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Optimal fan setup

K

KoolDrew

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Oct 17, 2004
Messages
1,646
I made a topic in the cooling forum asking for an HSF and I asked this question, however, since it deals with case modding to I think I might be able to get more or even better answers here. My temps are much higher then I would like now so my plan to to totally transform my PC to have better cooling. The first step was moving up from the stock HSF. The next step, case modding. However, please keep in mind I am a complete newb when it comes to case modding. This will be my first time doing any type of case modding.

Anyway, I currently have an Antec Super Lanboy and it has two 120mm fans. One in the front and one in the back. Then I have the stock HSF (will be replaced with an Arctic Cooling Freezer 64 Pro) and a Fortron AX400-PN with a 120mm fan above it. The first thing I was thinking about doing is cutting out the rear grill. Do you guys think this would make a noticable difference in my case? Also, the 120mm intake fan in the front is blocked off by the drive rack and two hard drives. Do you guys have any ideas of what I can do about this? I was also thinking about just running with all the PCI slot covers taken off, my thinking being that air will just come into the case to make up for the pressure loss from exchaust fans. Also, I don't know how hard this would be, but what do you guys think about adding a side intake fan and/or a blowhole at the top of my case?

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. Especially from people who also have my case and have modded it sucesfully.
 
Leave the PCI slot covers on.


Removing ANY grills from your fans increases their airflow like 50%, a definite "must" on my list.

How many 5" bays do you have open? If you've got 3 or so, consider adding a front 120mm fan in your drive bays.

Depending on your video card, adding a rear PCI slot blower (exhaust) reduced to 5v can do a little bit.

The AC freezer will make the most difference... I'd expect to see a good 5-10c drop in temps (depending on what you're currently at).
 
QFT for cutting out the grills, made a HUGE difference in my airflow, and thus my temps. If you are worried about someone sticking their hands in the fans, replace the grill with something like THIS or something similar. It will let the air pass through much better than stock. Also... quality fans are a must. Antec comes with OK fans, but there are much better out there. Do a quick search, there are many threads on good fans here.

I modified my Antec case with a side fan before they were available pre-made that way. It helps drive down the temperature, BUT, I believe your AC freezer is optimized for a front to back airflow. Something like a Big Typhoon is better if your drilling a hole in the side. I have a Zalman 7000 and the 120mm fan I mounted on the side panel drives air straight in the middle of the Zalman. Also... the job I did looks a bit Ghetto. Make sure you have good tools and a good plan. I was just kinda winging it back then.
 
Arcygenical said:
Depending on your video card, adding a rear PCI slot blower (exhaust) reduced to 5v can do a little bit.
Click to expand...

i have a pci slot fan and its a waste of money or at least for me, theres no difference in my temps whether its on or off.

i've cut out my grills and thats a big help in dropping temps and in my case (aspire x navigator) it helped decrease noise too
 
The impact of cutting out the grills really depends on the case itself and how restrictive the grills are. Your case looks like it could benefit from it, but it might not make a major difference. Adding a side fan would definitely help more. That case only has 3 5.25" bays, so you can't mount another 120mm intake in the front.
 
Thanks for the suggestions so far guys, keep 'em coming! I'll probably cut the grille out later tonight or tomorrow and see how much of a difference it makes
 
i would suggest making sure your cable management on the inside is top-notch. you could be having adequate airflow, but if it's not really moving anywhere who cares?
 
The honeycomb grill at the back of the Antec is very unrestrictive, I don't think you're gonna have a noticeable difference in temperatures by cutting it. What you will most likely have is reduced turbulence noise - but since you're planning on adding another fan, that silent gain is gonna go unnoticed. :p

You should not have temperature issues with a case like the LanBoy that has dual 120mm fans. Just because you have a hard drive rack in fron of the front fan doesn't mean it's blocking the cool outside air from coming in - all the air that the front fan sucks in ends up finding it's way through the hdd's/mobo/graphicscard/hsf and out the back of the case.

Maybe you should tell us your system specs and what sort of temperatures you're getting, if you're overclocking, and if possible your room temperature, so that we can all better help you. :)
 
Maybe you should tell us your system specs and what sort of temperatures you're getting, if you're overclocking, and if possible your room temperature, so that we can all better help you.
Click to expand...

System specs are in my signature and my temps while running F@H are close to around 40C (according to CoreTemp). This is at stock speed and stock voltage right now because I wanted to get better cooling before I pushed it.

Also, I already cut the grill off. It definitely feels like the fan is pushing more air, but it didn't really change my temp according to CoreTemp.
 
KoolDrew said:
System specs are in my signature and my temps while running F@H are close to around 40C (according to CoreTemp).
Click to expand...
Well, for a processor that has a TDP of 62W, 40ºC load temperature with the stock HSF is VERY GOOD! :eek:

Seriously, I can't imagine why you would want to lower the temperature even more? :confused:
 
Well, when I up the voltage the the temp increases a lot. I'm hoping with better cooling it would allow me to run a higher voltage, thus allowing me to overclock higher/
 
I just got my AC A64 Freezer 64 Pro and put it on. Right now I'm getting about 33C at stock speed and voltage. Does that temp sound about right? Not that I'm worried about 33C, it's just I want to make sure I applied the thermal compound correctly and stuff.
 
If that's your stock temp, it's meaningless. If it's load, then that's pretty damn good. That heatsink will definitely give you a much smaller temperature delta than the stock one, so you should be able to overclock quite a bit without getting too hot, providing your system is capable of it.
 
33 is pretty good at idle, I'd say that is pretty normal for the stock cooler. As Zero82z said, if that is at load, that is pretty darn good.
 
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