Okay to put fan above but not on hsf?!

[msi1337]

I have an MSI Metis Small Form Factor PC. Needless to say the interior is cramped, and I thought of something that might work better than my current setup

(Thermalright SK-6+ and 25cfm 60mm fan)... if you look at this picture... Picture shows fan orientation

I was thinking of leaving the heatsink on...taking off the fan and mounting a 92mm fan onto the case where the grill is (the top square grill above the cpu fan)...this would allow a lot more airflow onto the heatsink.

would that work? The fan would not be sitting on the heatsink, it would probably by about 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch above the heatsink. My main goal is to reduce noise, cool more efficently, and introduce more airflow into the pc.

Thanks for any help that can be given

 

[Corporate Thug]

i dont recommend taking off the fan on the HSF

 

[pspada]

Yea, that fan is required to disapate the heat that is transfered to the heatsink from the die. Without it, the heatsink becomes saturated and can no longer transfer heat away from the die. Then the temp rises radically, and if you are lucky, your motherboard shuts down before it toasts the processor.

Perhaps something just as effective, but with a lower profile than the standard hsf's would do?

 

[boyRacer]

It would work on the P3s Tualatins... those slimline PCs were passive but had a small fan near the heatsink. I don't think this would work on an Athlon or a P4 though.

 

[jarsoffart]

If the grills is right over the CPU socket, I would say it would be okay. It would practically be on top of the heatsink, just attached to the case rather than the heatsink. It would also pull in only cool air from outside, whereas if the fan was directly on the heatsink, it would pull in some internal hot air. The 92mm would push more air which could compensate for the longer path, but you could use a duct and solve that. I'm guessing you could use some aluminum sheets to duct the fan onto the heatsink and the sheets could possibly act as sort of an extension of the heatsink and also help conduct heat to the case, which in theory I think would help, but I'm not sure how much. I think the previous posters weren't aware that that grill could possibly be over the heatsink, or maybe they did more research than me and found out it wasn't.

 

[msi1337]

no, you are absolutely right...the grill is directly over the cpu socket... I am not sure if the others knew that

 

[huesmann]

I'd say that it would be even better (in this case) than having the fan mounted directly on the HS. You wouldn't have the dead spot in the middle of the fan since the short distance from the fan to the HS would allow the airflow to even out. I would suggest that you cut out the grille and replace it with something with a little less hydraulic resistance.

 

[ChefJoe]

You could attach one of those plastic size adapters to make up for the small gap... cut off what you don't need from it.

 

[mindwreck]

Originally posted by: ChefJoe
You could attach one of those plastic size adapters to make up for the small gap... cut off what you don't need from it.

mount the fan on the case and do what the Chef said. that will allow more of the air to flow onto the HS

 

[0roo0roo]

try and measure temp idfference😛

 

[chocoruacal]

Originally posted by: 0roo0roo
try and measure temp idfference😛

Thats a concept that seems wayyy too difficult for most people to grasp 😀 However, I've tried it for you. I had a NMB (18cfm/18dba) hovering around 3 inches above my stock p3 800 for, oh, 6 months or so with absolutely no problems. The friggin CPU doesn't know/care how far away the fan is, as long as there's enough airflow to keep it cool 😛

 

[EeyoreX]

I agree with the above post, try it and see. I will also point out that Zalman's work fairly well, and their fans aren't attached to the heatsink. I realize this is a slightly different situation, but give it a try. Set up your motherboard to shut down when the temp gets too high and you'll be fine.

\Dan