PC in kitchen cabinet... Cooling ideas?

[Noozer]

Just looking for some thoughts on how to cool a PC stuck into a kitchen
cabinet.

PC:
- 1Ghz Tbird CPU (May upgrade to AMD XP 2000+
- 768 PC133 SDRam
- ECS K7VMM+ mainboard
- Two PATA HDD, 120gig 5400rpm WD and 40gig Seagate 7200rpm
- ATI 8meg All-in-Wonder (old AGP 2x card) video card with TV tuner
- SupraMax 56k PCI dialup modem
- mATX case with 150watt PSU
- Running Windows 2003 SBS Server for OS

This generates a fair bit of heat but should be fine if I can find a decent
way to vent the cabinet.

There is a gap between the outside of the cabinet and wall so I figured I
could punch a hole is the side of the cabinet and use a fan to pump the air
out. I'd cut a slot in the floor of the cabinet just inside the door for an
air intake. Ducting would improve this, but I don't know where to start.

Any ideas?

 

[Wayne Stallwood]

Just looking for some thoughts on how to cool a PC stuck into a kitchen
cabinet.

PC:
- 1Ghz Tbird CPU (May upgrade to AMD XP 2000+
- 768 PC133 SDRam
- ECS K7VMM+ mainboard
- Two PATA HDD, 120gig 5400rpm WD and 40gig Seagate 7200rpm
- ATI 8meg All-in-Wonder (old AGP 2x card) video card with TV tuner
- SupraMax 56k PCI dialup modem
- mATX case with 150watt PSU
- Running Windows 2003 SBS Server for OS

This generates a fair bit of heat but should be fine if I can find a
decent way to vent the cabinet.

There is a gap between the outside of the cabinet and wall so I figured I
could punch a hole is the side of the cabinet and use a fan to pump the
air out. I'd cut a slot in the floor of the cabinet just inside the door
for an air intake. Ducting would improve this, but I don't know where to
start.

Any ideas?

To be honest sucking out the hot air from the top and having some vent near
the bottom to let cool air in should be enough. I had my PC in a
(unventilated) cupboard for ages without any heat issues.

Wondering however about the sanity of putting a PC like this in the kitchen
in the first place, surely you can find a better place for it. Kitchen's
are very humid places and lots of airborne particles (more so if you let me
cook).

 

[John]

To be honest sucking out the hot air from the top and having some vent near
the bottom to let cool air in should be enough. I had my PC in a
(unventilated) cupboard for ages without any heat issues.

Wondering however about the sanity of putting a PC like this in the kitchen
in the first place, surely you can find a better place for it. Kitchen's
are very humid places and lots of airborne particles (more so if you let me
cook).

Especially grease if you cook stuff like bacon. I feel like sponging
the floor down and floors everytime I do that.

One thing I noticed again - man do hard disks get HOT !!!!
I have fans and good ventilation on my tower system now but I was
fixing a neighbors PC , installing a new hard disk. WOW - I was
reminded once again how freaking hot regular disks get after touching
them right after running them. They arent just warm , they are close
to getting in the uncomfortable to touch range. Unfortunately there
was no obvious way to cool them in his case.

 

[Rusty]

You might want to try cutting a hole in the top of the cabinet or in the
back depending on how the cabinet is mounted. This will allow ventilation
though the ceiling (top) or wall (back). Put some of those plastic stoppers
on the door this should allow enough space around the door for air flow. I
would not cut into the cabinet at a visual location. If the cabinet is old
you will never be able to find a replacement, and you would have to have a
cabinet shop make one to replace the one with the hole in it. The cabinet
shop will charge you more than the computer is worth.

 

[Noozer]

This generates a fair bit of heat but should be fine if I can find a

To be honest sucking out the hot air from the top and having some vent near
the bottom to let cool air in should be enough. I had my PC in a
(unventilated) cupboard for ages without any heat issues.

Wondering however about the sanity of putting a PC like this in the kitchen
in the first place, surely you can find a better place for it. Kitchen's
are very humid places and lots of airborne particles (more so if you let me
cook).

Better than in the drywall dust of the basement...

With our current setup in the house this is the most logical place for it.

 

[kony]

Just looking for some thoughts on how to cool a PC stuck into a kitchen
cabinet.

PC:
- 1Ghz Tbird CPU (May upgrade to AMD XP 2000+

Typical motherboards for these CPUs do not implement HALT
cooling, seek WPCREdit, WPCRSet to activate HALT cooling on
idle.

- 768 PC133 SDRam
- ECS K7VMM+ mainboard

That and some other ECS/PCChips boards of that era are
susceptible to capacitor failure to the left of the CPU
socket if the heatsink doesn't exhaust along a horizontal
plane (horizontal relative to board in upright, tower case.
In other words for best results have heatsink exhaust
towards ports, rear of case.

