Cooling

[NeilT]

hey guys,

IS using a thermalright xp-120 with no case fans a good idea? Im ask because it blows air onto the motherboard instead of out the back of the case, so the only way for air to circulate is through natural convection. I'm building a htpc and i want it to be as quiet as possible. I'm currently using a zalman cnps9500AT but its too loud even at 1300 rpm. I cant fit a scythe ninja or turiq tower as they are all too tall for my case thats why im looking at the thermalright as it seems to be one of the only fans that i can fit with a 120mm fan. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[GalvanizedYankee]

Read/study at http://www.silentpcreview.com/


...Galvanized

 

[Operandi]

No case fans is a very bad idea.

I run my exhaust fans (2x Panaflo L1As) off my MB fan header controlled by SpeedFan and did some testing at various speeds for fun. With the fans stopped the system temp rose to over 50c +, not good. With the fans barely turning at few 100RPM the temps were in the low to mid 40s, much better. Running them at 5v speeds keeps things in the mid 30s, nice and cool and barely audible.

Maybe there is something wrong with your 9500, or your hearing something else? I've pretty pleased with every Zalman heatsink I've used when the fan is cranked down the to the sub 1500RPM level.

 

[Zepper]

You'd need to have a very unusual case and cooling solution to get away with no fans. Exhaust fan is probably the most important as PSU fans are no longer designed or intended to serve the whole system. Next would be a bit of active cooling for your HDD rack. Beyond that, play it by ear.

.bh.