How to cut fan holes? Will it work?

[HimeNoHogosha]

My case has realllly bad air flow. I bought it because it was really cheap and I didn't think I needed it to be good looking or anything. I didn't notice from the pictures that I did not have a space for a fan in the back nor in the front. So the only fan's in my computer are my HSF and this side fan thing (middle picture on the right) which it came with which I think is doing more harm than good to my computer because it is placed right above my HSF and sucks air from the inside and blows it out. There is a socket for a front fan but the front of the case has no holes for air to be drawn in which i think is really dumb. If I somehow managed to punch a hole in the top of my case or punch a hole in the front panel would that help the cooling any?

 

[OulOat]

Is your computer unstable?

 

[Dan]

Definitely put an intake fan in the lower front of your case if you haven't already. Although there are vents in the front, you could drill a pattern of larger holes in the bezel or cut out a blowhole.

On the other hand, I don't think a blowhole (exhaust) up top will be very effective. In a case that small, there's probably not a lot of clear air up there.

 

[Fallen Kell]

Well, what you really want to do is make a clean pathway for air to circulate through your case. A fan in the front sucking air in is a start. I would also look into placing either a blowhole in the back top of the case (if there is space above your PSU that is a good place, but it doesn't look like there is space there), or possibly on the back of the case itself. I would also reverse the direction of the fan on the side panel (take it out and flip it around) so that it is blowing cool air into and onto your cpu and video card. Basically we want to force the air in a path that makes it travel through the entire case and out through one or two vents in the back or back/top of the case.

 

[HimeNoHogosha]

Just checked my temp's today and weren't so good. Running on full load the CPU got up to 62C. Even the idle temp is like around 50C. I expected more out of the HHC-001 running on top of my XP1900. But I think the actual problem is the air circulation in my case? I popped the side panel off and looked around inside for places where I could cut fan holes. At the top of the case there is space for one, but I put my hand there and didn't feel like there was warm air up there, could it be because the case was open? Or do top blowholes just tend to not do much? Also, Fallen you suggested that I reverse the direction of the side fan. But the side fan thing is drawing air from the back-mid of the case. Is sucking air in from there a good idea? Or should I just cut a hole in the side of my panel and mount the side fan there to draw air from the actual side of the case? And since I don't have any tool's to even cut these hypothetical holes, can anybody recommend a good cheap tool? I don't think there is any space on the back panel of my case to cut a back blow hole, since the design of the case is really bad.

Do you guys think I should just forget about all this cheesy-modding and just buy a new case? I was really looking into this one, but upgradesource.com doesn't really have good resellerratings. I don't want to spend more than say.. $50 on the actual case itself and I don't need a PSU. Can anybody recommend good cases? I like the lanboy but if only it came without a PSU...

 

[amdskip]

Definately running too warm. Check out the cases at www.newegg.com

 

[Dan]

Check out the cases at www.newegg.com

I agree with amdskip. I checked out several different sites and settled on newegg last earlier this month for my new case.

 

[HimeNoHogosha]

What do you guys think of the first case on this page?

This case looks a lot like the Chenming X-Sonic... is it the same one?
It says front USB (Version 1.1) but doesn't that depend on the version it connect's to on your motherboard?

 

[BoleyWV]

Originally posted by: HimeNoHogosha
What do you guys think of the first case on this page?

Before you take the step of buying another budget case, you might as well try adding some holes and fans to your current case. No great loss if it does not work or you screw it up since you thinking of replacing it anyhow. Not to mention 2 cheapo fans cost a lot less than a new case.

 

[sparks]

Even though 62c is a bit on the high side, it is still within AMD specs. The Athlon XP has a rated maximum temperature of 90c. Like OulOat said, "Is your computer unstable?" If your computer is not prone to crashing or other instability, I wouldn't worry about it.

 

[BoleyWV]

If your determined to get a new case, this one looks promising and cheap. A 350w psu, comes with 2 fans (blowhole and side) and looks like it has room for 3 more fans.

Good luck

 

[HimeNoHogosha]

I want to get the Chenming/Chieftec X-sonic case, but the only places I can find it are at case-mod, svc, and upgradesource. And they will only sell it with the PSU, which I don't need. I found this one at newegg, which seems to be the exact same thing except without a window and PSU, but the description doesn't say if the entire case is aluminum or if only parts of it is aluminum. Anybody seen it before or bought one and can tell me?

 

[Jojo1971]

i got it for a friend from newegg (the black one without PSU),paid $33 with free shipping. IT"S NOT ALUMINUM..its ventilation is good - it has a hole in the front and also in the back(below the PSU) for 80 mm fan..
with a p4 2.4 with stock HSF, 1 HDD, 2 optical drives i didnt even have to install a fan in the front.. it's cool enough with just the PSU fan,and another 80 mm fan below it.. it's a steal for $33=free shipping..

 

[HimeNoHogosha]

Are you sure you got the same? There are a couple of similar cases on newegg one is listed as aluminum and one isn't, both look exactly alike.


Back to the topic of this thread: I think I'm gonna try to drill a hole for a 80mm fan at the top of my case. Anybody give me some tips? My friend has a handheld power drill but he says he doesn't have the drill bit to cut a 80mm circle. Is that what I should be looking for? What about the sizes for the other holes for the fan screws/grill?

 

[Jojo1971]

aluminum for $35 ? no way.. maybe aluminum COLOR.....newegg prolly did a typo error..

 

[BmXStuD]

i got this same case. Its tight but i have no money for the fan for back and front just yet. I just it or $33 and free shipping.

 

[HimeNoHogosha]

BmX: Is the case made of steel?

Anybody got any tips or can point me towards any guides on how to drill a fan hole on the top of my case?

Hmm tried a test today. Opened my case up and put a small like 8inch tabletop fan blowing into my case. The idle temp was at 35C. I purchased the 24CFM 60mm YStech fan from svc.com to replace my CoolerMaster HHC-001 stock fan and a two NMB fan's to put at the top blowhole which I'm going to cut and also in the front. If my open case with a big fan blowing gets my cpu to 38C, will my new fan's contribute much to my cpu temp?

 

[HimeNoHogosha]

bump