Please help me improve cooling in my case.

[Fardringle]

I know that similar questions have been asked in the past, but there are so many different opinions depending on the particular situation (and personal preference) that I would appreciate some specific answers based on what I need.

I have a POS case (don't even know the name) but it does have two front 80MM intake fan mounts two rear 80MM exhaust fan mounts, and it also had an 80MM side fan mount that I modified (Dremel rocks ) to fit a 120MM fan.

I currently have two cheap 80MM fans blowing in from the front, a 120MM exhaust fan mounted in my TTGI PSU and one 80MM fan blowing out beneath it (I don't have another one at this time to fill the fourth spot), and a somewhat loud, but effective, Everest (maybe Evercool) 120MM fan blowing in directly over the CPU/HSF.

I'm running an Athlon XP (Barton) 2600+ at 3200+ speeds with a Thermalright SLK-800 all copper HSF. I have the fan from this Masscool HSF sitting on the heat sink currently. The fan is rated at 37.87 CFM at 2700 RPM, but mine runs at 2450-2525 RPM for some reason so I'd guess I'm getting around 30 CFM out of it.

With the strong airflow that the front, side, and rear case fans provide, the ambient temperature in my case stays between 25 and 32 degrees Celsius, depending on whether my wife lets me run the AC (She likes it around 30 Celsius/85 Fahrenheit in the house). However, even with the high flow 120MM fan blowing directly over the heat sink, I'm just not able to dissipate the heat from the SLK-800 and my CPU is consistently at about 30 degrees Celsius above the case ambient (so around 55-63 C). The heat sink is most definitely moving the heat away from the CPU (the copper fans are always very hot to the touch), but my fans aren't pulling that heat off of the heat sink itself. This isn't 'danger' territory for the CPU temperature, but I'd really like to get it cooler so I can try to push the overclock up to 2.3 or 2.4 GHz or more (the CPU seems to be able to support those speeds with no problem, it just gets too hot to do it for very long).

So, with that in mind, I'd like to know what I can do to improve cooling in my case. I know that Panaflo L1A's in the front and back 80MM fan mounts and a quiet 120 MM fan in the side would certainly cut down on the case noise (it's pretty loud now), and I might end up doing that if/when I have some spare cash lying around, but I honestly don't think it would do much to improve the actual airflow as the fans I have now blow a lot of air.

My primary question is, which 80MM fan would be the best (not necessarily the quietest) option to put on my Thermalright SLK-800 heat sink to bring down the temperature of my CPU? I'd like to have a blue LED fan since my case has some blue LEDs built into it that match nicely with the Masscool fan I have now, but it's not a requirement by any means. Money is definitely a concern, so I don't want to spend a lot, particularly if I can get something reasonable enough to let me replace the other fans at the same without spending a bundle (I'd say $25 is probably the limit to replace everything if I go that route).


Thanks in advance,
Fardringle


edit: fixed some typos

 

[Fullmetal Chocobo]

Just my thoughts, but if you want to further overclock your processor, AND get temps below where they are, I would highly suggest water cooling. Otherwise, find the highest CFM rated fan at frozencpu, and see what happens. Good luck.
Tas.

 

[Fardringle]

Water cooling would definitely get the job done, but that's way out of my budget (unless you know of a good water cooling system for less than $30. )

What 80MM fans actually have the best CFM ratings without sounding like vacuum cleaners? My fans aren't quiet now, but I don't want to make it even worse if I can avoid it. I don't trust the manufacturers' ratings since they all measure them in different ways...

 

[Fullmetal Chocobo]

Well, it seems you are kind of stuck. Sure, you might find something that might be a little bit better, but for the most part, there isn't too much you can do. A faster fan will decrease your temps some, but at the expense of more noise. Have you thought about any 120mm to 80mm mods. Also, the ThermalTake ducting mod from frozencpu might help just a little bit as well...
Tas.

 

[Fardringle]

I actually 'built' a duct that focused all of the air from the side 120MM fan directly onto the heat sink using some light cardboard. It did seem to help a little, but not nearly as much as I expected it to (I may have done it wrong), and the air turbulence it caused was significantly louder than all of the other fans in the case combined so I took it out...

 

[Zap]

One thing to try is to see if your setup will still clock to a 3200+ with lower voltages. If so, you will have magically reduced temperatures. Otherwise, get an SI-90 and a medium speed Panaflo 92mm fan to match. Oh, and your budget needs to be increased.

 

[Ketchup]

Originally posted by: Fardringle
I know that similar questions have been asked in the past, but there are so many different opinions depending on the particular situation (and personal preference) that I would appreciate some specific answers based on what I need.

I have a POS case (don't even know the name) but it does have two front 80MM intake fan mounts two rear 80MM exhaust fan mounts, and it also had an 80MM side fan mount that I modified (Dremel rocks ) to fit a 120MM fan.

