Fan on top of the case?

[bob4432]

i am switching back to my lanboy aluminum case and getting rid of my large antec 835 case. i will have a 80 or 92mm intake fan (not sure if i am going to modify the case to take a 92mm..., am modifiying the case so i can have a 70mm fan blowing on my 2 hdds (i like active cooling the hdds)), a 80mm exhaust fan and then the 2 fans on the psu which is currently going to be the antec blue 350W (which will probably be replaced by a seasonic s12 430).

i will be putting my new opteron build into this case along with my x800xtpe and wish to achieve at least 2.4, but would like 2.5-2.6GHz o/c. i have a 92mm zalman copper hsf too.

do you think i need another 80mm exhaust fan in the middle top of the case? even if i changed my case to accepte a 92mm intake instead of the 80mm? or will i have enough exhaust?

thanks in advance.

also, please remember i am in phx, az where my computer room in the summer (or 9mos out of the year) is 80F+

 

[bob4432]

anybody? getting ready to make some cuts and would like to do it all at once...

 

[ShadowBlade]

how many other fans do you have in your case?
2x80mm or 1x120mm in front for intake, 2x80mm or 1x120mm in back, one side blowing on cpu cooler, one on cpu cooler itself, imo is the ideal setup

EDIT: wow, maybe i should read the entire op, sorry
EDIT 2: i saw a thing that converts 2 5.25" bays to 3 HD bays once that had an 80mm fan in the front of it. I cant find it now, but i think that would be easier for active HD cooling

 

[alanore]

Well heat rises, so it seems logical although you dont need it, as it would offer little temprature diffrence but with the addtion of more noise. If you want you can put a silent fan up top but it wont make much diffrence at all.

 

[bob4432]

cant really do the side because it is plexi and i don't want to scratch it up and all that the case has room for is a 70mm(due to mod) & 80mm in front, 1x80mm in back and then the psu fans. it is a mid size case

 

[bob4432]

thanks for the input, any other thoughts?

 

[Reapsy01]

My case came with a top 80mm fan which i took out as it seemed to make no difference to the temps. I think beacause it is just in front of the power supply which does a good enough job of sucking the air out of the case.

 

[dunkster]

I think it would be overkill for an Opteron-based system.

I have an older Antec case, with provision for up to 4 each 80mm fans. I used all four fans when running a 2600+ mobile overclocked to 2.4GHz.

Currently, I'm running a 3700+ @ 2.75GHz - and I'm using only a single front-intake 80mm fan. It's all I need. Max CPU temp is 40C under Prime95 and case temp stays in low-30s.

Hope this helps!

 

[piasabird]

I like my cheap Antec case. It has the hard drive rack right in front of the air intake so the hard drive stays cool as the air circulates around it while it comes in. I have one and only one 120mm Exhaust fan.

Antec SLK3700AMB
Asus A7N8X
AMD 2800XP Processor with Retail CPU Cooler

Runs great.

I dont have a big video card overheating all the time.

 

[0roo0roo]

they sometimes work, but the noise generally isn't worth it. its directed right at you. its best to go for cases with 120mm fans anyways, 80 is a waste of effort considering the noise for air moved

 

[PingSpike]

Originally posted by: alanore
Well heat rises, so it seems logical although you dont need it, as it would offer little temprature diffrence but with the addtion of more noise. If you want you can put a silent fan up top but it wont make much diffrence at all.

Yeah, heat rises...but for whatever reason using my blowhole as an intake actually works well for me. I think its because I had so many fans pulling air out the back and not enough pushing it in.

I have 2x80 exhaust, 120mm PSU exhaust...120mm front intake, 92mm side intake, 92mm blowhole intake.

 

[bob4432]

Originally posted by: dunkster
I think it would be overkill for an Opteron-based system.

I have an older Antec case, with provision for up to 4 each 80mm fans. I used all four fans when running a 2600+ mobile overclocked to 2.4GHz.

Currently, I'm running a 3700+ @ 2.75GHz - and I'm using only a single front-intake 80mm fan. It's all I need. Max CPU temp is 40C under Prime95 and case temp stays in low-30s.

Hope this helps!

maybe i am just stuck in p4 land (albeit northwood).....and know how hot they get

 

[bob4432]

Originally posted by: PingSpike

Originally posted by: alanore
Well heat rises, so it seems logical although you dont need it, as it would offer little temprature diffrence but with the addtion of more noise. If you want you can put a silent fan up top but it wont make much diffrence at all.

Yeah, heat rises...but for whatever reason using my blowhole as an intake actually works well for me. I think its because I had so many fans pulling air out the back and not enough pushing it in.

I have 2x80 exhaust, 120mm PSU exhaust...120mm front intake, 92mm side intake, 92mm blowhole intake.

i was going to do this and put both of my hdds in the 5.25 bays to have passive cooling, but was able to put a 70mm in front of the hdd cage only thing that suck is that my scsi cable is 48" long and is in this mid size case

 

[PingSpike]

Originally posted by: bob4432

Originally posted by: PingSpike

Originally posted by: alanore
Well heat rises, so it seems logical although you dont need it, as it would offer little temprature diffrence but with the addtion of more noise. If you want you can put a silent fan up top but it wont make much diffrence at all.

Yeah, heat rises...but for whatever reason using my blowhole as an intake actually works well for me. I think its because I had so many fans pulling air out the back and not enough pushing it in.

I have 2x80 exhaust, 120mm PSU exhaust...120mm front intake, 92mm side intake, 92mm blowhole intake.

i was going to do this and put both of my hdds in the 5.25 bays to have passive cooling, but was able to put a 70mm in front of the hdd cage only thing that suck is that my scsi cable is 48" long and is in this mid size case

I was going to say "why bother cool the hard drives?" but I've had some experience with older scsi drives...and those fvckers can get really hot.

Cable management is the annoying part of case cooling. Do they even make round scsi cables? Regardless, I usually fold up excess cable and use a rubberband to secure it when using traditional flat cables. But with 48" that could still be kind of a pain!

 

[fire400]

Originally posted by: bob4432

Originally posted by: dunkster
I think it would be overkill for an Opteron-based system.

I have an older Antec case, with provision for up to 4 each 80mm fans. I used all four fans when running a 2600+ mobile overclocked to 2.4GHz.

Currently, I'm running a 3700+ @ 2.75GHz - and I'm using only a single front-intake 80mm fan. It's all I need. Max CPU temp is 40C under Prime95 and case temp stays in low-30s.

Hope this helps!

maybe i am just stuck in p4 land (albeit northwood).....and know how hot they get

Northwoods? How about Prescotts, generating much more heat..

About the fan at the top of your case, if you feel your system needs it, then go ahead, but because there is probably a spot for your fan there you might as well use it, so that dust doesn't come in from the top, otherwise scotch tape the top and leave it be.

 

[professor1942]

Yes the top fan blowing on the CPU (not exhaust) does help... I have both top and side case fans and they each make a difference of about 2-3 degrees to the cpu and board temps (about 5-6 degrees Celsius cooler with them both on).

 

[bob4432]

no there is no hole there yet, i would need to make it. but since i have my whole case apart, i figured now would be the best time to do it if was needed. also, remember i will probably be going with a seasnic s12 430 soon which i think has a 120mm fan it