I'M CONFUSED!!

Discuss cases, PSUs, and various cooling techniques in here.
User avatar
Merlin
Legit Extremist
Legit Extremist
Posts: 898
Joined: Sat May 08, 2004 4:03 pm
Location: Dallas Texas

Post by Merlin »

yes it did come with the fan guard for the top that one is easy but I don't quit under stand the door fan part, as to the side pannel fan what do you think? I can have my friend make me some Plex ducting that would funnel outside air directly to the CPU so that ALL the air it gets is from outside the case. DO you think that would be enough with the PSU exhaust, top exhaust and the one the case came with. I would really rather not cut the case itself unless I have NO choice.
LVCapo
Legit Extremist
Legit Extremist
Posts: 1741
Joined: Tue May 04, 2004 11:25 pm
Location: Las Vegas
Contact:

Post by LVCapo »

The fan to replace the I/O port is a good start, you'd be surprised the amount of hot air that accululates in the top portion of the case. I have even seen people cut a hole in the floor of their case and mount a fan to suck up cool air and push out the warm air.
What I meant about the case door is what some people call the side panel. You could probably take it to a metal shop and have them cut it for you if you didn't feel secure enough to do it, probably cost you $5. I would recommend an Enermax 120mm controllable fan for that, Great fan, cost you about $12. Running some duct from the fan inlet to the heat sink/CPU fan helps alot as well, but isn't essential. Alot of people invest in very good heat sink/fan combinations then are disappointed when the temps aren't great, what they don't understand is that they are trying to cool the CPU with very warm air that is trapped in the case, especially with the compact WaveMaster case that doesn't have good airflow.
You want to move as much warm air out of the case as possible, bring down the case temps, and it can do nothing but help cool the rest of your system.
User avatar
Bio-Hazard
Legit Extremist
Legit Extremist
Posts: 2302
Joined: Thu May 06, 2004 9:48 pm
Location: Back Woods Of MO.

Post by Bio-Hazard »

A top blow hole is the biggest improvement you can make in cooling IMHO. My case it a Comp USA Lian-Li OEM and it had only 3 fans installed when I got it. It cooled ok because of the open front, but I cut in a upper blow hole and the case temps dropped 2-3c. I still wasn't happy with the temps so I cut in a second fan in the back under the factory fan, I got another 1-2 degree drop. And me being the cooling fool that I am, I went for the bottom fan on the floor of the case to draw more air in and now with all the fans (all the same guiet Cooler Master 80mm LED) my case temp is 1c more than room temp.........I think that's doing pretty good. Even though I'm running water now, when I had air cooling , my max CPU load OC'd was only 42c. I was running a old Thermalright SLK 800A with a Thermaltake Smart Fan 2. Loud, but very effective............... :shock:
User avatar
Merlin
Legit Extremist
Legit Extremist
Posts: 898
Joined: Sat May 08, 2004 4:03 pm
Location: Dallas Texas

Post by Merlin »

Ok ,I got it, I thuoght you were talkin g about the front door that covers the CD-ROM etc. I couldn't think of how you mounted it which is why I balked. I have a friend who can cut the whole in the side panel for me. Does it need to be over the CPU or is the center of the pannel OK?
LVCapo
Legit Extremist
Legit Extremist
Posts: 1741
Joined: Tue May 04, 2004 11:25 pm
Location: Las Vegas
Contact:

Post by LVCapo »

It depends. What I did was mount two 92mm fans, one over the CPU and Mosfets, the other over the NB and video card, kida stacked them. If you are going to mount one 120mm fan, I would place it just below center mass on the CPU heatsink fan, that way you are maximizing the cool air hitting the CPU, but also getting some to the rest of the important stuff (video card and NB).
User avatar
Merlin
Legit Extremist
Legit Extremist
Posts: 898
Joined: Sat May 08, 2004 4:03 pm
Location: Dallas Texas

Post by Merlin »

Ok, it will take me a little time to get it done but I'll let you know what temps I get when I'm done. Thanks for the help.
LVCapo
Legit Extremist
Legit Extremist
Posts: 1741
Joined: Tue May 04, 2004 11:25 pm
Location: Las Vegas
Contact:

Post by LVCapo »

Until then you can just run it without the side panel, that should also give you a fair idea as to what to expect for temps.
BoxsterS258
Legit Enthusiast
Legit Enthusiast
Posts: 35
Joined: Fri Jun 25, 2004 7:28 am

Post by BoxsterS258 »

I know you guys favor non silent coolers with high churing fans, but what do you guys think of the 7000A-Cu quiet cooler by zalman? Is it good compared to the some of the other comparable non silent coolers or is it just one of the better/best silent coolers?
User avatar
infinitevalence
Legit Extremist
Legit Extremist
Posts: 2841
Joined: Sat Apr 24, 2004 12:40 pm
Location: Nashville, TN
Contact:

Post by infinitevalence »

We like quite set ups be when people come in asking why their temps are so high and they have a zalman i have to look and say "why yes you paid to have a hot computer". Silence and cooling are always a trade off the only way to get both is water and that in its self is another trade off.
"Don't open that! It's an alien planet! Is there air? You don't know!"
LVCapo
Legit Extremist
Legit Extremist
Posts: 1741
Joined: Tue May 04, 2004 11:25 pm
Location: Las Vegas
Contact:

Post by LVCapo »

LOL.How true!!! I do like the Zalman, compared to stock cooling. But Infinite has a great point, its all trade offs. If there was one catch all solution, people wouldn't be trying all sorts of crazy things. If you want quiet, efficient cooling, then an SP-94 with a smart fan or a fan controller is cheaper, but isn't as good as water. But water is more expensive.
When I started out experimenting with the 3.2 E. I bought a Zalman, didn't like the temps, so I bought an SP-94, still wasn't quite satisfied, so I bought a couple Panaflos, then i wanted to O/C so I bought a fan controller and modded my case, couldn't get the results i wanted, so I went to water. Now, $500 later, I am at 3.9, and bored, so its on to finding another step! Whetther that s a chiller or something else, I dopn't know.
Its an expensive process, but one that can be made cheaper and easier asking for advise from others, knowing what you want to begin with, and a little research.
Post Reply