How To Improve Case Cooling

A

anthonyi

Hi,

First, specs.

Lian Li PC60 USB case (2*80mm 26CFM intake, 1 *exhaust, 1*blowhole)
Enermax dual fan 431W PSU
Abit NF7-S v2.0 BIOS 1.8, modded passive northbridge cooler
XP 1800+ @ 11.5*200 Vcore 1.725 (BIOS), 1.66 (MBM)
2x256Mb Crucial PC2700 at DDR400 (7-3-3-2.5)
SLK-900 w/YS-Tech 50CFM 92mm

Temps under load were 50C/33C, CPU/System.

I want to clock higher and therefore want to reduce temps first - of course
without going nuts on the noise levels (no Tornados!!).

Question: I removed one of the case's sides, and within minutes my CPU and
system temps had both dropped by 6C. (Ambient is somewhere around 24C). So
now I have the case side off and load temps of 44C/27C. So my case air
throughput is too low....right? I'm assuming I need to upgrade all 4 case
fans to higher CFM fans?

I should add that my wiring is a tad messy but does use rounded cables.

Any advice?

TIA...

AI
 
A

anthonyi

Whoops...should have read 11.0*200...

Also, I leave the dual intake fans set on their highest setting.

AI
 
J

Joseph

first thing is I'd use a fan controller.
second i would upgrade the couple case fan with case fan 2 from thermaltake.
They do about 75cfm @ 4500RPM from 20cfm @ 1300RPM. So you can lower it
with fan controller when it is idle and max it when your not.
third i'd mod the case put a quiet fan that does about 35cfm on the side of
the case blowing directly onto the motherboard.
 
A

Al Dykes

Hi,

First, specs.

Lian Li PC60 USB case (2*80mm 26CFM intake, 1 *exhaust, 1*blowhole)
Enermax dual fan 431W PSU
Abit NF7-S v2.0 BIOS 1.8, modded passive northbridge cooler
XP 1800+ @ 11.5*200 Vcore 1.725 (BIOS), 1.66 (MBM)
2x256Mb Crucial PC2700 at DDR400 (7-3-3-2.5)
SLK-900 w/YS-Tech 50CFM 92mm

Temps under load were 50C/33C, CPU/System.

I want to clock higher and therefore want to reduce temps first - of course
without going nuts on the noise levels (no Tornados!!).

Question: I removed one of the case's sides, and within minutes my CPU and
system temps had both dropped by 6C. (Ambient is somewhere around 24C). So
now I have the case side off and load temps of 44C/27C. So my case air
throughput is too low....right? I'm assuming I need to upgrade all 4 case
fans to higher CFM fans?

I should add that my wiring is a tad messy but does use rounded cables.
Click to expand...

IMHO That's not real high, unless you are about to start overclocking.

4 fans ? I'm not clear, from your description, how they are set up
but I'd try pointing more of them out, one at at time, since you say
when you open the case the temp drops. The total CFM rating of the
fans pointing out should be a little higher that the CFM going in,
assuming no big holes in the case, but you've probbably already done
that.

How hot is your room temp ?

Air in front of my PC is 23C. My asusprobe reports 49/27C, so my
motherboard is only 4 DegC higher than free air. I think that's
pretty good. I have a vanilla Asus/AMDXP2200 w/retail heatsink and
fan. One exhaust fan has been added, high on the rear of the case.

If your case is as good as mine then your room temp is 27C/80F.
(Assuming same our systems crank the same BTUs). Your figures
(50/33) can only be compred to others in terms of degrees
above ambient.
 
J

JAD

4 case fans + dual PSU fans, and still looking to cool more ? hmmmmmmm i would say:
Your putting the case in one of those stupid desks that have a 'compartment' for the box.
your room temp/ambiant is high
your intakes are obstructed or too small
your ribbon cables are all over the place and disturbing the natural flow of the case.

my box 1 case, 1 cpu, 1 vid card fan, (my mod on a 7500 ATI)

P4 retail HSF
PSU single fan

37C case almost all the time
36 - 42C Cpu
Room temp at 78f (wheres that conversion chart ;^0)


MBM5
 
R

Richard Dower

anthonyi said:
Hi,

First, specs.

Lian Li PC60 USB case (2*80mm 26CFM intake, 1 *exhaust, 1*blowhole)
Enermax dual fan 431W PSU
Abit NF7-S v2.0 BIOS 1.8, modded passive northbridge cooler
XP 1800+ @ 11.5*200 Vcore 1.725 (BIOS), 1.66 (MBM)
2x256Mb Crucial PC2700 at DDR400 (7-3-3-2.5)
SLK-900 w/YS-Tech 50CFM 92mm

Temps under load were 50C/33C, CPU/System.

I want to clock higher and therefore want to reduce temps first - of course
without going nuts on the noise levels (no Tornados!!).

