Advice for a new Fan

[Mizzery]

Here are a couple of shapshots showing the dryfit of all the parts. Unfortunately the handle to slide the case cover off is right where one of the corners of the fan is going to go, i'm first going to cut, then grind the fan to fit.


EDIT: Before i marked the case side, i taped everything on with duct tape to be sure it would fit inside the case.

 

[Mizzery]

Suggestions on modding a fan.

Here's a pic of the fan starting to get modded, i want to custom grind it to fit right over that hadle indent on the side of the case. I've got a ways to go, but at least i got the corner piece cut off. I don't have a grinding wheel, so all work is painstakingly slow with the dremel. Any Suggestions?

 

[Mizzery]

Finished the fan mod

Ok, i finished the grinding the fan, went through about 5 stone cutting wheels & two fiber reinforced wheels. The fan now clears the handle with about 1/16 clearance between the fan blade and the handle. I might add a gasket later to increase the clearance but we'll see how it goes.

 

[Mizzery]

The Fan fits nice, had to widen the holes for the bolts, but that took two secs. Now I'm cutting the hole in the case side for the fan. Here is one of the four sections removed.

 

[Mizzery]

No more fiber disks!!!

When i bought cutting discs for the dremel, i made the mistake of getting the thin stone ones. These are a pain for cutting through metal, they keep breaking. I had two larger fiber reinforced wheels which i used, they don't break, just wear down after a while. Since true value is closed i won't be cutting any more today since i'm out of the big discs. I have half of the hole cut in my case panel and will post more pics on wed, maybe tomorrow if i'm not tired after work.

 

[Mizzery]

One last thing for the night

Since my family is sleeping, i didn't want to disturb them cutting through my case anymore. I decided to work on the fan/tube assembly. I cut out notches in the sides of the tube with the dremel for the L brackets, and cut off the extra hole on the bracket that was hanging over the fan. Tightened up the bolts, damn is she sturdy. I'm going to get some foam window weatherstripping to go between the fan and the tube as well as between the fan and the case.

 

[Mizzery]

Feedback is nice

I seem to be the only one posting, i would love some feedback from anyone who has had any experience with this type of setup, or anyone with a crazy idea about making it better.

 

[rogerdugans]

Posting all over the place

Looks good! I've done a few ducts too; even a couple of side-mount cpu intake ducts like yours, except mine weren't as nice.

One suggestion- use some thick rubber washers/ foam insulation or something between the fan and the side panel: that thing will be just like a soundboard if you bolt the fan right on!

 

[Mizzery]

Ok, after I got home from work today i went straight to work. I cut the rest of the holes out of the side of my case. The work was all done by hand with a dremel tool, and did i ever take my time. I'm not happy with the work. Anyone know of any good plastic edging stuff i could put around the cuts?

I then bolted the fan assembly to the side of the case, and reinforced it in the back with good old duct tape. I hooked it up to a spare 12V power supply and it ran well, not really that much vibration. I will post pics of the work soon.

As for wiring, i put a long extension lead with a rheostat on the end and wired everything to a molex (but i wired it wrong, so its hobjobbed till i get to the shack). I'm going to custom make a 4pin molex, two pins for power, two for the rheostat so I can fully remove my case side. Everything was soldered (i don't trust crimp connections, especially with frequency at which wires are tugged on in my case). As for CPU temp its now hovering right under 43(C) with a case temp of 31. I've dropped my cpu temp 6 degrees. I'm happy, now when the heck is that new hsf going to get here?

 

[rogerdugans]

Anyone know of any good plastic edging stuff i could put around the cuts?

You bet!
Auto parts store: door edge trim/moldings.

Fits right over sheet metal, flexible enough for a 2.5 inch hole, and available in a selection of colors.

6c Drop is great!! I've been trying to get that on one of my rigs tonight.
To lose 2c I had to drop 3mhz of fsb and .5 volt off the core

So where's the pics, already??

 

[Mizzery]

CPU duct so far

Thanks for the tip about the door molding. Here's the pics of what I've got so far. The fan unit is stable, no vibration noise. The rheostat isn't mounted for the duct as I couldn't cut another hole with the family sleeping. I do have the one mounted on the front for the intake fan, this is where the controll for the duct is going. If you can see from the pic, the processor is right near the exhaust fans, and the duct is also when the case is together. I want to move one to above the pci slots, but i'm not sure there is enough room. All this talk of ducts made me realize something, this is the first time i've used duct tape on a duct. Just a thought.

EDIT: the red wire hanging over the pci cards is the rheostat extension.

 

[The Spyder]

I see the problem.......... THE DAMN HEATSYNC................ nice job however. but get a new hs PLEASE!
Spyder

 

[Mizzery]

AX7 on the way.

@Spyder Ordered an AX7, its on the way.

 

[rogerdugans]

I believe there is an AX7 and Delta on the way........?

The duct setup looks good, man!

Only thing that might be good: the pices of case you left in the center......get rid of 'em! You can pick up grills pretty cheap, and there are a few places that have some fancy guards too.

All that work, you'll want it looking as sharp as it can, right?

 

[Mizzery]

Just to let you all know, wireless keyboard are great, untill their batteries die.

Would a 120mm fan adapted to the AX-7 be better?

 

[Mizzery]

Tomorrow i'm going to work on a duct to maximise airflow to the cpu. Here's a rough pic to give people an idea. Any ideas comments welcome.

 

[Mizzery]

I just took my first temp after a "stress" test of 45 straight minutes in Q3 and my processor was up to 47c

 

[Mizzery]

Today i will be -
1) Contstructing a shroud
2) Lapping the processor
3) Mounting the second rheostat and cleaning up wiring.

I know to step up the grit on the paper as you progress, but is this dry sanding or wet sanding. Also, is it to be done by hand or sander (i imagine by hand).

I also read a few things about people using polishing compounds on the hs. To me this sounds like a bad idea, you're putting polish in those tiny grooves that you would rather have thermal paste in. Am I wrong?

** Two stars in three days (three in six???)

 

[JFettig]

** Two stars in three days (three in six???)

check the forum guide

 

[Mizzery]

I already have, need 100 posts to hit three stars, already have over 50.