What would have the biggest impact on improving my cooling?

[nsiderTalon]

I'm thinking I want to do something to improve the cooling in my case. My CPU (on a little overclock) is running at 35-40C idle and 59-64C load, and this is the coolest my room is ever going to get. Here's what I have:

Antec P160
1 stock fan in the back of the case
e4600 @ 3.0 with a OCZ Vanquisher
Sapphire HD4830 w/ stock fan

I'm pretty happy with the case, probably not going to change that unless someone has a good reason to.

My first thought is to get two good fans to go in the front and back of the case, does anyone have recommendations? Sound is a concern to me on idle, but it can get a little louder under gaming conditions since I'll be wearing headphones. I don't want to spend too much on them either.

Is my CPU HS/F good enough to overclock on? I'm considering selling it and get a Xigmatek Achilles S1284 for a $10 upgrade price. Would that be a worthwhile improvement? I'd like to get my e4600 to 3.2 (12 * 266) so I can run my RAM at a full 1066, but it gets too hot in my current situation.

Thanks for any help!

 

[Rick James]

IMO i think it is time for a new case. I took a look at the pics of yours and if you're a serious overclocker i would push you towards a Antec nine hundred. Its cheap and one of the best cases for cooling on the market.

If you're curious how well your stock case perform's. Walmart sells these cheap 10 dollar temp gauges with a outdoor sensor. Put the sensor inside your case and see how much above ambient it is.

Just incase your wondering. The Nine hundred registered 1.4 degrees over ambient before i upgraded it to 100cfm fans. After the news fans it was .4 above ambient.

 

[zagood]

I'll ask the same thing I ask everyone...is there a measureable difference with the side door off vs. on? If so, you need better case airflow - starting with adding a front 120mm fan, organizing your cables so they don't block airflow, and possibly replacing the exhaust fan (which isn't a horrible fan, but there are better out there).

Where is the CPU fan plugged in? Is it plugged into the CPU fan header on the motherboard? If so, do you have any automatic fan speed settings on in the BIOS? Try shutting those off and running the fan at 100% if you are.

Check your northbridge voltages. If set on auto and you're overclocking, it's possible that your board is automatically raising those to match your overclock, raising the ambient temp. See here for an example.

-z

 

[nsiderTalon]

@ Rick James

I'm not at all serious in my overclocking (just want to bump up 0.2 Ghz more), and would probably get a P180 over a 900 anyway. I've seen both, by the way, so I do have somewhat of a knowledge of them. The 900 just is too open for me -- not enough sound dampening or dust reducers (I get serious dust build-up even with my filters).

I'm thinking that a couple of new fans will get me some much-needed airflow, especially since I don't have one bringing air in right now and the fan I do have is 3 years old now...

@ zagoon

Thanks, I'll check a few things out...