Having some trouble cooling my media center case - suggestions?

[imaginepc]

I have a silverstone media case (L30c. I just upped the ante by putting in an AMD 5600 X2 dual core into the case. I am having intermittent crash issues. I believe this is a cooling problem. Most likely the graphics card (running a 7300 GS) The fan is so small I doubt it can cool it very well. Besides that not sure what else I can do. The CPU seems to be pretty cool with the stock cooler.

One other note - how do you actually cool a motherboard if the board is getting too hot?

Suggestions are welcome.

 

[Zepper]

Takes some imagination to cool many HTPC cases if you try to go beyond the needs of an HTPC system in them. Generally not wise to try to squeeze a gaming-level system into an HTPC case - you're cruisin' for a bruisin'... Using a case like the NZXT Duet or the C-M 280 series or perhaps the Tt Mozart Tower will allow for decent cooling w/o major mods.

Are you sure you gave the right model number of your case - when looking for interior pix for ideas with no luck using that model no.

.bh.

 

[Zap]

I was also having trouble with cooling my system in a Cooler Master ATC-620. It only has one 60mm and the PSU fan for ventilation. My solution was to replace the case with an Antec NSK2480 (IIRC). It is a black/silver case with two 120mm fans and an Earthwatts 380W. Got it for around $50AR. Besides the system running cooler, it is also quieter.

 

[imaginepc]

Sorry for the delayed response

I believe this is my case here: It's an older model its a tight fit!

Inside I have

7300 geforce (pci x)
PVR 1650 Recorder (PCI)
wmpg54gs (wireless card)
It's a Asus M2 (micro atx ( my case supports full atx)
1 IDE - 300 Gigabytes - 1 SATA 320 Gigabytes
1 DVD driver/ burner
I'm using onboard audio (no room) for audio card.

Attached:
a pvr usb2 250 hauppage
A fusion gold recorder (USB


http://www.silverstonetek.com/....php?pno=lc10&area=usa

 

[Zepper]

I'd use a 60 to 92mm fan adapter on the back of the case like this:
http://i52.photobucket.com/alb...r0/fanOnWaveMaster.jpg - I'm using an 80 to 120mm adapter there on my Wave Master. You'd also need to break the guts out of a 60mm fan of the proper thickness to space the adapter out beyond the recess on the back panel of that case. Panaflo 92mm fans are still pretty quiet. I don't know which way I'd use the other 60mm fan, as an intake or exhaust - try it either way to see which works best. Maybe a more efficient 60mm in that other space would help too. Look for a recent thread here on replacing the fan on an OEM heat sink - I've given several resellers with good selections of 60mm fans there.

And those grills on the back fans have to go whether you do anything else - way too restrictive. If the grill on the front fan is anywhere near as restrictive, it has to go too.

.bh.

 

[imaginepc]

Now I'm not entirely sure if it is a heating issue - It ran all day yesterday without issue. Plus when I check the exhaust on the system and touch teh system it's pretty cool to the touch. Even under heavy load it has a 90 MM in front -- 2 small fans side - cpu fan, and then the power supply fan of course.

 

[Binky]

You could always leave the case open and even point a house fan at it. If it still crashes, then your problem is not likely related to heat.

If you do eventually upgrade the video card, consider something like the HIS cards that exhaust their own heat out the back. They come in both Nvidia and ATI flavors.