Question: I removed one of the case's sides, and within minutes my CPU and
system temps had both dropped by 6C. (Ambient is somewhere around 24C). So
now I have the case side off and load temps of 44C/27C. So my case air
throughput is too low....right? I'm assuming I need to upgrade all 4 case
fans to higher CFM fans?

I should add that my wiring is a tad messy but does use rounded cables.

Any advice?
Click to expand...

Clean up the cables, use cable ties or cable wrap, use rounded
cables...organise them.
 
C

Charlie

anthonyi said:
Hi,

First, specs.

Lian Li PC60 USB case (2*80mm 26CFM intake, 1 *exhaust, 1*blowhole)
Enermax dual fan 431W PSU
Abit NF7-S v2.0 BIOS 1.8, modded passive northbridge cooler
XP 1800+ @ 11.5*200 Vcore 1.725 (BIOS), 1.66 (MBM)
2x256Mb Crucial PC2700 at DDR400 (7-3-3-2.5)
SLK-900 w/YS-Tech 50CFM 92mm

Temps under load were 50C/33C, CPU/System.

I want to clock higher and therefore want to reduce temps first - of course
without going nuts on the noise levels (no Tornados!!).

Question: I removed one of the case's sides, and within minutes my CPU and
system temps had both dropped by 6C. (Ambient is somewhere around 24C). So
now I have the case side off and load temps of 44C/27C. So my case air
throughput is too low....right? I'm assuming I need to upgrade all 4 case
fans to higher CFM fans?

I should add that my wiring is a tad messy but does use rounded cables.

Any advice?

TIA...

AI
Click to expand...

If you have not done it already, I would remove the rear fan guard by
cutting the four corners. Replace it with one of those wireframe fan
guards. I wish that the Lian-Li cases did not have those perf holes on
the front, because they really restrict inflow. If you cut them out,
it kinda destroys a nice looking front panel.
 
T

Timothy Daniels

Charlie said:
If you have not done it already, I would remove
the rear fan guard by cutting the four corners.
Replace it with one of those wireframe fan guards.
Click to expand...


I don't even bother with substituting for what I
remove. When I stick my fingers in the fan (for
thrills), the blades just strike my fingers and push
them back out. They haven't cut them off, yet. :)
The result is a detectable increase in airflow.

I wish that the Lian-Li cases did not have those perf
holes on the front, because they really restrict inflow.
Click to expand...


OTOH, those perf holes increase the turbulence -
and thus the cooling ability - of the incoming air.


*TimDaniels*
 
G

Gerry Nance

From: "anthonyi" (e-mail address removed)
Newsgroups: alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt
Date: Fri, 5 Sep 2003 13:25:14 +0000 (UTC)
Click to expand...
Hi,

First, specs.

Lian Li PC60 USB case (2*80mm 26CFM intake, 1 *exhaust, 1*blowhole)
Enermax dual fan 431W PSU
Abit NF7-S v2.0 BIOS 1.8, modded passive northbridge cooler
XP 1800+ @ 11.5*200 Vcore 1.725 (BIOS), 1.66 (MBM)
2x256Mb Crucial PC2700 at DDR400 (7-3-3-2.5)
SLK-900 w/YS-Tech 50CFM 92mm

Temps under load were 50C/33C, CPU/System.

I want to clock higher and therefore want to reduce temps first - of course
without going nuts on the noise levels (no Tornados!!).

Question: I removed one of the case's sides, and within minutes my CPU and
system temps had both dropped by 6C. (Ambient is somewhere around 24C). So
now I have the case side off and load temps of 44C/27C. So my case air
throughput is too low....right? I'm assuming I need to upgrade all 4 case
fans to higher CFM fans?

I should add that my wiring is a tad messy but does use rounded cables.

Any advice?

TIA...

AI
Click to expand...

Ok a few questions:
measure the sizes of the holes and gaps in the front of the case and calculate
total area in inches-squared or cm-squared.

This will be the reference point of air flow or 1.

Next calculate holes area for the rear of the case and computer the raio of
input to output. Best efficiency is 1:1, if the opening at the rear are more
than the front, then open the holes in the front, more. If you want an example
try blowing through a straw.

You cannot exhaust heat or air from the box, if the intake area is too small.
Another option is to punch holes in the case side, but along or near the top
edge, to allow heat to dissipate statically by when the power is turned off.

Heat moves by:
radiation from hot surfaces,
conduction through materials, and convection through the air.

Heat moves from source to void (Hot to Cold).

If dust is a consideration, fashion a filter, from a layer of washable fabric.

These may be helpful;
http://www.elitecool.com/default.php
http://www.pcpowercooling.com/home.htm



Gerry Nance
www.fossilfishcomputers.com
Southern California
 
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