Intel has released their thermal guide for their series 7 chipset.    Guides like this from Intel, (and other semiconductor manuafacturers) are very important since they give the thermal engineer the parameters under which the chip has been designed to operate.   Applications of semiconductors vary widely, we we all know in our industry, and so each thermal management design does need to be tailored.

The goals of the guide include

• Outline the thermal and mechanical operating limits and specifications for the Intel® 7 Series Chipset for use in single processor systems for a desktop computer
• Describe reference thermal solutions that meet that meet the specifications of the Intel 7 Series chipset

The guide includes thermal reference design information, specifications, reliability requirements and more.  You can download your copy of the Intel Series 7 Chipset thermal design guide at this link: Intel Series 7 Chipset Thermal Design Guide

As part of your work in designing a thermal solution for systems using Intel, you may need a thermal calculator or two to help you.  coolingZONE features a number of such calculators in our design section.   Calculators include heat sink spacing optimization, and can be found at this link coolingZONE heat sink and heat transfer calculators