Ducting a Volcano 6Cu

I have a Volcano 6Cu and was thinking of ducting it to see if I can get better performance from it.

Right now, I have: 1 intake fan on the inside front of the case, 1 exhaust fan (actually a replacement fan for the top of the 6Cu) + PSU Fan

I got 2 replacement fans from ThermalTake when mine blew out and they didn't want it back so I was thinking of turning my one on the heatsink to blowing out, then running a duct to the other fan that is also blowing out of the case.

Since both fans are nearly identical in RPM, I was thinking that would create a nice airflow away from the heatsink.

What so you all think about:

a) Blowing air away from the 6Cu or other sinks you've tried (I've seen mixed results in reviews) and

b) Ducting with the two fans I described above.

Thanks for the opinios / help.

have two fans on the heatsink, because with the fan designs the hottest part of the cpu does not get any air, putting two on gives it air

Dunga Bee said:

I have a Volcano 6Cu and was thinking of ducting it to see if I can get better performance from it.

Right now, I have: 1 intake fan on the inside front of the case, 1 exhaust fan (actually a replacement fan for the top of the 6Cu) + PSU Fan

I got 2 replacement fans from ThermalTake when mine blew out and they didn't want it back so I was thinking of turning my one on the heatsink to blowing out, then running a duct to the other fan that is also blowing out of the case.

Since both fans are nearly identical in RPM, I was thinking that would create a nice airflow away from the heatsink.

What so you all think about:

a) Blowing air away from the 6Cu or other sinks you've tried (I've seen mixed results in reviews) and

b) Ducting with the two fans I described above.

Thanks for the opinios / help.

Click to expand...

I've got a duct hooked up to a Thermoengine. The fans are disimilar, but I still get a boost by using both of them.

In my setup, exhaust works best when my vcore is low, but intake works better with high vcore. I recently increased my vcore and as a result switched from exhaust to intake. I lowered my cpu temps by about 5 degrees, but it raised my case temps by about 18. THe moral of the story is 2 fans are better than 1, exhaust vs intake depends on the specifics of the system, try them both and see which one works best for you.

nihili

Thanks for the info.

Now, what's the best / easiest material to make a duct out of ?

And, should I duct right to the top of the HSF and seal it or just have the duct hovering over it ?

Thanks again.

Dunga Bee said:

Thanks for the info.

Now, what's the best / easiest material to make a duct out of ?

And, should I duct right to the top of the HSF and seal it or just have the duct hovering over it ?

Thanks again.

Click to expand...

It should be as sealed as you can easily make it.

Easiest material is dryer hose. 3 inch will fit a 60mm fan, 4 inch will fit on a 80mm fan. You can buy a converter to change from one size to the other. My duct is dryer hose with a converter. Cost less than 5 bucks and took me 15 minutes to make.

Dryer hose is not, however, the best material. Ideally you want something like pvc pipe that is relatively thermally resistant and smoot on the inside.

I'd start by bulding a 2 dollar setup from dryer hose to see how it works, then think about constructing a better solution as you gain evidence.

nihili

Thanks again for the info.

I'll try that setup for investigative purposes and move on to other things if it goes well.

The additional case heat should not be a problem. Right now according to MBM my temps are as follows:

Case: 17
Mobo: 28
CPU: 55 (Folding).

So, I think I can add some heat from the CPU to the case and be OK .

Thanks again.

Dunga Bee said:

Thanks again for the info.

I'll try that setup for investigative purposes and move on to other things if it goes well.

The additional case heat should not be a problem. Right now according to MBM my temps are as follows:

Case: 17
Mobo: 28
CPU: 55 (Folding).

So, I think I can add some heat from the CPU to the case and be OK .

Thanks again.

Click to expand...

For clarity, the temps I gave were in farenheit.

nihili

Oh, and here's a picture of what mine looks like. The black thing is the converter.

nihili said:

For clarity, the temps I gave were in farenheit.

nihili

Click to expand...

NP. I'm not shooting for exact numbers so much as 'did it work for you?' .

I do have a question about your pic. Did you run the duct over just the fan on the heatsink? I'd assume so, but couldn't tell.

Oh, and do you have your front fan blowing in or out?

Thanks,
DB

Actually, I've got the duct about a fourth aof the way down the heatsink, but that's because the thermoengine is tall and i'm working with low airflow.

nihili

nihili said:

Actually, I've got the duct about a fourth aof the way down the heatsink, but that's because the thermoengine is tall and i'm working with low airflow.

nihili

Click to expand...

Gotcha. I may just go to the bottom of the fan since those fans run at around 5000 RPM.

I edited the post before to ask another question but your reply may have beaten my edit, so here it goes again...

Do you have your front fan blowing in or out with your duct blowing in ?

I have my front fan set opposite the duct. If the duct is blowing in, the front fan exhausts. This results in bad airflow through my case, though it's better than haveing them both blow in I think.

One reasone that exhausts works well for me is that I get really nice airflow with it. My intent is to switch my duct to soem good fans and the use it as an exhaust again. I just have to decide which fans to get.

nihili

I think I'll try exhaust first. With both those 5000 RPM fans moving air out through the duct, it should provide decent results. Then, I'll leave the front fan on intake to get some cool air in.

I'll let you know how I make out.

Thanks again,
DB