I currently have two cheap 80MM fans blowing in from the front, a 120MM exhaust fan mounted in my TTGI PSU and one 80MM fan blowing out beneath it (I don't have another one at this time to fill the fourth spot), and a somewhat loud, but effective, Everest (maybe Evercool) 120MM fan blowing in directly over the CPU/HSF.

I'm running an Athlon XP (Barton) 2600+ at 3200+ speeds with a Thermalright SLK-800 all copper HSF. I have the fan from this Masscool HSF sitting on the heat sink currently. The fan is rated at 37.87 CFM at 2700 RPM, but mine runs at 2450-2525 RPM for some reason so I'd guess I'm getting around 30 CFM out of it.

With the strong airflow that the front, side, and rear case fans provide, the ambient temperature in my case stays between 25 and 32 degrees Celsius, depending on whether my wife lets me run the AC (She likes it around 30 Celsius/85 Fahrenheit in the house). However, even with the high flow 120MM fan blowing directly over the heat sink, I'm just not able to dissipate the heat from the SLK-800 and my CPU is consistently at about 30 degrees Celsius above the case ambient (so around 55-63 C). The heat sink is most definitely moving the heat away from the CPU (the copper fans are always very hot to the touch), but my fans aren't pulling that heat off of the heat sink itself. This isn't 'danger' territory for the CPU temperature, but I'd really like to get it cooler so I can try to push the overclock up to 2.3 or 2.4 GHz or more (the CPU seems to be able to support those speeds with no problem, it just gets too hot to do it for very long).

So, with that in mind, I'd like to know what I can do to improve cooling in my case. I know that Panaflo L1A's in the front and back 80MM fan mounts and a quiet 120 MM fan in the side would certainly cut down on the case noise (it's pretty loud now), and I might end up doing that if/when I have some spare cash lying around, but I honestly don't think it would do much to improve the actual airflow as the fans I have now blow a lot of air.

My primary question is, which 80MM fan would be the best (not necessarily the quietest) option to put on my Thermalright SLK-800 heat sink to bring down the temperature of my CPU? I'd like to have a blue LED fan since my case has some blue LEDs built into it that match nicely with the Masscool fan I have now, but it's not a requirement by any means. Money is definitely a concern, so I don't want to spend a lot, particularly if I can get something reasonable enough to let me replace the other fans at the same without spending a bundle (I'd say $25 is probably the limit to replace everything if I go that route).


Thanks in advance,
Fardringle


edit: fixed some typos

It sounds like you have too much air flowing into the case and not enough flowing out. Try this, remove the two fans from the front of the case. Add one of them to the fan in the rear. Leave the 120 in place. Then run the PC and let us know what your temps are like

 

[Bushman5]

[/quote]



It sounds like you have too much air flowing into the case and not enough flowing out. Try this, remove the two fans from the front of the case. Add one of them to the fan in the rear. Leave the 120 in place. Then run the PC and let us know what your temps are like[/quote]

Very True, O=Some People like Positive Air Pressure some like negative

Basically i your pushing too much air into the case before it can be pulled it, the air just circles inside getting hotter and hotter. in your case id remove 1 of those front fans and also lower the voltage to the 120 mm fan. if you dunno how to lower voltages just snap off 2 of the fins on tghe fan, make sure they are fisn that are both opposite ( note the fan will get louder due to vibration ) to know it worked the air comming out the rear exhaust fans should be hotter than before.

 

[Fardringle]

Zap:
I am running at 1.52Vcore right now (I believe stock is 1.55V). It will boot and run Windows at 1.5V at 3200+, but it is not stable in games at that voltage). I'd increase my budget if I had a budget at all to start with (I don't) and get a bunch of Panaflow case fans to make everything much quieter and probably go with an SI-90 heat sink. I was hoping for something inexpensive I could do to make it just a little better, but if a 'real' fix is going to cost a lot of money, then I'll just leave it as it is now, or cry a little and clock it down to a lower speed during the hot summer months..


Ketchup and Bushman5:
While it is true that I have more air going in than I have going out, it really isn't by very much (1 120MM and 2 80MM in, 1 120MM and 1 80MM out). If I were to take both of the front intake fans out, and put one of them as exhaust in the rear (one exhaust is already taken) then I'd have significantly more exhaust than intake and my understanding is that it would probably not work well that way. (Of course, I could be wrong, and it wouldn't be the first time.) I honestly don't think there is a problem with airflow in my case except that I may just have too much over all, since the ambient temperature inside the case with the sides closed is never more than 2 - 5 degrees above the ambient in my house, it's just that the CPU is always about 30 degrees above ambient in the case...

Lowering the case ambient temperature would certainly help, but there's only so much I can do about that since my wife doesn't like having the house cool/cold.

I'll try taking both of the front fans out and just have the 120MM side fan as the only intake with three fans in back (120MM PSU and 2 80MM exhaust) as you suggested to see what happens. I'll also try taking one of the intake fans (leaving one) and put it as an exhaust on the back to see what that does as well. As a third test I'll drop in a second 80MM fan in the back to have two in the front and two in the back as soon as I can figure out what I did with my "spare fan box".

