Are my case fans correct? (Pics)

R

Rycon

Weaksauce
Joined
Mar 19, 2007
Messages
97
I am concerned that I have no setup my case fans to optimal airflow, I just wanted to get some other opinions.

Setup is C2D E4400 1.8 overclocked to 2.7
MBO GA-965P-S3, 2 gig GSKILL, EVGA 7600GT

My core is running well (I think) for the overclock, idleing at around 48 and is around 61 when under load.

Anyway so here are the fan directions

120mm blowing out, on back
80mm blowing in, on side
2 80mm blowing in, on front
80mm blowing out, on top
exhaust fan blowing out, on bottom

And of course my CPU fan is blowing towards the CPU, and im guessing my 7600gt is blowing into itself and dispersing out the sides. Which is why im concerned that my exhaust fan might be fighting for air, they are as far apart as possible.

I have a funnel that I could put on the side fan but I need to cut it since it was made to go on there without the fan, it would guide the air slightly longer (Inch or 2) towards the CPU, im hoping it even helps it.

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that should be fine

its only a 7600gt

and a OC dual core.

you might want to clean up your wires
 
Also you might consider an aftermarket hs/f over the stock hs/f. Might bring down the temps.
 
Yes, your airflow is good. You would benefit from some good wire management. 30 minutes hiding (tidying up) your wires can do small wonders.
 
Also this is my personal preference.. It has been my personal experience that when I set my computer case on the floor (lack of anywhere to really put it), I have sucked in all sorts of things.. My floor setups got more dust.. ugh, it was a pain.. Those little dust bunnies (we called em ghost turds in the marine corps.. lol) would get sucked in a lot.. Let's not forget hair.. I never knew how much hair my wife actually looses on a weekly basis.. WOW! Well guess what? It would get sucked into my computer..

People swear up and down that its not really any different where the computer case is placed (I'm not here to argue that point either way), but I will say for me, keeping my case OFF of the floor has worked out a lot better for me. Just something to consider.
 
I really appreciate all the comments guys, this forum has always been great. I defintly need to clean up the wires, I have done some (Didn't finish) but its very very hard to do due to all my fans, there all daisy chained together for the fan control knob (On the front) and its pretty hard to get all that extra wire in order.

I did consider your comment about the computer being on the floor, I would love to put it up higher (And out of harms way) but due to my tiny apartment and desk, its almost impossible. The one good thing is that it is elevated off the floor, (Better then just straight on the carpet) and the only other good thing is that of course cooler air is below (Drafts are finally good for something right?).

Anyway glad to know I built it correctly, I will take another crack at the wires.

Sadly my machine met its match today, my first build cannot run Crisis well enough to be enjoyed, im pretty bummed about it, seeing I wasn't ready to admit its outdated.. god damn they go so fast.
 
Rycon said:
I did consider your comment about the computer being on the floor, I would love to put it up higher (And out of harms way) but due to my tiny apartment and desk, its almost impossible. The one good thing is that it is elevated off the floor, (Better then just straight on the carpet) and the only other good thing is that of course cooler air is below (Drafts are finally good for something right?).
Click to expand...

I don't have an exact area of measurement but keeping your computer case where it is, is fine.. However, it needs to be elevated more. If you could even elevate it 6" - 12", that would help A LOT! What worked for me was... When I had my case on the ground, I simply went to my garage and found some wood lying around (lol, it was a wood keyboard tray that I opted NOT to install on one of my desks). I went to HOME DEPOT and purchased (4) $1.99 wood legs and cut the legs to 6". I painted it all black to match my setup and VIOLA.. Worked like a charm. No more dust bunnies and globs of hair inside my computer!


Rycon said:
Sadly my machine met its match today, my first build cannot run Crisis well enough to be enjoyed, im pretty bummed about it, seeing I wasn't ready to admit its outdated.. god damn they go so fast.
Click to expand...

An investment of an 8800GT ($259.) and "maybe" a tiny upgrade to a processor capable of 3.2ghz (however, your processor might be enough.. I'm sure others could chime in with their comments). My wife has an E6420 running at 3.4ghz (425 FSB x 8) with the help of 2gb's of BASIC DDR2-800 GSkill ram.. I am sure your setup is every bit as capable!


DSCN8519.jpg
 
Very nice officermartinez. Now that's what I call "setting the example for others to follow".

I can't see all of your case, but I can tell just by that side angle shot that it looks very good.
 
The fans look good for the most part, but here are a few comments before you do much more work on airflow.

