Increase Airflow, includes pics.

[dude2]

Hey,

I really need to increase the airflow better in my case. The pictures attached will let you see how. I know it's a bit of a mess. I will be getting some ties soon so all the leads etc are kept nicely. However i would like some suggestions of how to make it a better cooling system.

I was told today, maybe cut intot he top of the case and get one or two fans blowing air out of the case and then also maybe one at the back of the case (where you can see) also blowing out. The PSU blows out some quite hot air.

What fans do you reccomend and where can i get them! Also i need them to come with the adapters so i can attach them straight to the power supply leads. Who sells fans like this that come with adapters etc.

Thanks

 

[kaltag]

yeah the blowholes in the top will halp alot! do you have aby fans in those cages in the bottom front? if not put some in blowing into the case. you could put one in the back if you want but I don't think you need it if you have that blowhole in the top. i'd use a 120mm fan in the top to keep things quieter and move a good amount of air. and if it's not too much trouble put an 80 mm fan in the side blowing air onto the video card. i can't really tell you which fans have molex connectors or not, just look around and find one you like in terms of air flow and noise level. good luck

 

[nightowl]

If Iam looking for upgrades for my pc I tend to check these places first because they have good prices and free postage
The Overclocking Store
Extreme Cooling The Cooling Shop. They are just a few of my favourite places to check. More can be found here http://forum.oc-forums.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=100544. As for which ones to get it is all down to personal taste, you might want high powered ones (noisy) or quiet ones with lower output but still do the job. Almost all of the ones you can get come with the connectors for your power supply.

 

[dude2]

OK, so ill get a 120 fan and stick it at the top of the case and ill also get an 80 fan and stick it where there is space (just above the graphics card). The fan i have at bottom left is an enermex which does the job nicely.

I would rather the fans are quieter cause my case is already noisy due to the volcano 7 and the enermex being adjusted to full power.

would something liek this do?
Sunon 120mm 4pin Low Noise 69CFM its only £13
Heres the webpage

Will this connect to a cable from the power supply?

then say something like Thermaltake 80mm 3pin 37CFM
Web page

The picture on the oage shows a power supply adapter so thats all good.

Would those be ok to help me then?

 

[nightowl]

The Sunon is quite a good fan, as for the 80mm one you went for I think the Evercool 80mm 4pin Low Noise would be a good choice. It pushes almost the same volume of air 32.4 at less than 25dBA and costs less than £5. I have 4 of them and they are nice and quiet. They will both connect to your psu. If it has a 4 pin connector you are sorted.

 

[Robin Hood]

...then say something like Thermaltake 80mm 3pin 37CFM

For the same price you could get Tt's Smart Fan II from Dabs which is adjustable up to 75 cfm.

 

[rogerdugans]

Some things to consider about case airflow: the best results USUALLY come from having about the same intake and exhaust (power supply fans are often not counted.....) - another is the rule of " intake= low in front, exhaust= high in back"

adding a blowhole is a good idea- the top in front of the psu is often the hottest part of the case
adding an exhaust under the psu will help to get rid of the hot air from the heatsink- another good location

One intake in front, even if well placed, will probably flow much less air than the other two combined so you MAY need more intake.

Here is the best trick going: make a temporary side panel from cardboard and use that to try another intake: either towards the bottom or right near the heatsink if you get better results you can mod the side panel, if not just seal up the hole and try another spot!

You can tell when case airflow is GREAT when your case temp is within 3c of room temp; within 6c is ok, 10c over room temp is pretty dang hot and needs work.

 

[HeXenViRii]

You should try to tame those power supply wires , that should help out too . You could also try making those IDE/floppy ribbons rounded by rolling them yup and using some electrical tape. Cheap & effective

 

[dude2]

OK, thanks everyone for the help!!!!

so i shall:

Buy a system fan for above the graphics card - blowing air into the case, then get a nice 120mm fan cut into the top of the case, switch the fan around so it blows out.

Use electrical tape stuff to tie all loose cables etc together.

Could i get an exhaust which will fit under the PSU? Where from and what are they called. Cause the only ones i have seen are for pci slots.

Wickedy, then its onto some new RAM!!! i wish i was rich!

thanks again!

 

[Gnufsh]

Do you have any fans blowing out the back. See if you can fit a 92mm fan up front-maybe one blowing accross the hdds also. Try intake in side panel over cpu and one over vid card.

 

[jlin453]

Do you have any fans blowing out the back. See if you can fit a 92mm fan up front-maybe one blowing accross the hdds also. Try intake in side panel over cpu and one over vid card.

With a fan blowing on the video card or cpu, does that ruin the air flow in the case? I have one intake at front ower bottom, one intake below the cd drives,one exhaust in rear top,and a enermax dual fan power supply. I'm afraid adding a fan on the side would ruin the case temp.

Btw, my case temp is 30C.

