Mosfets & other chips

[RussianMissile1]

which chips on the motherboard get hot other than the mosfets?

particualry on this motherboard: http://www.abit-usa.com/images/products/KD7A_lg.jpg

[Gizmo]

Well, the north bridge and south bridge. The north bridge has a HSF on it. I don't know how well VIA's south bridge performs heat-wise, but it is certainly a consideration, based on my experience with nVidia's south bridge.

The ICs that control the voltage regulators could also get fairly toasty.

[RussianMissile1]

what do these IC chips and voltage regulator chips look like?

and what do "PLL" chips look like and where are they typically found?

[Gizmo]

Oh man. That's like asking what a car looks like, ya know?

The voltage regulators and other ICs can come in a variety of packages, but will always have 6 legs or more (well, almost always). Usually, the ones used on mobos will be of what I call the 'lottalegs' variety.

PLLs, these days, are almost always part of another IC. It is extremely rare to see a PLL implemented as its own chip. Generally, when you see such things it is because they are being used in very unusual circuits. Such things tend not to occur on mobos.

[robbie]

Originally Posted by RussianMissile1

what do these IC chips and voltage regulator chips look like?

I believe these are them.
Rob

[RussianMissile1]

what would the chip that senses the "PWM" temperature look like... or where would it be?

my PWM is reading at 66 C

[Gizmo]

I can't tell on that board, but the Winbond 83627 seems to be the standard for such things. That is a rectangular chip with about 200 pins on it.

[RussianMissile1]

Originally Posted by robbie

I believe these are them.
Rob

those are the burning hot ones. luckily the skin on the tips of my index fingers is unusually thick.

[RussianMissile1]

Originally Posted by gizmo

I can't tell on that board, but the Winbond 83627 seems to be the standard for such things. That is a rectangular chip with about 200 pins on it.

would that be the one next to the bios chip?

[Gizmo]

Again, I can't tell from the picture, but it could be. It looks about the right size and shape. It will have the numbers '83627' with a two letter 'WB' before it, and possibly another letter or two, such as 'HF', after it.

[robbie]

Originally Posted by RussianMissile1

those are the burning hot ones. luckily the skin on the tips of my index fingers is unusually thick.

If it get's hot COOL IT!!
Rob