Intel
®
E7230 Chipset Memory Controller Hub (MCH)
Thermal/Mechanical Design Guide
21
6
Reference Thermal Solution
Intel has developed a reference thermal solution to meet the cooling needs of the Intel
®
E7230
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
®
6700PXH 64-bit PCI Hub/6702PXH 64-bit
PCI Hub (PXH/PXH-V) Thermal/Mechanical Design Guidelines
. For information on the ICH7,
refer to thermal specification in the
Intel
®
I/O Controller Hub 7 (ICH7) Thermal Design
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
depicts the measured thermal performance of the reference thermal solution versus
approach air velocity. Since this data was measured at sea level, a correction factor would be
required to estimate thermal performance at other altitudes.
