Reducing Q6600 heat in uATX case

[thetinyclam]

Okay.. I think I need some serious help. I have a kinda funny setup, but some of these parts were free.

Q6600 2.4 G0 stepping - my boss gave it to me as a gift =] (interning as an IT)
Asus TM-210 case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...16811173013&Tpk=TM-210
Hiper 580 watt PSU
MSI g33 uATX mobo
MSI 8600 gts
2 gb patriot ddr2-800
samsung 500 gb hdd
vista business x64

I don't have any actual numbers as of yet (sorry =[), as my case hasn't arrived, but I have:

-Modular cabling so theres less of a clutter, and hopefully less heat
-MSI's 8600 gts has a custom hsf and its supposed to be ~15 degrees C cooler than stock

Here's what I'm planning to do:

-Replace the rear 80mm fan with a 92mm fan (it fits), and have it push air out.
-Add a decent 80mm fan in front where the HDDs are.
-Mod the case to hold a 140 mm fan on the side of the case where the vent holes are, and have it pull cool air in, though probably not very efficient as the holes aren't that wide.
-Low profile HSF? (Strapped on money now that I bought Logitech Z-5500s..and textbooks)

What do you guys think? Is there anything wrong with what I'm proposing? Will it be enough? Or should I just sell my Quad and replace it with an E6600? Take note that I'm not planning to OC. Thanks in advance!

 

[aigomorla]

http://www.jab-tech.com/Therma...Ultima-90-pr-3852.html

That should be the best thing that fits on your case. If the rear can take a 90mm fan, then that will fit. Make sure you pick up another 92mm fan for the sink.

And you should be fine if you get that sink. on a low noise platform.

check out the yate loon series fans at jab-tech. There the best budget/noise/performance fans i have yet to come across from.

When you mount that sink, make sure you allign it so the hot air blows out the rear 92mm fan. You'll understand when you get it.

Another sink to look at is the Freezer7 Pro. Since your not overclocking. I believe that also uses a 92mm fan to cool the tower, and is probably more budget wise.

But the difference between the two would recomend the first choice at top. It will give you a lot more headroom in hotter enviorments.

 

[thetinyclam]

aigomorla, thank you so much for replying! I was beginning to think that there is no hope for me--I even put up my quad-core on craigslist because everyone told me I'm an idiot to get an micro ATX case!

My friend at Frys is picking up the Freezer 7 for me, since they dont have the Ultima-90. I'll post numbers if it works out. Thanks again =]

 

[Quiksilver]

Originally posted by: thetinyclam
I was beginning to think that there is no hope for me--I even put up my quad-core on craigslist because everyone told me I'm an idiot to get an micro ATX case!

In all reality you are not the idiot, the ones recommending you not to use t micro-atx case are the true idiots because they seemingly don't understand cooling by the sounds of it. As long as the case a good airflow design with decent cooling you will be in the clear

 

[aigomorla]

Originally posted by: thetinyclam
aigomorla, thank you so much for replying! I was beginning to think that there is no hope for me--I even put up my quad-core on craigslist because everyone told me I'm an idiot to get an micro ATX case!

My friend at Frys is picking up the Freezer 7 for me, since they dont have the Ultima-90. I'll post numbers if it works out. Thanks again =]

frys doesnt carry the freezer7. If they did i would of bought one a very long time ago. The freezer will run you around 29 dollars. The ultima 90 is around 45 dollars. The 15 dollar price difference is most definitely worth it. I have it on a quadcore media center as we speak. And it does a heck of an awesome job at cooling it down.

I recomend you just getting the ultima 90 at jab-tech.

For now just run the stock heat sink until you get the shipment from jab-tech. Or whatever vendor you chose.

I recomend jab-tech because john the owner is a friend of mine. He's a great guy, and hasnt let any of my referals down yet. Everyone is always happy at there prices, and the QOS is one of the best in my book.

 

[thetinyclam]

You're right, my buddy says Frys doesn't carry it at all. Okay, I guess I'll wait for the case to come, install the components and take measurements before I order the Ultima-90. Hope it fits.

 

[Trevante]

I know they carry something very similar to the Freezer 7, but it's Coolermaster branded. I bought one a while ago in June, don't know if the B&M stores still have it.

http://shop3.outpost.com/product/5296807

 

[aigomorla]

Originally posted by: Trevante
I know they carry something very similar to the Freezer 7, but it's Coolermaster branded. I bought one a while ago in June, don't know if the B&M stores still have it.

http://shop3.outpost.com/product/5296807

no they dont. the BnM frys trys to push silverstone and zalman products. You'll see a big typhoon there, but i doubt that will fit.

The ultima90 will fit. the ultra120 is asking for too much out of that case.

