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Help me cool my chenming/cheiftec clone better!

Try these -

Sanyo Denki 109R1212H1011, 120mm x 38mm, Ball Bearing Fans.
Speed ............................................. 2600 RPM
Air Flow (Max)................................ 103 CFM
Noise .............................................. 39.0 dBa

They work pretty well for my server cases. A little on the loud side, but if you're looking for air flow, they are hard to beat.

c3p0
:beer:
 
Well since the computer is in my bedroom, I'd like to keep it decently quiet...

Could I fit 1120mm fans in there?

Should I add a fan on the window? If so, where, how big, and make it intake or exhaust?
 
Well after looking at your case, I don't think it will except 120mm fans without some cutting. Looks like either 2 80mm or 2 92mm might work. Adding a fan in the side window might help a little. Not sure if it's worth the effort. Just remember, the more fans you add the louder you PC will be. You might also consider a fan controller so you can control just how loud your fans get. When you are gaming, turn them up. When you are surfing the net turn them down. That's what I do.

c3p0
:beer:
 
I dont mind doing a little cutting 😀

Have dremel, will cut 🙂

Hm.. Maybe I'll pick up a cheap 120mm fan to see what I CAN fit in there... I know the rear accepts two 80mm fan, and the front accepts on 80mm fan..
 
What I like doing with these cases is removing the stock grills and then modding the case to accept 92m/m fans.

If you like I can post some pictures of how I go about doing these mods with a minimum of tools...Side cutter pliers, drill and a few drill bits, flat bastard file and a hack saw blade.

I also like cutting a 92m/m blow hole and putting a 120m/m fan blowing on the back of the motherboard.
 
Moving your wiring around a bit should help a lot. I've built a few computers using this case and I've found that they have pretty good airflow with clean wiring.

I'd probably do like c3po suggested and get a fan controller. Before I went H2O I had two 80mm Smart Case II fans in the front and two regular 80mm in the back. When I needed better airflow for gaming/Prime 95 than I'd just crank the fans up (79cfm each). The higher cfm does help but after monitoring temps with fans at max and min, I saw a decrease of only 1-2C.

My brother and I also made some baffles out of plexi-glass that we used to route air from the front 80's right up to the cpu/ram. We cut a hole in the bottom of the case and mounted a 120mm fan to blow air onto the graphics card/chipset. The baffle extended from the floor of the case to the back edge of the video card and than from the side of the video card (or the top I guess depending on how you look at it) to the windowed side of the case. That setup seemed to work pretty well too. It helped to separate the heat created by the video card from the cpu.

Truth be told, unless you like to mess around with modding and cooling experimentation, I'd say just clean up the wiring and get 4 good quality 80mm fans (2 front and 2 back) with noise that you can live with. Most of the mods we did were only worth 3-4 degrees at most.
 
Originally posted by: charlietee
What I like doing with these cases is removing the stock grills and then modding the case to accept 92m/m fans.

If you like I can post some pictures of how I go about doing these mods with a minimum of tools...Side cutter pliers, drill and a few drill bits, flat bastard file and a hack saw blade.

I also like cutting a 92m/m blow hole and putting a 120m/m fan blowing on the back of the motherboard.
Click to expand...

pics would be cool 🙂
 
The easy and free mods would be to cut out all fan grills and clean up cabling. The next easy thing would be to get some faster fans of the same size (80x25mm) and a fan controller. SVC was selling the Coolermaster Aquagate fan controller for $5. That, plus a bunch of medium RPM fans would work well. Perhaps the Panaflo 12M would be a reasonable choice.
 
I had this case and I know what you mean. The easiest and best way to cool down is buy a new case with 120 mm fans.Now your Chieftech/Chemming goes to grandma or your kid sister. This case is good looking and easy to sell.

Now if you are a hobbyist then any mod can be done. Have fun!
 
Okay...Pic1 has the trusty side cutters removing the grills in record speed.

Pic1

Pic2 shows to flip the pliers so the case does not bend as much on the eight corner cuts.

Pic2

Pic3 shows what it should look like after cutting out the grills.

Pic3

Pic4...The two red marks are where the right side of the fans should come to.

Pic4

Pic5...You have to drill out the pop rivet on the back of the case so you can bend the tab on the inside of the case down.

Pic5

Pic6 shows the tab inside the case that has to be bent down.

Pic6

Pic7 shows the tab bent down...You can leave it there but I prefer to bend it back up and down until it breaks off.

Pic7

Pic8 shows where to mount the top fan...The right side up against but not on the tab and the top left corner right at the top rail.

Pic8

Pic9 shows the top fan marked off with a sharpie...Bottom fan will go at the bottom and against the right side tab but not on it...The tab should be out of the pic or just bent down like in Pic7

Pic9

Pic10 is what it should look like after mounting the fans.

Pic10

Gotta run but will post pics for mounting 92m/m fans in the front tomorrow.









 
Honestly the fan grills on these cases are great. Cutting them out won't improve airflow. I'd save yourself the time and either get some good 80mm fans or, if you want to mod the case, than put a 120mm in the front and back. Preferably a 38mm thick one like the Sanyo Denki fans mentioned.
 
