Reference Thermal Solution; Operating Environment; Heatsink Performance - Intel E7230 MCH Thermal/Mechanical Design Manual

6

Reference Thermal Solution

Intel has developed a reference thermal solution to meet the cooling needs of the Intel
chipset MCH under operating environments and specifications defined in this document. This
chapter describes the overall requirements for the Plastic Wave Soldering Heatsink (PWSH)
reference thermal solution including critical-to-function dimensions, operating environment, and
validation criteria. Other chipset components may or may not need attached thermal solutions,
depending on your specific system local-ambient operating conditions. For information on the
PXH family, refer to thermal specification in the Intel
PCI Hub (PXH/PXH-V) Thermal/Mechanical Design Guidelines. For information on the ICH7,
refer to thermal specification in the Intel
Guidelines.
6.1

Operating Environment

The reference thermal solution was designed assuming a maximum local-ambient temperature of
55°C. The minimum recommended airflow velocity through the cross-section of the heatsink fins
is 350 linear feet per minute (lfm) for 1U system and 450 linear feet per minute (lfm) for 2U+
system. The approaching airflow temperature is assumed to be equal to the local-ambient
temperature. The thermal designer must carefully select the location to measure airflow to obtain
an accurate estimate. These local-ambient conditions are based on a 35°C external-ambient
temperature at sea level. (External-ambient refers to the environment external to the system.)
6.2

Heatsink Performance

Figure 6-1
approach air velocity. Since this data was measured at sea level, a correction factor would be
required to estimate thermal performance at other altitudes.
®
Intel E7230 Chipset Memory Controller Hub (MCH)
Thermal/Mechanical Design Guide
depicts the measured thermal performance of the reference thermal solution versus
®
6700PXH 64-bit PCI Hub/6702PXH 64-bit
®
I/O Controller Hub 7 (ICH7) Thermal Design
®
E7230
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