Open Case

[MonKENy]

I want to remove one of my fans due to noise. And was wondering how bad is it to just keep the side panel off my case. would that be that bad? Its not near any windows so there wouldnt be any worries about UV.

this is the noisy one i want to get rid of its in the back blowing out (120mm i think?)
http://img297.imageshack.us/my...age=compfans001ry3.jpg

and this is the smaller one in the front. I think i have them blowing from front to back
http://img444.imageshack.us/my...age=compfans004ds3.jpg


I have no idea why the back fan is so loud. it seems like it might be a little off balanced and that makes it loud. Its not loose I checked all the mounts. Its not old and really not that dusty. So i dont think its gunked up. I know im gonna get shit for this Question..and probably for the way the inside of my comp looks, Just try and be gentle lol

 

[TestedAcorn]

The smaller fans generally make more noise than the larger ones, but if you take those out everything will get hot.... Believe me there is only one fan in my case and the inside of my case is really really really warm.

 

[covert24]

first of all its time to clean out your case! the smaller fan is probably the one making all the noise or there could be so much dust in there its messing with the internals of the fan. clean that bad boy out!

 

[WoodButcher]

DUST that puppy out!!!! get some canned air if you don't have access to a compressor. If your fans ar controlled by your mobo when the compy is clean it is cooler and the fans won't run as fast. I'm sure your psu has a thermally controlled fan so if you clean the blanket of dust it will help. Turn off the comp, hold the fans from spinning when using the canned air so the bearings are not damaged. Be sure to blow out the psu. Another way to kill the noise is cut out the stamped steel grills in front of the fans. A dremel tool and some sandpaper will do wonders. Buy quiet fans, yate loons are cheap and quiet.

 

[Zap]

Are you sure that fan is the noisy one? Try unhooking it and you'll find out (or touch the hub to stop it - don't touch blades). Judging from the pics, I'd say your likely culprits would be your CPU, video card or chipset fan making all the noise.

 

[MonKENy]

Yeah im positive thats the one. If i DC that one its as quiet as if its not even on. i know it looks dirty but I just cleaned the CPU and CPU fan and both the front and back fans (as well as my GPU fans) i plan on getting some air soon and dusting again. but aside from all that would it hurt to keep the side off the case? I always liked the way that looked anyway. my temps are not a prob as im running a core temp of 22c ATM.

 

[TestedAcorn]

Yeah you do need to get some duster for that, and if I were you, I'd find a way to keep that large 24pin connector off of my video card. As for the case being open it'll probably be fine, considering the fact that i've seen people with parts just laying out on a non-staticy (sp?) surface. My friend didn't have a case for a while and had all the parts just sitting around and it worked fine. As a matter of fact I had my case open for about an hour..... getting heat out of it from overclocking

 

[xavier es]

i have been running the lian li that has my ip35-e without the side for the 3 months i have had it, because i am using a hard drive that is just sitting on the table top, until i get a chance to cut some holes in the mobo tray to run the cables behind the tray. the only drawback i have found is that a few times i have accidentally knocked over a drink and the liquid almost went into the box. luck has been on my side as the liquid missed going in the box. if my luck runs out i will kick myself in the rear. as far as i know getting liquid on parts isn't a big deal if they are not running and they are dried off completely before power is applied, but i have a feeling if water got on a running part i may have fireworks and fry something.

 

[xavier es]

duplicate deleted

 

[xavier es]

triplicate deleted

 

[Rubycon]

Originally posted by: xavier es

sorry for triple post .........trying to figure how to delete the duplicates

The server is open on its side and the posts are falling in three high.

Liquid in a PC will kill it quick no doubt about it. Nothing is worse than a screw falling in, bouncing around and coming to its final resting place on pads dumping current in places it shouldn't be causing traces to become incandescent, etc.

 

[Zepper]

You can't expect to get much more than a couple of years out of a sleeve bearing fan, esp. in your dusty environment. Put a filter on your intake fan to help keep the dust out. Your system will run better and your fans will last longer. Just replace the noisy fan - they're cheap.

Oh, and cut out that restrictive grill on that rear fan. Make your fan's life a lot less stressful - a ton of restriction there.

.bh.

 

[toadeater]

Originally posted by: Zepper
You can't expect to get much more than a couple of years out of a sleeve bearing fan, esp. in your dusty environment.

Did you oil them? I have never had a sleeve fan die. I've had one running for five years. I took it out after I didn't need it anymore, it never died.

Plain industrial oil and WD-40 worked for me. Once you hear them get noisy, it's time to oil them. It's the lack of oil that kills them after prolonged use in that state. You'd actually want to oil them before they run out of oil. Just oil them on a regular basis, every few months or so.

http://www.dansdata.com/fanmaint.htm

 

[MonKENy]

that was a good link, nice read. ill get some 3 in 1 oil and see how that helps and some canned air and dust it out. Also ill DC the fan for now and leave the case open since it seems thats not a huge issue. thanks for the tips and trick ladies and gentlemen!

 

[MonKENy]

ok so I got the air and dusted the case, the fan still seems to run loud so I guess 3 in 1 is next.

On a side note I touched the fan on my GPU and it split my finger open...that sucker must really move. im not talking a scratch either. I mean it cut off a good layer of skin. it bled nicely!

 

[DerwenArtos12]

Originally posted by: MonKENy
ok so I got the air and dusted the case, the fan still seems to run loud so I guess 3 in 1 is next.

On a side note I touched the fan on my GPU and it split my finger open...that sucker must really move. im not talking a scratch either. I mean it cut off a good layer of skin. it bled nicely!

yeah, you gotta be really careful with those, they blades are so thin and they can get up to 6000rpm fairly commonly, at anything above 2000 they really define the reason for being called fan blades.

 

[BlueAcolyte]

No worries about opening the case. I do it when I'm working on the computer (while it's on, I know) or just to look in. Of course, I have the CM 690, which is a mesh monster with 3 fans.

 

[MonKENy]

Originally posted by: toadeater

Originally posted by: Zepper
You can't expect to get much more than a couple of years out of a sleeve bearing fan, esp. in your dusty environment.

Did you oil them? I have never had a sleeve fan die. I've had one running for five years. I took it out after I didn't need it anymore, it never died.

Plain industrial oil and WD-40 worked for me. Once you hear them get noisy, it's time to oil them. It's the lack of oil that kills them after prolonged use in that state. You'd actually want to oil them before they run out of oil. Just oil them on a regular basis, every few months or so.

http://www.dansdata.com/fanmaint.htm

I added some 3 in 1 oil and its running great now. nice and quiet. I added some to the extra fan that came with my GPU as well since that was running rather badly and that works great as well. Thanks for all the help guys!!!!

 

[downhiller80]

I have the side off my case pretty permanently, never experienced any problems with interference etc that I'm aware of.