Need suggestions for cooling my new case

[dabuddha]

I need a little help with some cooling problems in my case.
here are some pics of the case i got
pic1
pic2
the specs on the case are 6 5.25 slots, 2 external 3.5 slots, and 4 internal 3.5 slots
i've got all 4 internal 3.5 slots filled with hdds
2 are 7200 rpm and 2 are 5400 rpm drives
what i wanted to do was add some kind of cooling for the hdds but wasn't sure what to use
noise isn't a problem so what would be the best suggestion on cooling this thing
thanks

 

[Brig]

dabuddha,

Other than it looks like you have a little more height between the power supply and the case top, your case looks almost identical to my Q500. I'll tell you what worked for me.

(1) If that power supply is blowing air INTO the case, reverse the fan so it blows air out. I had to do that, and the difference is huge.
(2) Cut out the metal grill in the bottom front of the case, and put in a 120mm quiet sunon fan with a filter, blowing in.
(3) At the top rear of the case (above the power supply), again cut out the metal grill and put in an 80mm quiet sunon blowing out. You may be better off with two 80mm here, or a 120mm.
(4) Taped closed all vents and remaining openings in the lower half of the case. (taped on inside so doesn't show on outside of case). Left vents and openings in top half of case alone.

Again, this is what worked for me. Here's what those changes did for cooling.....before mods temp was pretty consistent at about 85F. After mods temp stays within 1 degree of room temp, normally around 72F.

 

[rowcroft]

You could also try putting the HDD's in your 5 1/4 bays with HDD Coolers which will cut down on the heat and space the drives a little as well. This would only work though, if you have the open bays and $ for the coolers. I think they run about $15 each. This will also keep you from having to mod your case-
Rowcroft

 

[dabuddha]

Brig:
thanks for the tips
i ordered 2 more sunon high output fans
they say they do 42.5 cfm and was going to put em above my power supply
should i have them blowing in or blowing out?
i have to check the case tonight to see if i can put a bigger fan on the front


rowcroft:
i was thinking of getting drive coolers but the problem is that i want to keep my 5.25 bays free
i plan on getting a dvd rom plus the sblive live drive
also in the near future, another burner and cdrom
are there any good 3.5" bay coolers?
or how bout mounting a 120mm fan below the drive cage?
i dunno, im a newbie when it comes to cooling


Edit: also what about a peltier kit?
i'm using an Abit SL-6 motherboard and was wondering bout gettin a peltier
but i've heard stories about having to be careful of condensation
the current heatsink/fan i have is the (i think, at work so have to check at home)
ultra pal35 + 38 cfm delta black fan
what would be the best heatsink/fan i could use on my motherboard?
thanks for the help

 

[Brig]

Those fans above the power supply should be blowing out. The idea is to set up an airflow, with cool air coming in at the front bottom, hot air exhausted at rear top. Keep your cables neat and out of the way as much as possible to minimize disruption of that airflow.

the current heatsink/fan i have is the (i think, at work so have to check at home) ultra pal35 + 38 cfm delta black fan what would be the best heatsink/fan i could use on my motherboard?

Depends on what your goal is. If you want to try to squeeze the absolute most speed out of the cpu, maybe a peltier is better. My goal is o'clocking within the bounds of rock solid stability. Some people don't mind an oc'ing system 'hang' a couple of times a day. For me, an oc'ing system 'hang' once a year is unacceptable. Different strokes...

On good advice from others on this forum, I'm using an Alpha Pal35T. CPU temp with P3700E@933 with retail hs/f was 47c. With PAL35T and 23.5 cfm fan, cpu temp is 35c. I'm happy with the Alpha.

 

[dabuddha]

yeah the alpha's pretty sweet
i wrapped all my cables yesterday (correct terminology?)
where i slit the ide/scsi cables and twisted em. Then wrapped em with this plastic tubing i got from fryes
so now they're all out of the way
i ordered a ystech 120mm fan and 2 sunon 80mm fans
im gonna stick the two 80 mm fans on the top back of my case to exhaust the air
going to "drill" a hole for the 120mm fan on the side of my case to mount it
if i somehow don't screw up my case, i was going to stick another 120mm fan on the same side, both blowing in on top of the motherboard/cpu and on the other side, stick a 120mm fan to exhaust air
on the top of the case later on, i was gonna stick another fan to exhaust hot air
fun fun fun

 

[Dregoth]

Hi,

I have the same case as you do. I currently have two 120mm Sunson fans, and three 80mm sunson fans. The 120mm's are located one in front, and one Blowhole on the top of the case. Two of the 80mm's are located above the PS, and the third is directly behind the CPU. With this setup my MB temp is right around 25*C, and My CPU Idles at 31*C. Here is a link to My Homepage with some pictures I took at various angles. The pictures don't show the one 80mm behind the CPU, cause I hadn't added it yet when I took the photos. Hope this helps some.

 

[Brig]

dabuddha,

Hehe.....you're gonna have more cfm's going through your case than the engines did on the jet fighters I used to play around with.

I think you may be disappointed with putting that last exhaust fan on the side of the case, unless it's high up on the side. You may actually start pulling hot air down and recirculating it. If you want another exhaust, it's probably better to make a blowhole...mount it in the top of the case. That way, you keep the air moving in one direction, which will also help pull hot air away from your drives. Just a thought.

Have fun.

 

[dabuddha]

Dregoth: howd ya get the fan in the front?
i can't seem to figure out how to take the front off this case

Brig: hehe yeah i was thinking of putting it on the top right side but ill make it into a blowhole instead for the very top

 

[Dregoth]

Dabuddha,

There are four screws on either side of the inside front of the case that holds the front of the case on. They're kind of a pain in the arse to get to.

 

[utopia]

I suggest some 80MM fans, and a 120MM intake for the HD's.



<< Monkey see Monkey do >>



-Rather be dead than cool, i dont know why

 

[pdo]

That's one bitch @ss case you got there Dregoth.

 

[Dregoth]

Thank you, I put quite a bit of work into the case. I've actually cleaned up some of the wire mess a bit since I took those pics, and I moved the neon light to the bottom of the case to make room for the 80mm fan behind the Cpu. I'll have to get around to taking some more recent pictures, I want to wait until I get the rounded cables I ordered from Plycon. They should be here on wednesday.

 

[mechBgon]

Cooling those hard drives is the difficult thing, because they are close together. How about this idea (if you don't mind taking everything out of the case again):

Take everything out of the case, take the bezel off the front, and use a hole saw to cut two 50mm holes in the front of the case so you can attach a couple of 50mm x 10mm fans to feed air between the hard drives. I am thinking of these: Sunon 9cfm 50mm fan

 

[dabuddha]

hmm thats a great idea
what ill do is do the 120mm fans for now and the 120 on top
and drill the 120mm + the 2 50mm fans in the front a little later as soon as i get time

 

[eddie]

Weird, I was about to post about cooling advice for my case. Which is the exact same one you have. No need now.

Nice case Dregoth