Coolink ChipChilla Chipset Cooler Review

Installation

Without trying to sound like we are waffling on the ease or difficulty of the installation, it really does depend on what your motherboard chipset cooler uses for mounting. If your chipset uses the wire tension system the installation is very straight forward. You simply remove the tension wire, gently remove the heatsink (it may be stuck so a gentle twisting motion usually helps break the old TIMs suction), clean the chip, apply some new TIM, install the rubber gasket (if necessary) and then place the ChipChilla in place and reinstall the tensioning wire. Simple, no fuss, no removal of the motherboard and reading this paragraph probably takes more time than actually doing it does. That is the easy way.

If your chipset uses the pushpin mounting system you will have to remove your motherboard from the case. Once you have removed the case simply turn the motherboard over and using a pair of needle nose pliers gently squeeze the small plastic arms that keep the pushpins in position. If you are not careful the heatsink will pop of, bang off a few parts of the motherboard and go crashing to the floor. Trust us, the chances of this happening is directly proportional to the number of people watching you while you do it. Heck, if you do this yourself even if this does happen....no one has to know. Where as if your best buddy has brought over his overheating 965 for you to install the ChipChilla on it is darn near a certainty that it fly off smack you in the gut and go flying across the room. So please be careful and keep one hand on the old heatsink while removing it.


Either installation method is not really difficult but it can be complicated by the necessity of installing the rubber gasket. The gasket is only needed if your chipset doesn't include an Integrated Heat Spreader. If you are not sure take a close look at the chip, if it the size of your smallest fingernail and doesn't have that shiny metallic look to it, it probably doesn't have an IHS. When in doubt install the gasket, install the ChipChilla but don't install the mounting hardware. Let gravity have its way with it for a moment and then remove the ChipChilla and see if the TIM was evenly spread. If it is not spread and instead is still just a grain of rice then the gasket definitely does not need to be used.

The only downside to this cooler is if you happen to use AMD systems. With AMD systems there is no northbridge and if you do decide to use this guy for you southbridge cooling you should be aware that it can interfere with graphics cards, it all depends on where you particular south bridge is located in relation to the PCI-e slot. Luckily, this may not be a deal breaker, as the ChipChilla’s pushpin arms do swing so you may be able to mount it on enough of an angle so that it does not interfere in mounting your video card.