Cooling questions

[timothy100]

Hello, I am looking at putting together a new computer soon, and I'm not really experienced in the subject of cooling.

First of all: Would it be better to leave the side of my case on or off? If I do leave the side of my case off, do I really need to have all the case fans?

Also, I am looking to overclock the XP 1800 that I'm going to get, and would like to know whats a good/fairly cheap HSF that isn't too noisy. I've read a lot of reviews on the Volcano 6cu and it seems like its decent, but not something you can overclock with.

Please help....
Thanks.

[nikhsub1]

Originally posted by timothy100
Hello, I am looking at putting together a new computer soon, and I'm not really experienced in the subject of cooling.

First of all: Would it be better to leave the side of my case on or off? If I do leave the side of my case off, do I really need to have all the case fans?

Also, I am looking to overclock the XP 1800 that I'm going to get, and would like to know whats a good/fairly cheap HSF that isn't too noisy. I've read a lot of reviews on the Volcano 6cu and it seems like its decent, but not something you can overclock with.

Please help....
Thanks.
If you have proper airflow thru the case, leaving the case side off will give you HIGHER temps, if your airflow sucks then taking the side off will drop your temps. You should look into a case with 120mm fans such as the liteon FS-020 http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduct.asp?submit=manufactory&catalog=7&manufactory=1506&DEPA=1 If you add a 120mm fan to the side blowing in, you will have excellent case cooling. A great HSF with your requirements would be the Thermalright AX-7 and a Sunon 50CFM fan. Cheap and quiet. The new SLK800 is the new king of air cooling but it is very $$$$$ I think $70! The AX-7 is $27. The 6cu is junk, the 7+ is OK.

[timothy100]

Thanks a lot for the reply... i'll look into the AX7.

I'm on a tight budget and can't really spend a lot on cases, so do you know of any less expensive cases that are still decent?