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heating problems... what's the most thermally efficient case?

X

xcgames

Gawd
Joined
Oct 9, 2004
Messages
660
My machine is having mad heat problems. I'm currently using a system of this spec:

Abit IC-7G I875P
Pentium 4 3.4GHz Extreme Edition, SilenX 120MM HSF
1GB Corsair XMS TWINX1024-3200XL at 2-2-2-5
BFG Geforce 6800GT OC 256MB
74GB Raptor boot
750GB SATA Western Digital HD storage
Plextor PX-716A 16X DVD+-RW DL
Cheapie, NeoPower Power Supply RMAed
Thermaltake Tsunami case with SilenX fans - http://www.thermaltake.com/xaserCase/tsunami/bwa/bwa.htm

there is a rear exhaust fan 120mm, side intake 90mm, front intake 120mm and the PSU exhaust fan. I'm in california btw, and it's pretty hot these couple days. Well here's the problem, it seems like I have plenty cooling, but the case gets HOT TO TOUCH, even the plastics get that hot, so the processor must be really cooking in there.

During the day, processor idle at 60, case at 50. I didn't even try to push it.
At night, processor idle at 50, case at 40, still seems damn hot. I'm pretty sure the heatsink is making very good contact with CPU, and the thermal paste is arctic silver 5.


Is there anything i can do to try to lower the temp to stable level, or if neccessary, I'd even cash out for another case to get this oven cooled down.
 
Damn, with all those fans you'de expect things to be at least a little cooler...
And its running at 60c??? TURN IT OFF!!! :eek:

Something is seriously wrong, can a case realy be designed so poorly that even with 120mm fans blowing through it it becomes an oven?
 
I used to own a Thermaltake XaserIII case, with a total of 7 80mm fans (2 front intake, 2 side intake, 2 rear exhaust, 1 top blowhole). The case came with Hardcano9 installed, so I hooked up the temp probe to my FX-53. I had similar temp issues with the case. The case would heat up (especially the side panel behind the mobo) under load. After enough frustration with this case in general, I dumped it for a C3 100% acrylic case. No more case heat issues. ;)
 
Few fairly easy things that might help some:
-If you have a dremel, cut out the fangrills on the 120mm fans, and replace the one on the rear fan with a plain wire grill.

-More fans; a 120mm blowhole would be my first choice. If you aren't using many PCI slots, that's another possible place to add a fan. Some people put fans on the bottom of the case to suck in cold air; good option if the case is not on carpet, and if there's enough of a gap under it to get some airflow.

-The front fan has a LOT of restriction to deal with: there's a fairly open grill, a dust filter, a set of slits in the case front, and then ANOTHER restrictive set of slits in the case door. That seems like a lot to ask of a quiet 120mm fan if you expect decent airflow; maybe ditch the dust filter if you have a clean house, or consider cutting out the area in front of the fan on the case front(leaving the door intact, so you wouldn't see the cutout much...

-The heat from your 6800gt is currently going into your case; try an aftermarket cooler(Arctic cooling comes to mind...) that will duct the heat out the back of the case via a PCI slot. Better cooling for the gfx card is a bonus.

Hm, if it's as bad as the previous response implies, maybe just sell it without making any cuts to get as much as possible...
 
IMO: the tsunami is an awfull case for cooling, i was in the same position as you with a 3200+ athlon, in the end i changed back to a different case that had 6 8mm fans, and on full load i get around 43degrees, and about 37-40, bare in mind i have only just changed back so i have only just applied the arctic silver
 
really...

mines pretty chilly.

Only thing that gets really warm is my PSU, but the tagan fans are only low speed and it doesnt seem to mind.
 
My CPU Idles at 36C in my Tsunami.. 2x 120mm fans and 1x 80 mm fan (twistie tied to the side where the 90mm goes) And i've never seen it top 40C.
 
The answer to this problem is simple;
Not enough exhaust. The PSU is probably at or around 75C, especially if it's one of those garbage dual-fan setups. And you have 120+90 intake with 120 exhaust. All that does is draw in more air to heat.
Dump the rear 120mm for a Delta EHE or SHE. Flip the side intake to exhaust. Get a PC Power & Cooling. Build something to keep the CPU from cooking the PSU. Simple metal shroud will do the job. Hotter air rises anyways.
If you're still at those temps with that setup, you need to stop putting your computer in a 50C ambient. ;)
 
My raidmax case really only has 1 fan moving air through it. The Powersupply fan. Its a 120mm. The air was hot as a hairdryer, so I hardwired it to 7v (there goes my PSU warrenty).

I have 2 side fans running on 5vdc. One blows in air, which hits the videocard, and the fan toward the front of the case sucks it out. Kinda backwards, but keeps the videocard down in the 50C range while gaming, and the cpu no more than 40C.
 
get yourself a CM Stacker and call it a day.

then again I also use the AC during the day.
 
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