Cutting holes (a newbie question)

[Nicomon]

Hey all,

What is the best way to cut a hole in my case for an air duct? Can I do it without power tools and if not, what tools do I need?

Thanks for any help

-NICOMON

 

[RangerJoe]

just get a drill bit for metal that is the size of the fan you intend on putting on the case...and drill, or get a dremmel...whichever

 

[BoBo007]

If you really want to do it with out power tools,
you can do it with a "nibbler" tool, it will be slow and you'll be sore when your done !

 

[Hoot]

If the cost of a hole-saw that size causes sticker shock, You can nibble it out with a nibbler like the on radio shack sells. It will be a lot of work to nibble by hand, but a lot cheaper than a large hole-saw. Tip: wear a glove on your hand. it helps prevent a blister on the webbing of your thumb.

Hoot

 

[jboy]

I agree on the nibbler. One anvantage being that you dont have to remove everything from your case to cut the hole, the way you do when you're a'drilling and a'grinding. Dont even think about trying to use the latter method to work on your case with the components in place. I tried to do this awhile back , masked off all the components with plastic sheeting and masking tape, but the metal powder debris filtered thru and got into the open circuitry on the back of my hard drives. No permananent damage done, (thank'ya Jesus), but definitely increased my adrenaline level when things came up totally dead. You do have to drill a 3/8 hole to start the nibbler, but if you back the hole with something to catch the debris, and drill at a slow speed, you shouldn't be spraying metal around inside your box. Make sure you remove all the little slugs of metal the nibbler generates, or you'll short something out for sure..

 

[nikhsub1]

Yeah a nibbler will work with LOTS o effort, the cleanest fastest best way IMO is a holesaw and drill.

 

[Robbiem01]

If you plan to get into cooling as a hobby for a few years and maybe even some case mods it will be worth your time and money to get a dremel now. Make sure you get the one with the cord though. I got the cordless and I cant do much before recharge but while its on its great!

 

[jadams]

If you were to put a fan on the top of your system, or on the side, or both; which way would you face the fans?

 

[Hoot]

The one on the side you want blowing nice cool air into the case, down upon your heatsink and components. The one on the top should probably draw air out.

Hoot

 

[Robbiem01]

every case has different airflow, obsticles and such. The best thing to do (although takes aobut an hour) is try all the combinations. See what gives you the best results. I read that with the Alpha 8045 heatsink it works better to point fans to blow away from it but I saved 10*C by blowing at it because I have a side intake fan. Just goest to show you never know till you try.