1. I agree about cleaning up the cables. The rats nest is not doing you any good. I didn't think I'd really benefit from a PSU with modular cables, until I got one. Now I probably won't ever buy a regular PSU for my own computers ever again.

2. Don't bother putting on the funnel between the side fan and cpu heatsink until you upgrade to an aftermarket heatsink and fan. Upgrading the heatsink to one of the tower designs that blows the hot air directly towards the back exhaust fan would probably be the single best thing to help your cooling that you could do right now. Take a look at the fairly recent hardocp heatsink roundup. I prefer thermalright heatsinks, but you'll need to measure how much room you have before you buy anything so do your research first. After you get a better heatsink/fan, you'll need to re-think some of your airflow such as the side panel fan if it interferes with a tall heatsink.

3. Consider moving the bottom slot exhaust fan up closer to the video card. As it is now, you're probably sucking air in through the other open slot and right back out, so that's not doing anything helpful. If you're going to have an open slot, make it right next to the vid card (below, above, or both) otherwise it probably isn't helping.

4. Regarding game speeds, I don't think I've ever heard anyone who's into overclocking and gaming say that they're happy with an 8600 video card, (let alone a 7600GT in the last year or so). They always get the 8600, get upset about it not really being fast enough, and then go for some sort of 8800. I'd say get an 8800GT before you give up on your computer or spend any more money on a faster cpu since that 7600 card is really ancient when used for today's newer games.

I have an even older 6800GT, and skipped the entire 7xxx series because the older games I play run just fine on the 6800GT, and I haven't bought any of the newest games except for orange box, and even then I've only played Portal so far and that looks pretty nice on my rig. I can't go to an 8800 series card without upgrading my entire computer because I'm on an older AGP mobo, so I'm sort of stuck where I am. But your system can still be upgraded so I'd say get an aftermarket heatsink/fan, and an 8800GT, and you'll probably be pretty happy with what you have. If that's still not fast enough, you can drop a better cpu in there that'll top 3ghz for a reasonable price. But for now, you're handicaped by that heatsink/fan and the old video card.
 
Your airflow looks good, although you should have your bottom fan blowing in instead of out, since cold air falls and hot air rises, and you have a fan blowing at the top as well, so you shouldn't have opposite fans blowing in conflicting directions. I recommend putting some sort of filter on the fan though, because a bottom fan can be a major source of dust.

officermartinez said:
An investment of an 8800GT ($259.) and "maybe" a tiny upgrade to a processor capable of 3.2ghz (however, your processor might be enough.. I'm sure others could chime in with their comments). My wife has an E6420 running at 3.4ghz (425 FSB x 8) with the help of 2gb's of BASIC DDR2-800 GSkill ram.. I am sure your setup is every bit as capable!
Click to expand...

An E4400 should be able to hit 3.2GHz easily with an aftermarket cooler. Something like an Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro would only run about $25, and for about $35 you could go up to a Scythe Infinity, which is one of the better air coolers available. Either of those coolers should allow you to easily reach and maybe even surpass 3.2GHz on that CPU while maintaining very reasonable temps at the same time.
 
Omg your case made me drool for a sec.

I defintly need to clean up the wires, ran out of cable ties, got some more today.

Thanks for the tips flenser, i forgot to put a blank back in the back when i took out a USB card, are you saying that I should move that exhaust fan closer even when i put a blank back in?

Im going to look into a aftermarket cooler and that 8800gt, mabye shes not done afterall.

Apreciate it guys.
 
Glad we could all help.. Also, here is an idea.. My wifes computer, by default, had a POOR air intake. Not much air was being generated by the front 120mm fan (it sat right up against the front door bezel). I simply made some "stand-off's" and now she has GREAT air flow from that front 120mm fan.. Not sure if this is the case with yours, but if it works for you, like it did for me, all the more reason to get those temps well under control..


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E64203.4ghz.jpg
 
Wow that looks nice, I do have 2 80mm fans in the front blowing directly onto the hard drives, Im thinking about placing another one in the CD rom drive bay (I did it on my bosses custom machine) I straped it in with zip ties, it actuley doesnt look that bad since we used a blue led fan (All 11 fans have blue led, so you can imagine how the case looked).

The only thing is im sure it blows so much dust through since it doesnt have alot of restriction. (But my 2 front fans are doing the same thing)

You are right officer martinez, I cleaned my case and cleaned up all the wires in my case (Took 2 hours) and there really was alot more dust then i thought in there, im sure it has to do with being so close to carpet, even my gfx card was gunked up with dust, doesnt take long.
 
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