 

[vayero]

Here's my 2 cents (EURO cents that is )

- Forget the top exhaust blowhole, it is THE BEST entry point for spilled soda, water, pizza, whatever!

- 2 x 80mm 30-40 cfm fans (I use sunons), one in the lower front and one in the back below the power supply. Your case possibly has "grills" at these points and you should cut them or you won't get much of a difference, fans or no fans. Front fan = intake / rear fan = exhaust.

- 1 x 120mm 100+ cfm fan on the left side-plate. You should look for a 38mm thick fan (better under pressure). The fan should be placed just above the vga card and it should cover at most half the cpu heatsink. The point is to bring a lot of fresh air in the case at the place where it's needed most and not to overwhelm the h/s fan. Measure 10 times before you do the cutting and when you think you got it right, measure another five times. Cut yourself a nice hole, fix the fan and you're done.

This is my lowest noise scenario. I have modded two cases like that and with no change in heatsinks I saw a 10C decrease in cpu temp (under load) and a 12C decrease in case temp. The vga card gets some bonus air at its back (where there's no heatsinks) too.

I also use rubber washers to lower noise from case vibration. From the outside to the inside, here's how I install a fan:
head of screw - metal grill - one (1) rubber washer - case's side plate - two (2) rubber washers - fan - metal ring - nut.
For 38mm thick fans you need screws at least 50mm long.

Well, possibly more than 2 cents worth but that's it!

 

[dude2]

What would you think of these fans:

Sunon 120mm (Low Noise) 69cfm
£12.13

Thermaltake Smart Case Fan 2
£9.24

YSTech 80mm Lo Noise 3 Pin
£4.40

Will these do the job nicely?

thanks

jonny

 

[vayero]

Well, the truth is that to get the best combination of air supply and noise you have to experiment. I'm just telling you what worked for me twice. I haven't tried the same fan placement scheme with low-noise (and low-yield) fans, so I really cannot recommend those fans you're talking about.
I use these fans from Sunon:
- 80x25mm, ball bearing, 3000rpm, 39cfm, 33dba, KD1208PTB1-6A
- 120x38mm, ball bearing, 3100rpm, 108cfm, 42dba, KD1212PMB1

The case is noisy, but if you are used to your volcano you won't hear the difference (well you won't hear *much* of a difference that is )
I have modded another case too, a full tower. I used 6 case fans, 3x80mm and 3x92mm. Their placement though is not optimum and although the scheme works well (case temp=room temp), it's very noisy.
Always remember that there is absolutelly NO WAY to get a straight and directed flow of air through a pc's case. You can come close by using the famous Hoot-chute (search the forums for it) but it's only because a huge volume of air escapes through a small blowhole.

Cheers

 

[brodo]

then say something like Thermaltake 80mm 3pin 37CFM
Web page

I would go with this one:
http://www.thermaltake.com/products/dcfan/a1214.htm
46CFM's @ 27dba's. I personally like it better than their newer Smart Case 2.

 

[villham308]

Jonny, how hot is your case??? i completely started over with my case today. I've got 2 silent fans pusing about 20CFM each, one blowing in at the back ont the HSF, the other at the front blowing out. Also the PSU fan is blowing out. I've got a volcano 7+ and at the moment its running on low.

I'm running folding@home at 100% as im typing this and according to MBM5 my MOBO temp is 33*C, my CPU temp is 47*C.
Sure that pretty hot for some of these guys, but im more worried about the noise it puts out. The loudest thing in my case right now is the PSU fan, and im gonna change that when i feel like parting with some more cash (being a student sucks!), but like i said I'm going for as quiet as possible with a bit of cooling.

FYI ive got an xp1600 @ 1581MHz and im planning on going much higher, but then i dont plan on running F@H at 100% while i sleep.

Anyway, what i'm trying to say is, do you really need to spend all that cash on a load of fans (especially the 120mm one) if your temps are good? Cause you'll be kicking yoursef when you get a load of load fans and you wanted silent ones!

A quick reference on sound, if its got a sound rating above 20dBA you will be able to hear it if your sitting by your PC and all else is quiet, i have my pc in my room at uni and when i go to bed i can here the fans well. Anything over 35DBa will be very noticeable during the day and above 40dBA they'll start driving you nuts if youre trying to concentrate!!!

But if you dont care about sound get as high a CFM as you can for your £!!!

Good luck!

Willem.

 

[Ugmore Baggage]

Organise the wires, add an intake fan up front.

What is that top bay used for? It would make a nice entry point for air, all it is now is a place for heat to build up, heat that will probably be sucked into the CPU and some will go back to be recycled again.

Dead-air crevices are bad for cooling. You want air to come in, go through the heatsink, and then go out. No recycling.

edit, you'll probably see a temp benefit just from organising and opening the upper bay. Expense nil, added noise nil