Cooling....

[Polska]

It's always been at the back of my mind. My system (cpu, amd 1700+) tends to run fairly hot. 40-50(max) degrees Celsius (with the side panels of the case off). I guess it's not a huge deal, haven't had problems, but it would make me feel better if I could bring the temperature down a tad.

So my question is, are there any simple but effective ways to bring down the temperature down. Perhaps another fan or two in there (don't know how effective they are) or a new heatsink (never installer them before, would probably end up messing up my comp lol jk). I currently only have 1 fan in there (one on the heatsink) as far as I can tell.

Perhaps some sites with cooling tips and such would be useful.

Thanks.

[CingularDuality]

Originally Posted by Polska

So my question is, are there any simple but effective ways to bring down the temperature down. Perhaps another fan or two in there (don't know how effective they are) or a new heatsink (never installer them before, would probably end up messing up my comp lol jk). I currently only have 1 fan in there (one on the heatsink) as far as I can tell.

Adding some fans (they're cheap) and putting the sides back on the case will do a LOT to lower your temps. Remember that the goal is to get good airflow through the case. Cool air goes in one side, flows across your chip, and warm air flows out the other side. I'm sure your power supply already has a fan blowing warm air out the top rear of your case, so the logical thing would be to add a fan that sucks cool air from the lower front of your case. Depending on how your case is set up, you might want to add several fans, but keep in mind how the general airflow is going to be when it travels through your case.

Another tip for everyone is to try to ensure that you have one more intake fan than you have exhaust fans. This will keep a positive pressure in your case and should keep dust from being sucked in through all the slots and holes throughout the case (especially the bottom if you've got it sitting on the floor).

Unless you have a desk fan pointing into your case, leaving the sides off probably leaves your chip warmer than with the sides on...

[Polska]

I'm not exactly sure about a fan setup. My current case, does not have holes in the front to intake air that way (do some cases?). There is only holes on one of the side panels and on the back. I find that the cpu stay a littel cooler with the side panels off, probably due to the fact I pretty much have no fans in the case .

So if I were to put fans in the case and put the panels back on how would I go about mounting fans. Maybe 1 fan blowing air into the case in the front around the side panel holes and then 2 fans in the back blowing air out of the case?.

Somehting like....

(Yes that's my ugly case)

On second thought, as you mentioned maybe 1 intake 1 exhaust would be better. More airflow in then out is better or not? I'm tired right now, sleep soon for me . Also would higher rpms mean more airflow (there are fans with different rpms right? or maybe bigger like 120mm in 80mm out). Types/brands maybe would be useful to mention.

[OSD]

Try here for your info and solution

http://www.atruereview.com/Articles/compcool.php

[Emanon]

im currently trying to make a two stage heatsink for my cpu. I am going to use heatpipes (a hollow copper pipe wicked on the inside with water) They pull approx 1.5watts away per second and I plan to add a bunch. Then I will put a additional heatsink on the top of those heatpipes and have run normally.

If everything goes smoothly, maybe I could cook you one up polska.

BTW if you looking for a good CPU heatsink go with a Volcano 7 or 7+

[Polska]

Ema, I probably won't be changing the heatsink. I plan to change mobo and cpu around christmas so I'll probably get a new heatsink then. For now I guess I will play aorund with fans.

I guess best way to go about this would just be to buy some fans and play around . Looking inside, there seems to be a plastic casing at the front bottom which looks like a perfect candidate to hold a fan, don't know if thats what it was meant for.

[Polska]

Now i'm thinking somehting more like this lol...
<-- using many advanced photoshop options as you can tell.

I really need to go and buy some fans to play with.

[TheFeniX]

Watercooling is the wave of the future.

[Emanon]

dont add to many fans, you Power supply may not handle it. Those Cpu coolers I suggested are old but some of the better ones out and will run you about the same as 2 or 3 fans.

[manager2]

For me the setup "two side fans in & one fan in back out" works best.

I bought case with three fans in it and also changed the fan and cooler on processor,
because Im running Athlon 2500+ overclocked to the 3000+ level (2,16Ghz)

Im using Thermaltake volcano 12 fan and cooler for CPU.


and this case



all the fans have speed regulators, so if i need quiet I just turn them to quiet mode.

and your temperature is ok, when using Athlon. Mine when overclocked runs about 50 in quiet mode all the time. Athlon can work with 70 degrees as well, nothing happens.
So there is no need to worry.

[OSD]

Now there is the red neck way we do it around here... I have run an vaccum cleaner hose from the AC duct in the floor(forced air)..to the intake side of the computer so it draws the cool air from the AC and sends it into the computer... just be careful that the condesation of the air temp change doesn't get into the computer... let the air dump in front of the computer and not into the fans... tempeture drop in the case when AC is running is about 35 f. and the cpu is running less than 98 degrees f. With ac off the cpu runs about 124 F.. In the winter time move the hose to the outside window and let the air in.... I'm lucky the AC duct and the window are right above each other next to the computer set up...

[Fait_Maker]

Originally Posted by Total

If you add a bunch of fans to your computer, it can quickly become too loud.... one solution is to switch the yellow (+12V) power supply cable with the red (+5V) cable on all your fans. I have found that this only increases the overall case temp by 7degrees but makes it almost silent. On the down side... old fans will not spin up at this low voltage and new fans will eventually stop spinning as well so you need to keep an eye on things every now and then. Another downfall is you can NOT use the new magnetic levitation fans that have no bearings (twice as $$ and harder to find) at a lower voltage but they are quit already so you would not need to anyway...

I've got power supply fan, cpu fan, blow hole fan on the side, 2 on the back and four on the front. Quiet as a baby. All of them are 80mm ball bearing fans. Cost me $8 a piece. I stay around 48 degrees celsius with a Athalon XP 2500.