I think what I really need (apart from a new HSF that I can't afford) is one high CFM 80MM fan on the heat sink itself that doesn't sound like a vacuum cleaner, but the only high CFM fans (better than the 30-37CFM fan I have now) I can find are well over 40dB, and even though the other fans already in the system aren't particularly quiet themselves, 45dB+ is just too loud...


The SLK-800c heat sink I have is rated (by Thermaltake) up to 3500+ CPUs, but is it possible that it just isn't up to the task of cooling my CPU at 3200+ speeds without a dedicated wind tunnel/tornado blowing on it?

(On this subject, is it best to have a duct like the one I built or the one for sale at FrozenPC blow straight onto the heat sink, or 'attach' to the big fan and to the fan mounted on the heat sink itself so that it blows through the fan and then onto the heat sink?)



p.s. Just FYI, even at stock 2600+ speeds, the CPU stays at or over 50 degrees Celsius under full load at 1.45Vcore.

p.s.s. Because of the temperature my wife likes to have in the house itself, when I take the sides off of the case (leaving the fans on), the ambient temperature reported by MSI's Control Center never drops below 25 (with the AC on) or 30 (AC off).

 

[CrispyFried]

Putting a second 80 in the rear may be your best bet, it should help exaust the cpu heat before it can recirculate around the case or CPU. That should give 3 exausts right near the cpu, the 2 rear 80s and the 120 on the PS. I would still use 2 80s in the front so it doesnt pull air from odd places on the case like seams and the back panel i/o shield/ports. It sucks to find cat hair and dust stuck in and around unused ports.

 

[Ketchup]

Originally posted by: CrispyFried
I would still use 2 80s in the front so it doesnt pull air from odd places on the case like seams and the back panel i/o shield/ports. It sucks to find cat hair and dust stuck in and around unused ports.

If you have fan openings in the front of your case, this will not happen. Remember, air moves in the easiest path possible, so if there is an open area for a fan in the front of your case, air is not going to squeeze through tiny crevices in the front of your case. In my testing with various cases, front intake fans have only RAISED my CPU temps. I would use them only if you feel the need to cool your hard drive.

 

[CrispyFried]

Originally posted by: ketchup79

Originally posted by: CrispyFried
I would still use 2 80s in the front so it doesnt pull air from odd places on the case like seams and the back panel i/o shield/ports. It sucks to find cat hair and dust stuck in and around unused ports.

If you have fan openings in the front of your case, this will not happen. Remember, air moves in the easiest path possible, so if there is an open area for a fan in the front of your case, air is not going to squeeze through tiny crevices in the front of your case. In my testing with various cases, front intake fans have only RAISED my CPU temps. I would use them only if you feel the need to cool your hard drive.

That depends. The easiest path may be the shortest path.. like the rear i/o shield. remember the front grill may be blocked by cables, hds, etc. And it also depends on how air tight the case is.

My Antec 1080 amg will suck dust in all over the case and crevices with the rear 80s on exaust and the front fans out (Ive tested many configs too). So in my case the best temps are 2 80s as intake in front, 2 80s as exaust in rear (plus ps exaust) and side 80 in.

I have 4 thermal probes to check this (plus mbm temps), and my results were best with the above setup.

Experimentation is the way to go.

 

[Fardringle]

Well, I pulled the case open this morning and discovered that one of my front 80MM fans was nearly dead (it still turns freely but so slowly that it barely makes a breeze).

Anyway, I took out the dead fan and moved the still working fan from the front of the case to the back so that I had the one 120MM high volume fan pulling air in from the side and blowing directly on the CPU/Northbridge, and two medium/low volume 80MM fans and the 120MM PSU fan (no idea of the airflow on this one) for exhaust. This does appear to have made a difference in the CPU temperature, but only by a few degrees (peaked at 60C instead of 63-64C), and it's hard to tell for certain since my wife actually let me turn the AC on today.

I'll leave it that way for a few days to see what happens, and probably get at least one good 80MM fan to put in the front for intake since those intakes blow directly over and around my hard drives, and I'd like to keep them cool.


Also, as an experiment I tried turning the fans around so that the "blue light" fan was sucking air off of the heat sink and the big 120MM fan was sucking air directly away from the heat sink and out of the case. I left the two 80MM in the front as intake (with one nearly dead) and the PSU as exhaust (I turned the one rear 80MM off since the screws appear to be stripped and I couldn't pull it out to turn it around like I wanted to. With the fans set up like this, my ambient (northbridge) temperatures spiked all the way up to 38-40 Celsius since the big 120MM wasn't blowing directly on it any more, while the CPU never went above 60C. It was also a bit quieter with the big fan blowing out rather than in, but not by much. This situation obviously isn't ideal since I don't want the motherboard chipset getting that hot, but it was interesting to see the results.