 

[thetinyclam]

So the TM-210 has a width of 6.7", take .2" off for thickness of the steel. 6.5 in = 165mm. Ultima-90's height is 139mm. The risers and the mobo itself will add a bit more...1 inch? 165- 25 = 140(?) mm roughly. All I know is that it's gonna be damn close. What's the width of your HTPC aigomorla?

A friend recommended I bring my case to SVC, since I live fairly close to the warehouse, and maybe check out shorter, but wider coolers like the http://www.svc.com/si-128.html. I think I'll try a couple of HSFs before I place an order on the U 90, kind of like a last resort--I'd hate to deal w/ the RAM process.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

On the uATX case and being mentally challenged, Quicksilver is right.

It's just that uATX cases like this one become challenging to cool properly, so the idea for the 92mm fan is "right on." I've done that with even bigger mid-tower cases fitted for an 80mm rear fan. further, the idea about installing a 140mm fan for intake is also "right on." I'd recommend, if possible, that you find a way to install it in the case bottom and get some rubber feet or something to lift the case off the floor -- the first idea to reduce the noise, the second, to increase the airflow. Even so, a 140mm fan is not going to create that much noise, so all options are viable.

Aigomorla is right (IMHO) about the choice of a cooler.

With a case this small, all of those choices become even more critical. In larger cases, you can assume a "fudge-factor" and sacrifice either performance or size in picking a cooler (although I still wouldn't recommend it.)

If you're not OC'ing the Q6600, this should work if you can keep the airflow moving in a consistent direction and keep the TCase temperature several degrees below the spec at full load. However, the cooler the better.

 

[firewolfsm]

You can run anything in a uATX case as long as it fits. The cases are smaller so they don't need as much airflow to keep the ambients low.

You can mod three drive bays and fit a 120mm fan there (maybe 140mm) and have that feed air right into your tower cooler which would go to your 92mm exhaust. If things are still running hot add a PCI 90mm exhaust fan.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

We used to have trouble with smaller cases only because the air would warm up inside before it gets exhausted with an 80mm fan, so the equilibrium mobo and CPU temperatures could be higher than for a larger case -- only if the larger case has a truly efficient cooling solution, though.

But you'd think that the less volume inside the smaller case would mean less buildup of heat in air waiting to be exhausted.

The reason I like monster-cases:

1) More opportunity for additional high-intake-flow fans.
2) More room to install ducted cooling that focuses on heat-generating components.
3) More hard-disks, etc.

37 years ago, I learned about cars from a VN war-vet who'd been a factory-trained Chevy mechanic before going overseas as -- what he called -- a "grunt." We were driving along one day, discovered this old, rusty '55 Belair without wheels, up on blocks. He rebuilt the whole thing into . . . . . something beautiful. Hurst tranny, maybe the 325 short-block engine or something bigger -- he had it shipped all the way from New Jersey.

But one day, I was visiting while he installed the carburetor and other components, and he was standing -- inside the engine compartment -- between the front grille and the engine.

You couldn't do that with my "caribbean-red" '79 Honda Civic CVCC. But lemme tell you about the Honda . . . .

 

[aigomorla]

Originally posted by: BonzaiDuck
We used to have trouble with smaller cases only because the air would warm up inside before it gets exhausted with an 80mm fan, so the equilibrium mobo and CPU temperatures could be higher than for a larger case -- only if the larger case has a truly efficient cooling solution, though.

But you'd think that the less volume inside the smaller case would mean less buildup of heat in air waiting to be exhausted.

The reason I like monster-cases:

1) More opportunity for additional high-intake-flow fans.
2) More room to install ducted cooling that focuses on heat-generating components.
3) More hard-disks, etc.

37 years ago, I learned about cars from a VN war-vet who'd been a factory-trained Chevy mechanic before going overseas as -- what he called -- a "grunt." We were driving along one day, discovered this old, rusty '55 Belair without wheels, up on blocks. He rebuilt the whole thing into . . . . . something beautiful. Hurst tranny, maybe the 325 short-block engine or something bigger -- he had it shipped all the way from New Jersey.

But one day, I was visiting while he installed the carburetor and other components, and he was standing -- inside the engine compartment -- between the front grille and the engine.

You couldn't do that with my "caribbean-red" '79 Honda Civic CVCC. But lemme tell you about the Honda . . . .

your one hell of an interesting guy. Definitely a person that would make great conversation at a coffee shop.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

That Honda was a limited edition. We put Accord brake disk and pad assemblies on it, with special aluminum alloy Accord wheels. I think the 5-speed tranny was stock in that model, but we replaced it with an Accord 5-speed. I miss that car, and the paint-job really turned a lot of heads.

So it was a great ride to take to the coffee shop!

 

[Zap]

If you want a small case but were concerned about airflow, consider this Silverstone case. It is really compact and uses 120mm fans front and rear.