Adding fans to front of case in 2 5.25" bay slots?

[TygGer]

I've come to the conclusion that my Coolermaster ATC 220 case has a very poor design when it comes to cooling characteristics. With nothing more than the basic components, my P4C tested under load (prime95) was about 10C hotter than when I removed the 1 side panel! Instead of cutting into the case, I wanted to modify 2 of the 4 5.25 slots. This way, I can try to fit 2 large case fans side by side in the 2 open slots. What do you all think??

My main question is, what is the largest size fan I can fit into the 2 open slots? I want to fit 2 case fans, but not sure how big I can go. I dont have any fans laying around...

If the fan is 120x25mm, what is the exact width and height? I wasn't sure if that was just the fan size or the whole unit.

Thanks

 

[Corporate Thug]

i have a coolermaster and i have the same idea. instead of bothering with the 5.25, i'm going to use the smaller slots where the hard drive normally would go. a 120 mm will almost fit flush with it, just use two sided tip to keep it in place and your set

 

[Rotax]

I did that one my work computer. =P And also riged up an 80mm in the HD cage of another PC here at work. Just dbl side tape it in, I then drilled some holes in a face plate/cover deal for it too help pull air through. The first one I drilled looked terrible, I just kinda randomly drilled em, 2nd one looks nice, I measured and marked off the holes. But yeah. It brought down my CPU temp 3 degrees C alone oddly enough. =) So it wasn't a total loss. The case I got at work also has a "vent" or slots cut out ont he side so I twisty tied a 80mm to the side of the case too. =D It seems to work well, helps the case out quite a bit (as they are terrible for air flow to begin with).

I'm not sure you'd get 2 120mm in there tho..but not totally sure, didn't have one to size up.

 

[Corporate Thug]

Originally posted by: Rotax
I did that one my work computer. =P And also riged up an 80mm in the HD cage of another PC here at work. Just dbl side tape it in, I then drilled some holes in a face plate/cover deal for it too help pull air through. The first one I drilled looked terrible, I just kinda randomly drilled em, 2nd one looks nice, I measured and marked off the holes. But yeah. It brought down my CPU temp 3 degrees C alone oddly enough. =) So it wasn't a total loss. The case I got at work also has a "vent" or slots cut out ont he side so I twisty tied a 80mm to the side of the case too. =D It seems to work well, helps the case out quite a bit (as they are terrible for air flow to begin with).

I'm not sure you'd get 2 120mm in there tho..but not totally sure, didn't have one to size up.

i measured, it fits. do u have pics btw? i'd love to see how it looks

 

[Rotax]

i don't have a digi cam at work, and my 'own' digi cam is currently w/ my folks, sooo. not right off hand. i should get a couple of the setup, its nothin special, just got bored at work 1 nite. =P

 

[LED]

120's fit just right ...See for Yourselves

 

[Corporate Thug]

Originally posted by: LED
120's fit just right ...See for Yourselves

sweet, it's a bit harder to acheive that on the coolermaster. i think you would have to pull the two covers out and get a one whole piece of aluminum

 

[TygGer]

That looks good... Did you just cut your exisitng cover plates?

Anyone know where I can buy 2 aluminum plates to cut and modify... Im afraid to mess up the ones I have. So it looks like I might just do 1 120mm fan. Hmm, wondering if 2 80mm fans would fit and/or be better?

 

[Corporate Thug]

Originally posted by: TygGer
That looks good... Did you just cut your exisitng cover plates?

Anyone know where I can buy 2 aluminum plates to cut and modify... Im afraid to mess up the ones I have. So it looks like I might just do 1 120mm fan. Hmm, wondering if 2 80mm fans would fit and/or be better?

i was thinking the same about ruing the aluminum plates and i was at this website that sold coolermaster accessories: $8/per cover. simply not worth it

 

[Jeff7]

Originally posted by: shady06

Originally posted by: LED
120's fit just right ...See for Yourselves

sweet, it's a bit harder to acheive that on the coolermaster. i think you would have to pull the two covers out and get a one whole piece of aluminum

You and your fancy, snazzy cases....fine work you do there.

 

[Blooz1]

TygGer, think about your question...

1-20MM would:

<U>A:</U> Actually move more air than 2-80MM fans (in almost all cases..)

<U>B:</U> Be quieter than 2-80MM fans, especially if hooked up to a rheobus

 

[LED]

Thanks Jeff7...1 of these days we'll get to your Case and I'm with Blooz1 on the 120mm Fan vs the 2-80's...except for the 2-80's prolly will/can move more air if they will fit and you can deal with the noise
Edit= Glue the 2 Plates together and then cut out for the fan, followed by Paint...Slot Covers are a dime a dozen so if it messed up find some new 1's

 

[TygGer]

LED,

What fan did you go with? I was looking at a Panaflo 114 CFM. I found a Vantec Tornado 80mm fan that moves 84.1 CFM! Only if they weren't too loud and 2 could fit totalling 168.2 CFM... Also, would you happen to have any close ups or different angles of the fan attached to the panels? From that one pic, it looks very professional!

 

[LED]

On that particular Case we used a YS Fan but the beauty is they can be swapped out. There's a 120x38mm YS-Tech 125.5CFM/45.0dBA 4-pin Case Fan and it looks pro cause that's what we do . I'll try and get a better shot of it this weekend but till then This'll have to do.
I really do not think 2-80's will fit and if they did it would look strange as it wouldn't be square not to mention the Frame would be to weak IMO.

 

[daniel1113]

I have a CoolerMaster ATC-110, and here is something I have thought of doing to improve the airflow inside. The two fans up front pull in quite a bit of air; however, they are blocked by the hard drives (especially with the four in my system). So, why not mount 2 hard drives on the outer side of the hard drive mounting frame where there is plenty of room. I may have to drill some holes, but I think it could be done. The only difference is that the drives would be in a vertical position rather than horizontal, and that space isn't used anyways. The good part about this idea is that one of the two front intake fans would not be blocked by a hard drive, so more cool air should reach the motherboard. If this doesn't make sense, I will try and post some pictures of my idea. Thanks.

 

[Zepper]

Yeah that 120mm mod looks very nice. I was thinking of doing the same with my case - no time like the present...
. I was thinking of using a black mesh grille with a piece of AC filter behind it. What do y'all think?
.bh.
Where's the :sun: ?

 

[TygGer]

LED, did you ever get a chance to take some more pics? I ordered the YS fan from SVC, hopefully I could do a decent job cutting the slot covers.

Anyone know where to buy some slot covers?

 

[LED]

Originally posted by: TygGer
LED, did you ever get a chance to take some more pics? I ordered the YS fan from SVC, hopefully I could do a decent job cutting the slot covers.

Anyone know where to buy some slot covers?

No as that particular Rig is @ the shop outside of town and I had some priority stuffs to do here @ the Farm for some folks so I won't be heading over there until mid week.

 

[Zepper]

TyGer et al.,
. I had no trouble ordering some 5" bay covers and some extra drive slides from Enlight. The whole mess including shipping was around $5.
. Unfortunately drive bay slot covers aren't always intererchangable (some have long legs, some short, and then some need screws) so it's probably best to order them from your case mfr.
. If you have a Mom-n-Pop computer shop in your area, they probably have a parts collection box full of 'em. Maybe you could find some to match.
.bh.
There's the :sun: !