Easy Enlight 7237 Case Mods?

[vicwang]

Does anyone have good tips for (relatively) easy case mods for the Enlight 7237 to reduce case noise and/or improve cooling? By "easy" I mean mods that can be done with non-powered tools. The only real tools I have at my disposal are a wire cutter and nibbler tool. So far I have done the following:

-Cut away the metal cages in front of the 80mm intake and exhaust fans
-Installed Akasa Paxmate noise dampening material
-Taped up my intake and exhaust fans with electrical tape to reduce vibration (and so the intake fan fits snugly in the plastic housing)
-Taped up the holes on the left case panel
-Taped up as many holes as possible in the front of the case
-Rounded all cables
-Using all low-noise fans

One of the things I would like to do is improve the airflow to the intake fan, since it's basically all just coming through the tiny holes and slits in the front. I'd also like to find a good way to get airflow from the front of the case (besides the 80mm intake) without using a HDD cooler, since they make so much noise. I'm also trying to find a good way to get the air filtered as it comes into the case, but with the way the case is designed, you can't really put a filter in front of the intake unless it goes in front of the "cage" (which in my case is no longer there).

Any tips or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[BigMoe]

With power tools "hole saw and a drill and drill bit I tnink it 3/8" for adding blow holes and drilling holes in font larger easy and they help .Without tools, I guess you have a 80 mm in front you could add a 80mm to 120mm adapter for added air they have at plycon this might help with a filter as well just an unused dryer sheet in front of fan

 

[conlan]

<< One of the things I would like to do is improve the airflow to the intake fan >>

.. I opened up the front of my 7237 w/ a Dremel and fitted a 120mm fan w/ a mesh filter. On the bezel i added 4 rows of holes above the existing holes and drilled them all out to 5/16". Intake airflow improved dramatically improved of course. Hope this helps.

 

[vicwang]

Thanks. Can you recommend a good model of Dremel tool, and a good source for them? (doesn't need to be a high-end one or anything since the only thing I would ever use it for is the occasional case mod).

 

[conlan]

I have the Dremel MultiPro 3951 w/ the organizer kit. You may buy it for case-modding, but believe me, you'll use it for a lot of other stuff as well.

 

[Jhhnn]

Uncover the rows of slots in the side panel- they're the only place that much air can actually enter. The stock front fan and intake bezel on a 7237 are a joke. Put your strongest fan in the rear, blowing out- forget about a front fan until you find a way to let some air get to it- something like drilling out/expanding that array of teensy little holes in the front plastic bezel. Once you've opened up the front, you probably won't notice much difference with a front fan, anyway, except for the noise....

If you want filters, check out the foam filters from Phamcomputer and others. I'd try using a 120mm filter mounted over a hole cut in the front bezel, that would probably allow the side cover slots to be covered. You'll need more tools, though, like a drill and a coping saw....

Load up motherboard monitor and any distributed client software (or Toast or CPUBurn) Watch your temps carefully with the current setup- they'll likely head for the sky in a hurry. Then try my recommendations, you'll notice a very real difference.....

 

[unterbear]

heh... here's a really ghetto suggestion.. i did this yesterday on the front bezel of my old server (k6-2 350@263) box to improve airflow to the 80mm intake up front.

i bought a 2 1/2 inch holesaw, intended for use on wood, at the hardware store for about 5 bucks. later on this afternoon, i'm taking it over to my friend's house where he has a drill to cut the actual 2 1/2" hole in the bezel, but yesterday, i was bored. so, i decide to start the initial guide-type hole, starting with one of those little bitty holes that's already in the bezel. i just started pushing and twisting the drill-bit part of the holesaw in it, and it worked really easily. it makes a very nice, clean round hole. so, i enlarged a couple more of the tiny holes in the front, too.

works like a charm, and the little 1/8" hole it leaves has *gotta* provide better airflow than the little pinprick-size ones the case comes with. you could probably also use just any plain drill bit, but you might have a harder time keeping a good hold on it without the big round holesaw part.

 

[vicwang]

Thanks guys. I think I'll definitely make increasing the size of those pinprick holes my first priority.

Right now my temps are actually holding up pretty well. My ECS K7S5A BIOS is reporting my case temps at 31/87 and my CPU temps at 40/104, even after running the UD Client non-stop. Of course, that's probably because I've ditched the stock intake fan and replaced it with a manually adjustable YS-Tech 80 mm that goes anywhere between 2000 and 4000 RPM (great fan, by the way... I have the RPM knob sticking out the side of my case, so if things ever get warm I can adjust it without opening it up... and at 2000-3000 RPM it's practically silent).

