Front Intake on a Curved Case

[tallest1]

Right now I have a 900 Tbird in a Value (unknown model #) Antec looking similar to this. It idles at 36C which is fine but I'm noticing that I have horrible airflow in this thing.

I have
- a dual fan enermax whisper blowing hot air out of the case (above the CPU)
- a 80mm intake case fan (left of the CPU)
but
- I feel a significant amount of air coming OUT of the intake fan (its not on backwards, I checked)
- Air is getting sucked in thru every hole, particularly my open PCI slots

I'm thinking of making the rear case fan the exhaust and modding an intake fan on the front but the front of this case has a very curved body (worse than the pic above). It curves outward to the middle and back in again like a sine wave.

Does anyone know how I can make a good clean hole through the front (if neccessary) and mount a fan to it? Do I need 2 fans? Are front intakes (with panaflos) audible? Any advice for a case mod newbie?

Edit: I also plan on cutting out the case's annoying fan grill which will improve airflow. Would that solve the problem?

 

[aphex]

Typically, you would want exhaust in the rear, intake up front, so that will definately help... But if your running 36c, why not just turn that fan around in the back... Theres no where in the bottom of the front to attach a fan? I dont think ive ever seen a case that dosent have at least something to work with up front... Geeze, I would 'kill' for temps as low as that though

 

[tallest1]

oh hey, Aphex.

I've thought of turning the case fan into an exhaust fan for good but at the moment the grille (which I'm gonna cut out this weekend w/ a Dremel kit from Lowes) made the airflow noise annoyingly loud. However if I do make the fan an exhaust, It'll turn it into a super-vacuum with even more air squeezing in from every crack.

There is no flat space whatsoever on the front of the case, its one big sinewave-like bump outward.

Epox 8kta3
900 tbird
cheapo heatsink
80mm panaflo ghettoishly attached to it
80mm panaflo case fan
Enermax whisper 350 watt

Its pretty quiet (and I want to keep it that way)
MB: 30.7 C, CPU: 36.7 C, Aux 21.7 C

 

[aphex]

Dont take this the wrong way... Im just curious

With temps like those, why add more fans?

As for the Panaflos, the lower rpm ones are very quiet (21db's or so on an 80mm)

PS. - Dont forget to watch the game tomm at 12:30

 

[tallest1]

Its a matter of airflow issues, right now much of the cool air that circulates in the case is sucked in thru the PCI slot hole. God knows what'll happen when I actually put PCI cards in those

 

[JonnyJonJon]

i have that case! i had the same problem because when i removed the annoying feet on the bottom, my carpet blocked the intake on the bottom of the bezel. so i took off the entire front bezel and cut a hole in the rounded part near the bottom using a circular attachment for my drill. after that, i cut four screw holes, and attached an 80mm fan grill. it's centered and looks like a very professional job! i also just added a window, and it looks sweet! so, with a little modding, this case can be very nice.

p.s. mebbe tonight i can post some pics... if my crappy webcam wants to work.

 

[JonnyJonJon]

oh, btw, to explain how i got a nice, clean hole, the fan attachment is a circular disc with a drill bit extruded from the center, and fan teeth around the outside edge. i drilled a small pilot hole where i wanted the center to be, then used the drill bit in the middle to guide my cutting. After it was finished, i used a lil bit of sandpaper to smooth the edges, being careful to not scratch the front of the case. also, i personally only have an 80mm intake in the front, and 80mm exhaust in the back, and a new 80mm exhaust in the power supply (isn't the psu fan loud!?!?) now, combined with a nice svc gc68 hsf on my cpu, my unlocked xp1700+ is running 1800+ speeds (139 x 11) under 40 idle. none of the fans are above 30 dba. oh, and i know, i know, i unlocked the multipliers, but didn't end up using them (toasty cpu = me not happy). hope i helped a little.

 

[tallest1]

My case is a bit different from the pic. Nowhere on the front a flat surface to cut nor any vent holes.

BTW, I can't hear my Enermax Whisper even if I put my ear next to it. Its wonderful.

 

[aphex]

<< My case is a bit different from the pic. Nowhere on the front a flat surface to cut nor any vent holes.

BTW, I can't hear my Enermax Whisper even if I put my ear next to it. Its wonderful. >>



I need to get one of those... My Antec PS is a buzzsaw now that i have a quieter HS and case fans..

 

[tallest1]

Anyhoo, back on topic. Any ideas to improve the airflow? maybe a fan on the door?

 

[aphex]

bump

 

[tallest1]

I must have really good cooling on this thing. I look off all of the case walls - left, right, top, front, and back and the temperature only went down 2 degrees!