X-Dreamer II case cooling, with 2600+

[Brule]

First things first, here are my specs.

Aspire X-Dreamer II Black case
3 80mm case fans: 2-stock blue, 1 in side(input), 1 in blowhole(exhaust).
1 80mm brushless antec in back(exhaust).
Soyo K7VME Mobo
Throughbred AMD 2600+, running at stock speed
Generic 350W PSU
Mwave HSF(80mm), rated to 3200+. Came installed on mobo, assume thermal pad.
Memory: 768 mb Kingston Value(1x512,1x256)
Video Card: onboard, soon to be ti4400 w/thermaltake HSF
Older Sony CD-RW
Maxtor 160 gb 7200 8mb cache, IDE133

My problem: CPU @ 50 C, Case @ 38 or so. This seems high without many components installed.

First problem involves the case. Threre is room for two more 80mm fans in the front. Does anyone else have any experience taking off the front and putting in more fans? If so, how good does it move air through the front vents? I have noticed the antec fan in back pumps out much more hot air than the blowhole since I installed it, which dropped the CPU temp by about 3-5 degrees. I have the 80mm fans to put in if needed.

I bought this system(mobo/cpu/memory) assembled from Mwave, as it was just a few dollars more, and lessened the chance of a DOA. Looking back I wish I would have had it sent out in parts, as I have artic silver 5. What kind of temp drop could I get by taking it apart and using AS5? I assume they use thermal pads which would be a pain to clean off, but if it will greatly help I'll do it.

How much would I gain by using another HSF? It's not a barton core, so I can find little info on overclocking it. The motherboard is o/c friendly. If I were to buy another HSF, it would have to handle some mild performance gain to be worth the value.

Overall, what would be my best options to take the temp down, considering the amount of work and money are limited. I don't need a beast, but would like to keep my system healthy. Any links for more information on this case would be appreciated, as it came with very little documentation and I'm not sure how to get the front off. Thanks in advance for any help. I plan on using this system for about 6 months, then it will be passed on to a family member who isn't tech savvy, so I can't plug a car radiator into it.

EDIT: I'm looking at the Thermaltake Extreme Volcano 12 HSF, which would be expensive but would be nice as it self regulates and I don't want to have to explain how everything works when I get rid of it. It's copper and would seem to move air better than my 6000 rpm fan from mwave.

 

[Brule]

I should also add that under load the CPU can hit 60 C. One time I randomly checked it in powerdown mode and it was at 60 C, yet cooled down when I started using it.

 

[pavy]

hello

if i'm thinking correctly, one of my friends has this case. if so, i'll get back to you wo\ith as much info as he knows about it. on to your other problems.

there is a happy medium between having too many case fans, and having too few. i currently have 6 (2 in back, 1 in window, 3 in front) which makes for a happy circulation. if you can manage to pop off the front cover, throw some 80's in there.

Artic silver 5 is a proven bad mamma jamma. i currently use it on my system, and i am very happy with the results. i origionaly used the stock intel hsf that came with my processor, but i finally decided to step it up, and purchase a new one. i got a Coolermaster Aero lite. combined with the AS5, i've noticed a drop of temp from the cpu of about 10-12 C on idle, and about 6-8 more under load. the hsf had a thermal pad on it, all it takes is a little work and patience and alcohol, and you can get it right off.

like stated earlier, you can tell the drops i had with the new hsf and AS5. it's all your decision on what hsf you get, but the aero lite was under 20 bucks from newegg, i think around $14-$16. very nice results for the price.

P.S. i've heard some bad things about the volcanos. i've heard they are extremely loud and obnoxious. plus, a lot more pricey than some of their competition.

hopefully some of this rambling has helped out in a little way to you.

 

[Brule]

Thanks, I need all the help I can get. My post was rambling, but I decided the more info the better. I see too many people who don't receive help because they don't list any of their info.

 

[Brule]

Originally posted by: pavy

if i'm thinking correctly, one of my friends has this case. if so, i'll get back to you wo\ith as much info as he knows about it. on to your other problems.

If he does(or anyone else reading this thread) I would appreciate information on taking the front off, and if so how good the front fans work. It seems like there are six plastic "plugs" which can be poped out, but I don't want to mess up the front temp display or anything. There's nothing worse than hearing a "CRACK" when working in a case. Thanks again, and for reference right now:

Room temp 75 F 23.8 C?
Case temp(by case sensor near mobo) 87.3 F 30.7 C? (I hate it's in F, why???)
Bios case temp 39 C
Bios CPU temp 54 C

In/under computer desk with plenty of ventilation, and I'm just web browsing.

 

[Brule]

Okay, since I've had no luck finding out information on the front, I'm trying to find a way to mount 2 80mm fans in the front without using the traditional screws. There are two fans gates in the front with holdes for mounting two 80mm fans. If the front was off I could use the included screws and mount them both no problem. The holes re still there, but there is nothing for the screws to catch if I mount them from the inside. Is there anything I could stick in the mounting holes that would securely attach the fans? Would there be any sort of adhesive or pad that would be long lasting and attach the plastic to metal? (I doubt elmers would do it) Thanks.

 

[viivo]

You may just have to bite the bullet and open the front. It was made to open that way, correct? The gauge wire will be long enough if so.

 

[Nohr]

I've got this case. The front does pop off, however there are one or two screws that need to be removed first. I forget how many exactly but they're in the middle of each side I believe. The front needs to be removed in order to install the front case fans and to install/align the floppy and optical drives in the stealth bays.

The fans work alright overall, but I find my case temp to be higher overall than my previous Enlight 7237 case which I had cut the fan grills out of. I think it would help airflow quite a bit, and reduce noise a tad as well, if the two front and rear fan grills were removed. I haven't gotten around to doing it yet. Regardless, it's enough to keep my overclocked Barton 2500+ cool with a Thermalright AX-7 on it. And that's with only one of the rear fans installed.

If you need more info, let me know.

 

[Brule]

Thanks, I'll look over it again. I'd like to cut the fan grills out, but like you haven't done it yet. The antec 80mm fan I installed in the rear really pumps out the hot air through the fan grill, which is odd because the stock blue 80mm blowhole produces only a warm breeze. Specs wise, the antec isn't supposed to be much better but in practice it is. Makes me glad I grabbed the antec fans, as one also helped my brother drop his system temp.

Nohr, if you ever happen to find more documentation on this case, I'd love to know. They're great cases for the money, but documentation is non-existent.