should i be concerned about shuttle xpc cooling?

[ZippyDan]

i love my new shuttle.

i was all pumped until someone sent me a link to a review of shuttle at toms hardware, that said there were issues with the poor cooling in the shuttle... and that

http://www6.tomshardware.com/howto/20030722/mini-pcs-15.html

"Especially when using a fast CPU (2.8 GHz and higher) in combination with an efficient AGP graphics card (ATi Radeon 9700 Pro), a hard disk with 7200 U/min and a CD drive, the limits of this mini-system become evident. As the fan of the heat pipe is the only circulation provider, the airflow does not reach the hard disk. The result is heat congestion (sandwich arrangement), so that outages can be expected when permanently in use. "

and

http://www6.tomshardware.com/howto/20030722/mini-pcs-23.html

"Temperatures of more than 50° C still build up within the Shuttle housing (hard disk sandwiched with CD ROM), which may cause damage when permanently in use. There is no defined air circulation."

i currently have a Lite-On 52X CD-RW, Sony Floppy Drive, and Western Digital 120GB SE drive in there, along with a Radeon 9600 Pro and an AMD 2500+ Barton. should i be worried about the hard drive?

only two alternatives i see are:

1. i have a Maxtor 7200rpm 40GB HD that is half as thick as most normal HDs. i figure if i use this instead, the hard drive wont be as overheated

2. install more fans in the shuttle... the only place that looks like i have any room, is on top in the rear. i dont know how much difference that would make (a fan blowing in)

so, should i be worried in the first place, and if so, what should i do about it (other ideas welcome)

~Zippy!

 

[ethebubbeth]

i wouldn't worry unless you are overclocking

 

[0roo0roo]

there are forums where people mod those shuttle pcs like crazy for cooling. they aren't easy to cool.

 

[EeyoreX]

Temperatures of more than 50° C still build up

How much more than this? This seems to imply above 50, but below 60 (I'd check for myself, but for the fact I won't set digital foot at THG). If the temps are around 50C they are well within spec and there won't be anything to worry about. If you are not the type of person that feels the need to brag about how cool your system runs, don't worry.

\Dan

 

[Mloot]

If you're worried about your Shuttle temps, you might try an external 120mm fan mod to the back of your case. Also, you could probably add a couple of 60mm blowholes to the top of your cube. Either one or both together should drop your temps a bit.

 

[dannybin1742]

actually the easiest way to improve coolingis to cut out the grill that sits on the outside of the case (it should be part of the actual case) it really restricts air big time, i'm not sure why they don't use a wire grill?

anyways i owned an xpc a few months back, it improved temp by almost 9degC and i waas using a barton 2500+ which run hot due to extra cache.

so cut that out and look for a 80cm fan that can push 30cfm or more at a quieter decibel- i got a papst fan, if i recal it pushed 34cfm at 29dba which was much quieter than the stock fan at full speed