I've also added a 40 CFM Panaflo for the rear fan, and I'm also getting some good exhaust with an Enermax Whispersys PSU (92 mm and 80 mm fans on that sucker). And I'm currently using a front-mounted HDD cooler, but due to the whine it makes I plan to remove it as soon as I can improve the intake through other means.

Anyway, I'll probably go over to Lowe's tomorrow to get something that can drill some holes in the bezel... either a Dremel or one of those hole saws.

I'll let you know how it turns out.

 

[vicwang]

Well I picked up a Dremel Minimite 750 for $30, and it worked great at opening up those pinholes... By using the standard drill bit, I'd say it must have easily increased the total surface area of the holes by 5-10 times. And the new holes look great too.

Now I just have to figure out how to mount a 120 mm fan & filter...

 

[vicwang]

Well I'm proud to say my case mods have turned out even better than expected! I even discovered a VERY helpful bit of info for anyone looking to add a 120mm intake fan to their Enlight 7237 case.

I picked up a 120mm adjustable-speed Enermax fan and started drilling holes in the case by using the "standard" Dremel bit. I started with the upper left-corner one first (when looking at the case head-on). Then I realized the standard bit was only 1/8 inch instead of 3/16ths (the standard case screw size). So I went to Lowe's, but they had ZERO 3/16ths drill bits. Instead, I got a drill bit that looks like a cone at the end... larger than 3/16ths, but I figured I could just gradually increase the hole size until it would fit a case screw.

I also picked up some small rubber washers while I was there (much better than those "rubber donuts" that you often see being used for case screws).

Anyway, I drilled the hole, aligned the case fan and screwed it in. THEN, much to my surprise, I realized that the fan's bottom-right hole was perfectly aligned with the slot in the case where the plastic bezel goes in... so I put a rubber washer on the case screw, screwed it in THROUGH the slot that was already there, and it was a PERFECT fit! I couldn't believe my luck. And after tightening both screws (upper left + bottom right), it was held firmly in place with no vibration.

So basically, I just added a 120 mm intake fan to my 7237, and I only had to drill ONE hole. Now all I have to do is cut away as much of the metal as possible with my nibbler tool, sand down the rough edges with my Dremel, and I'm done (of course, I also had to cut away some of the plastic on the bezel to get it to fit... but nothing that would be visible).

I'll be sure to post some pics when I get the chance (you can't post pics here directly, can you?). And thanks for everyone who contributed to these mods! I'm really happy with how they turned out.

 

[kgraeme]

It sounds like you are working at cross-purposes. You want quiet but you seem interested in adding more fans to "increase airflow". More fans = more noise. It doesn't matter if they're all Panaflo L1A's, the more you have the noisier it will be.

If you want quiet, my recommendation would be:
- Remove excess fans. Most systems really only need one case fan. You get to decide if you want positive or negative pressure.
- Replace the PSU or swap its fan. The noisest part in my Enlight system is the psu.

Seriously, most of us are a bit over-cooled with our systems. We sit and freak out over a degree or two of difference. We like to see temps of 35-deg, but they support a die temp of a max of 90-deg. Sure we don't want to get quite that high, but there's quite a margin there. (Of course, some of the difference has to do with the way we measure temps, but still...)

 

[vicwang]

I hear what you're saying, but what I'm really striving for is the perfect balance between the two. Just a few months ago, my system had a Vantec 6035D cooler with 7000 RPM Delta fan, high-speed 80mm intake, medium-speed 80mm exhaust, generic PSU, and front-mounted HDD cooler. Needless to say, the noise level was UN-believable. Of course at the time, I figured that was the price I had to pay for good cooling. But then I started trying to find ways to get good cooling without the noise levels.

Since then, I've replaced the 6035D with a Thermalright AX-7 and 46 CFM Panaflo, replaced that exhaust with a 40 CFM Panaflo, replaced that intake with an adjustable 120mm Enermax, replaced that PSU with a 350W Enermax Whispersys, ditched that HDD cooler, and installed some Akasa Paxmate.

As of right now, the noise levels have dropped dramatically, well more than I expected. And not only was there no significant dropoff in cooling performance, but my cooling performance has actually INCREASED significantly. Before, under full load I was averaging about 36 case/50 CPU. Now, full-load temps are around 31 case/43 CPU. Now I just need to find out what to do with all my old noisy parts...

 

[vicwang]

OK, here's some pics of the case fan mod, for anyone interested! (notice the fan screws, or lack thereof)

http://vicwang.tripod.com/before.jpg

http://vicwang.tripod.com/after.jpg

http://vicwang.tripod.com/intakeholes.jpg

 

[Howard]

It wouldn't hurt to drill out those holes a little more. And, have a filter in front of them, or dust is going to be a problem.