Tinkering with case / compartment design. Thoughts? Comments?

[javertiz]

Was trying to think of ways to mod my case for better air circulation. Here is what I came up with:

- 3 Compartments: >Peripheral >MB and CPU >AGP and PCI
- The purple lines are airflow.
- The brown "boards" can be board, insulation material, pvc, etc.
- The board doesn't "close" on the MB but it does come very close to it therefore only letting very little air into the MB compartment (from the AGP/PCI Compartment).
- This limits the system to 3 fans (I guess you could add exhaust fans but I am relying on pressure buildup)
- Haven't tried it.... just theory... but I will try to do it soon (kinda busy now tho :-( )

- My thought was that if the space the fans need to "fill" is smaller then the amount of air circulating in these spaces will be greater and therefore moving heat out faster and keeping the air fresher.

- Any thoughts are welcome !!!

Thanks
Alex

[Gravity Man]

I like it. Keep us informed on the results.:beer:

[Diggrr]

Looks like a good idea as long as the 80 on the door supplies plenty to that hungry delta powered hsf. Size doesn't mean the cfm will be correct.

[Dissolved]

thats a nice drawing... what program did u use for it?

[javertiz]

Thanks !!.... Actually its just Photoshop.

Used to have access to AutoCAD and iMagine on SG machines back in college.... but not anymore !! :(

In iMagine I would be able to specify all the materials and the properties and then actually simulate air going through the case and add sensors to any area inside of it. Too bad I don't have it anymore.

You can probably pick up a licence for around 5000 to 15000 but then again you also need a VERY expensive SG machine !! ;)

Thanks again,
Alex

[javertiz]

Originally posted by Diggrr
Looks like a good idea as long as the 80 on the door supplies plenty to that hungry delta powered hsf. Size doesn't mean the cfm will be correct.

Actually my current set up has a rear fan pulling out and only the front fan pulling in (with the same side fan on top pulling out). Works fine for now (CPU 40c MB 31c - IDLE).... I want to cool it more but don't want to add more fans (noise!!!).... so I thought this might work with the same # of fans.... if it does then I might add a potentiometer to the Delta screamer on the HS in order to slow it down (and quiet the thing !) when I don't need it !!

-Alex

[Dissolved]

is autocad easy to use? or is it very confuseing?

[javertiz]

Very steep learning curve. I haven't seen the new versions but I assume they are the same.

If you have CAD experience then its not so bad. Its pretty much the industry standard.

If you don't have CAD experience then simple things (like drawing that computer) might be ok... but more advanced "Engineering" tools will definately require time and patience.

-Alex

[Dissolved]

aight cool, ill have to try it out :)
that drawing just looks tight..

[Gravity Man]

I didn't think Auto CAD was that tough to learn. I had a class in high school on it a couple years ago.

[RoadWarrior]

iMagine

hmmmm that any relation to the renderer imagine for the Amiga.... that was good back in the day, got version 4 for the PC somewhere, it's like circa 1995 though.

I guess they might've moved over to other graphic workstation equipment after the high end amigas demise.

Oh, interesting idea by the way.

You just started me wondering if a long centrifugal blower, blasting down the back of the mobo would be nice....

Road Warrior

[AntmanMike]

Make sure you send us some when you start mass producing

[javertiz]

Originally posted by RoadWarrior
iMagine

hmmmm that any relation to the renderer imagine for the Amiga.... that was good back in the day, got version 4 for the PC somewhere, it's like circa 1995 though.

I guess they might've moved over to other graphic workstation equipment after the high end amigas demise.

Oh, interesting idea by the way.

You just started me wondering if a long centrifugal blower, blasting down the back of the mobo would be nice....

Road Warrior

Actually the program on the SG machine was I-Dea (no Imagine)... I got confused. BTW I have a A4000 and an A1200 here... still use them alot... have Imagine on both. The A1200 is for games (some classics !!) and the A4000 is for video/gfx... some of the best computer ever made.... old but not completely out of date... too bad the Amiga's didn't go totally mainstream (unless you lived in the UK !).

[javertiz]

Ok. So I decided to do a 1st phase project. This involved the following:

- Using poster board (medium gauge) to replace the side panel (so I don't have to drill it - yet) and also to create the DIVIDERS.

- I created the dividers and held them in place by pressure and tape. (in the exact same place as on pic).

- Didn't add a couple of things: Didnt make the holes in the top of the case and I didn't put a fan in the bottom (at present the 3rd partition with the AGP/PCI cards DOESN'T have a fan so my AGP card has been getting warmer.... I'll put in a fan later when I buy an extra one)

- So I made a hole in the side panel (poster board) and attached the 80mm fan.

Ok here is the data:

BEFORE
--------------------
Idle Temps: (all in deg C)
MB 34
CPU 41-42
AGP 51


AFTER
-------------------
Idle Temps: (all in deg C)
MB: 35
CPU 38-39
AGP 54 !!

Now, I knew the AGP card was going to get hotter but the MOBO getting hotter !!! I ran some test and I think that the MOBO temp sensor must be either in another compartment or right under one of the deviders.

Now here is where it gets interesting.....

I decided to replace the Delta Screamer on the HS with a slim Delta Fan (from my old HS).... really really QUIET fan but probably doesn't have more than 15-22 CFMs.
My MOBO is 33 !! and the CPU is only 44 !!!
So putting a small fan on it only ups the temp 4-5 degs for the CPU but lowers the MOBO.
My theory is that the mobo was actually reading some of the hot air displaced by the delta fan and therefore was showing higher temps.

I've decided to go ahead and make the compartments out of PVC and add the bottom fan. I will also add a potentiometer for the delta fan so that I can quiet it down when I don't need it and only loose a couple of deg C on the CPU.

Any ideas? Thoughts? Comments? --- All appreciated

[Gravity Man]

Sounds like the initial results are good! Now I really want to know what the finished product can do.

[Diggrr]

Try a 90/120 on the door over cpu, you might take it lower yet.

[javertiz]

Ok so I finally added the fan for the AGP compartment (on the side and not below as show in the diagram. Here are the numbers:

IDLE
MB: 28
CPU: 38
GFX CARD: 46

This is a huge improvement, but of course I ADDED 1 more fan to the whole system. So I decided to take the compartments out and leave all the fans in place.

This is what I found:

IDLE
MB: 32
CPU: 43
GFX CARD: 50

As you can see... the compartments DO make a difference. Difference enough for me to add a Rheostat to the 60mm Delta screammer and lower the speed when IDLE.... this way I can hear the sound from the speakers !!!

I changed out the DELTA fan for a smaller Delta (MUCH quieter) again and found this:

IDLE
MB: 27
CPU: 42-43

Only 4-5 deg C gain on the CPU but I can live with the machine now.

Next I will make the compartments out of PVC and use rubber to seal them from the MB and CASE.

I'll give final numbers as soon as I do it. Probably after the new year.

Feel free to send me comments, questions, etc

-Alex

PS I'll upload a new diagram when I get around to changing it. I'll also mess around with the fans and change their positions to see if I can get better numbers. I think that this is just the tip of the iceberg and correctly positioned compartments/fans could lower my temps 3 to 5 deg more (although MB is pretty close to room temp so I don't forsee too many gains there !).