Originally posted by: Elfear
Honestly the fan grills on these cases are great. Cutting them out won't improve airflow.
Click to expand...
What you talkin' 'bout, Willis?

Cutting fan grills will ALWAYS improve airflow and decrease noise. Only ones that won't matter much are wire finger guards - anything else that is punched out of the case material can always be improved.
 
charlietee - if you could post up the front fan mod pics , that would rock!

to whoever said to get a new case -- sorry, but that's not an option... besides, these cases rock! I have two, actually.
 
Originally posted by: Zap
Originally posted by: Elfear
Honestly the fan grills on these cases are great. Cutting them out won't improve airflow.
Click to expand...
What you talkin' 'bout, Willis?
Click to expand...

LOL. That had me rolling.

Originally posted by: Zap
Cutting fan grills will ALWAYS improve airflow and decrease noise. Only ones that won't matter much are wire finger guards - anything else that is punched out of the case material can always be improved.
Click to expand...

I guess I should have said that the difference you'll see is so small that you wouldn't notice it. I've seen some cases that would definetely benefit from cutting out the fan grills (X-Dreamer II case I used to have for example) but the Chieftec clones seem to have very good fan grills (at least my Ultra Dragon does).
 
I will be able to post the front fan pics later this evening...I am in the pool business and Rita left us quite a mess that I am still trying to catch up from.

This evening I will post the front pics.

Laters...Off to work !!!!!!
 
Nahh...I do not use gromets...I just like using stainless steel fasteners, washers and stainless steel nylon lock washers.

I have in the past tried just about anything I thought would work...All different kinds of fan and power supply "quietner" stuff...Not worth it in my humble opinion.

Long day...Just got home from work...Let me get these pics sized and I will post the pics for installing 92m/m fans up front.

Here is a link to a thread I started from my last build using the Antec SLK3000B

SLK3000B Thread

Has some pics that show the "behind" the motherboard fan mod that I have had excellent results overclocking on air with.
 
i had a case like that. grill removal is about all you can do. best you can do is 120mm front, but 120mm rear is impossible. noise... if its the aluminum case then its walls are too thin to block any noise. windows don't help either. its very open in the front bezel area so noise is everywhere. its meant to be a cheap easy to cool large case with easy access and such. not much for quiet. you can upgrade to a seasonic psu and use fan controllers to lower fan speed. but still its gonna be louder then a case made to be quiet from the start like the sonata and p180 with the rubber hd/fan mounts and such. for every silencing attempt you make...the more distinctly you will hear the whine of your harddrives in that case.
 
Cutting the grill will help. I always thought htis case was great. It gave me good airflow and now that i have watercooling i usually don't even have the case fans on.

you can mod a 120mm hole in the front but the back is too small for a 120mm hole. A blow hole would help as i used to notice a lot of heat build up aroudn the top.
 
Okay here we go...92m/m front fan mod pics.

You have to bend the bottom lip of one of the drive cages so the top fan will clear the bottom of the cage.

Pic 1

This next pic shows the fans mounted...In this pic if you will notice the pin at the top...You must leave enough room up top for the cage to clear the pin and have the fan raised enough on the bottom to let the cage slide in without hitting the bottom of the fan.

Pic 2

This next pic shows where the top of the bottom fan has to go...Overlapping it up on the tab will send you back to the drawing board...You also have to file the bottom edge of the fan off at a 45 degree angle so the fan will lay down flat on the mounting surface.

Pic 3

Pic 4 gives you the basic layout of what has to be cut out...I just use a rat tail file to cut the fan mounting fasteners holes...Hack saw blade for the rest of the stuff and finish it off with a flat bastard file.

Pic 4

Here is a pic of what it all looks like form the front when you are finished.

Pic 5

Really fairly easy mods that can be done with a minimum of tools...Hack saw blade, rat tailed file, flat bastard file, side cutter pliers, drill and a couple of drill bits...I did all this business to try and help people mod their cases that do not have or have access to a bunch of tools.

Fitting the bottom fan is really easy as you just have to make sure you do not mount the fan on the case tab and file the bottom edge off so the fan will lay flat.

The top fan is more difficult...You have to bend the bottom edge of the cage flat...Kinda tricky to get it where the cage slides in around the fan...Also you must make sure the wires for the fan are taped up high on the case so the cage does not get pinched between the cage and the case.

I have found that cutting the grills reduce wind turbulence noise from the fans thus quieting the case...Air flow would have to be increased even if it is a minimal amount...Just cutting them out and filing the edges can be done in under 30 minutes without breaking a sweat.

Mounting 4 92m/m fans in these style case greatly enhances the thermal performance...Add a 92m/m blow hole fan and the backside motherboard fan and you will have a case that can be make quiet by 5 or 7 volting the fans...With thermal performance that is right there with the best cases on the market.

I will also post pics of how I go about all that business.

Come on guys...We are not Devo...If your gonna build em...Might as well turn them into swiss cheese...I have had a lot of things in my life...But never too much fun...Too much money...To much horesepower...Or too many fans in a case.

So let er rip tater chip...Nothing like having a hoover craft computer case.

 
Almost forgot...I have to give props to Stanley Slatten from OverClockers.com

He is where I first learned about the motherboard fan mod.

 
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