So I've got an Antec case, one of the SX830 series, I forget exactly which. 2 fan holders in front, plus one in the hard drive bay, 2 in the back. I've kept one rear fan most of the time and that's enough to keep it reasonably cool, but I wanted to see if I could get it a little lower since it's moving into summer (yes, June, and we're just sort of getting summer weather).
I was using a Panaflow L1A in the rear lower cage, running on a motherboard header. At that setup my XP2100+ read 40C pretty much constantly according to AIDA32 (I haven't been able to be sure MBM is reliable on the A7N8X anymore).
I stuck an older Sunon in the lower front cage, and used the fan-only connector from the Antec PSU so it won't run at full noisy speed. I also moved the Panaflo up to the upper cage in the back. They're both under the PSU and behind the CPU, I figured putting it there might help pull hotter air out. The PSU also has an internal 92mm fan, so they're very close and I think the results may be due to interference between the two. With the Sunon and the repositioned Panaflo, temperatures were reading 44C. So I switched the Panaflow back to the lower cage, and readings are back to 40C. No difference at all from having the Sunon going.
I can feel a definite breeze on the front of the case from the Sunon, which is running relatively slowly due to the system temp being low and the PSU reducing power. But it's not making any difference in the CPU temp overall. System temps I think are very slightly lower but not enough that I'd say for sure. At best it may be helping keep my video card cool, since I've got the fan on it using the PSU controller connector because it's too frigging loud at full speed. I am not overclocking it or anything, so cooling it isn't all that hard.
It just is interesting to note that using a fan in the upper cage actually increased temperatures, rather than decreasing. It also is validation of my emphasis that a front fan really is of no use. A really high speed fan might be, but real airflow does require a loud fast fan to pull air through the limited openings in the front.
I was using a Panaflow L1A in the rear lower cage, running on a motherboard header. At that setup my XP2100+ read 40C pretty much constantly according to AIDA32 (I haven't been able to be sure MBM is reliable on the A7N8X anymore).
I stuck an older Sunon in the lower front cage, and used the fan-only connector from the Antec PSU so it won't run at full noisy speed. I also moved the Panaflo up to the upper cage in the back. They're both under the PSU and behind the CPU, I figured putting it there might help pull hotter air out. The PSU also has an internal 92mm fan, so they're very close and I think the results may be due to interference between the two. With the Sunon and the repositioned Panaflo, temperatures were reading 44C. So I switched the Panaflow back to the lower cage, and readings are back to 40C. No difference at all from having the Sunon going.
I can feel a definite breeze on the front of the case from the Sunon, which is running relatively slowly due to the system temp being low and the PSU reducing power. But it's not making any difference in the CPU temp overall. System temps I think are very slightly lower but not enough that I'd say for sure. At best it may be helping keep my video card cool, since I've got the fan on it using the PSU controller connector because it's too frigging loud at full speed. I am not overclocking it or anything, so cooling it isn't all that hard.
It just is interesting to note that using a fan in the upper cage actually increased temperatures, rather than decreasing. It also is validation of my emphasis that a front fan really is of no use. A really high speed fan might be, but real airflow does require a loud fast fan to pull air through the limited openings in the front.
But given that even with the Sunon turning slowly it does raise the noise level, and it doesn't improve cooling at all, I may change it out. Don't feel like ordering a single fan to get a quiet one. But if I've got an a/c or room fans going it may not make any difference.
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