- Two PATA HDD, 120gig 5400rpm WD and 40gig Seagate 7200rpm
- ATI 8meg All-in-Wonder (old AGP 2x card) video card with TV tuner

Excellent choice for low-power, low-heat video... the caveat
is ATI's drivers but if you get it working good you're
golden.

- SupraMax 56k PCI dialup modem
- mATX case with 150watt PSU

That is a marginal sized power supply for the described
parts, especially if you upgrade to the XP2000. If you must
use this PSU, do whatever is possible to increase airflow
though the power supply, including cutting out intake and
exhaust restrictions on PSU casing. Ideally though, you do
not want most of the system exhaust being drawn out through
the power supply. This is an issue on any typical build but
the more potential there is for heat buildup (due to the
cabinet), higher ambient, the more significant the hotspots.
Ideally you'd want at least an exhaust fan on rear of case
positioned to remove as much of CPU heat as possible and
very generous case front intake... if passive, a large
opening.

- Running Windows 2003 SBS Server for OS

This generates a fair bit of heat but should be fine if I can find a decent
way to vent the cabinet.

There is a gap between the outside of the cabinet and wall so I figured I
could punch a hole is the side of the cabinet and use a fan to pump the air
out. I'd cut a slot in the floor of the cabinet just inside the door for an
air intake. Ducting would improve this, but I don't know where to start.

The best arrangement would be similar to the case flow,
having the intake for the cabinent near the front intake of
the case, and the exhaust on the opposite end of cabinet to
minimize recirculation. From your initial description it
does sound like you've come near this, and since it may not
be practical to put the exhaust in the "optimal" location
due to cosmetic or cabinet-location issues it's all you can
do to just watch temps and go from there.

An XP2000 T'Bred undervolted, underclocked, might be one way
to reduce heat more.

 

[Noozer]

PC:

- 1Ghz Tbird CPU (May upgrade to AMD XP 2000+
- 768 PC133 SDRam
- ECS K7VMM+ mainboard
- Two PATA HDD, 120gig 5400rpm WD and 40gig Seagate 7200rpm
- ATI 8meg All-in-Wonder (old AGP 2x card) video card with TV tuner
- SupraMax 56k PCI dialup modem
- mATX case with 150watt PSU
- Running Windows 2003 SBS Server for OS

There is a gap between the outside of the cabinet and wall so I figured I
could punch a hole is the side of the cabinet and use a fan to pump the air
out. I'd cut a slot in the floor of the cabinet just inside the door for an
air intake. Ducting would improve this, but I don't know where to start.

Well... Countertop punched out to get the cables into the cabinet and
everything installed.

With an average 30% load on the CPU (watching TV) for a couple of hours the
machine reads the following:

CPU - 61'C
Case - 46'C
HDDs - 52'C

The opening where I can vent out of the cabinet is 3 1/8" x 2"... Not very
big. 3 1/8" happens to almost exactly match the width of an 80mm fan
though. Mounting one next to the opening with a duct would definately
improve cooling. Maybe a squirrel cage fan...

Going to do some digging and see what kind of fans I can find out there.
Definately hoping to use something that runs on 120v AC though, relatively
quietly, and move a fair bit of air. No sense putting another load on that
PSU and then I don't have to worry about plugging it into the PC somehow.

Thanks all!

 

[Rusty]

Here is a place I buy electronics from and they have AC fans,
http://www.allelectronics.com/cgi-bin/category.cgi?category=220200&type=store

 

[yak]

Well... Countertop punched out to get the cables into the cabinet and
everything installed.

With an average 30% load on the CPU (watching TV) for a couple of hours the
machine reads the following:

CPU - 61'C
Case - 46'C
HDDs - 52'C

The opening where I can vent out of the cabinet is 3 1/8" x 2"... Not very
big. 3 1/8" happens to almost exactly match the width of an 80mm fan
though. Mounting one next to the opening with a duct would definately
improve cooling. Maybe a squirrel cage fan...

Going to do some digging and see what kind of fans I can find out there.
Definately hoping to use something that runs on 120v AC though, relatively
quietly, and move a fair bit of air. No sense putting another load on that
PSU and then I don't have to worry about plugging it into the PC somehow.

Thanks all!

water cooling.

 

[Noozer]

Typical motherboards for these CPUs do not implement HALT
cooling, seek WPCREdit, WPCRSet to activate HALT cooling on
idle.

Muchos gracias! Put that in and my temps are WAY down... Idles around 45'C
with the cabinet closed. Highest I've seen is 52'C. Will definately get
warmer if under load so I'm still searching out the best ventilation method.