Northbridge/Chipset gets insanely hot during normal usage

I just felt my northbridge/chipset on my Abit KN9 and it is hot enough to burn my finger during normal usage (i.e. idle desktop Ubuntu, even in the BIOS setup util.) It has a heatsink and a heatpipe going to some silent cooler thing (which I don't understand the point of, the computer already has 5 fans, what's one more?) Anyway I don't think it's good that it's running very hot and I'm wondering if installing a fan in the top section of the case or in a spare expansion slot (power supply is at the bottom as is CPU) will help with cooling this chip or if I need to take a more direct approach, i.e. a fan on the chip itself.

 

If its within your ability R & R your heatsink/heat pipe clean and reapply thermal paste

 

Thing is I don't want to be removing or breaking anything that is working. It is a performance motherboard, so it might be normal for it to be hot. (Abit KN9 Ultra and not Abit KN9, I should clarify.)

 

If it can burn your finger it's too Hot

Are you OCing? if so you may have to back off a little or try lower voltages

 

I don't think it's overclocked, although I received the motherboard from a friend who upgraded their system recently, so I have no idea if he's changed anything. I did reset the BIOS settings to optimised defaults, I assume that would run the processor at stock speed.

 

Ya, you're not OC'd. Check the Abit site, if they have one, and see what you could find out. There's several things that can burn me on my mobo and off, like out the back of my video cards!

You mentioned a small fan? I have one that is 10mm for my NB pipes, can you see if that works? My temps are higher as I don't have the stock Intel fan for the CPU.

 

I was thinking of one of these,
http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=28679

To sit in one of the spare slots. Would it help? There is air circulation in the bottom of the PC at the moment, the northbridge doesn't get much cooling.