he said) and I should expect one within 2 weeks maximum or so. "
---
### Author:  [@panamajack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panamajack)
#### Post date: [August 9, 2012, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-mobo-part/630933/5 "2012-08-09T05:18:26Z")
That’s the ‘northbridge’ or chipset cooler. If it’s [this model number](http://www.evga.com/forums/tm.aspx?m=1418182&mpage=1) someone else may have had a similar problem, so you may want to check with the company before chucking the board.
---
### Author:  [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)
#### Post date: [August 9, 2012, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-mobo-part/630933/6 "2012-08-09T14:36:21Z")
You may be in luck - a quick poke around, and people seem satisfied with EVGA’s support, at least as far as the northbridge fans is concerned.
If no luck there, I’ve seen that some people just remove the fan and zip-tie a generic 40 mm 3-wire fan in its place.
---
### Author:  [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)
#### Post date: [August 24, 2012, 8:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-mobo-part/630933/7 "2012-08-24T08:04:55Z")
> [@gotpasswords](#):
>
> You may be in luck - a quick poke around, and people seem satisfied with EVGA’s support, at least as far as the northbridge fans is concerned.
>
> If no luck there, I’ve seen that some people just remove the fan and zip-tie a generic 40 mm 3-wire fan in its place.
That’s what I ended up doing. Well, without the zip ties. it turns out that the Northbridge mount is tight enough that a 40mm fan fits in there just fine without being so loose it’ll fall out, even without the screws. I mean, if an Earthquake happens or something I might have to open it up and pop it back in, but oh well.
Thanks, everyone.