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Replace My Case

J

Jaheed

n00b
Joined
May 31, 2010
Messages
47
So, I built a SFF case with a LianLI PC-V351 about a year ago. Notable components are 2x Radeon 5850s and an i7 with a corsair H## water-cooler (H55 maybe, single fan).

Cooling has been a concern since purchase, but with some decent quiet fans, I mostly solved the issue.

Unfortunately, it now appears that a host of new games, most notably bf3 are now pushing my inboard GPU to ridiculous temperatures (>80 deg). Because of the motherboard layout, the cards are immediately adjacent to one another, causing one to get significantly hotter than the other.

I don't think I really have room for any auxiliary cooling solutions in my current case. In my opinion, the biggest issue with the case is that the HD bay sits atop the video cards and compromises airflow over the central of the two.

Essentially, I am looking for a solution to this issue that would allow me to use the cards to their full potential.

I am assuming that this solution would take the form of a new SFF case, but I guess I may have to replace the mobo as well with something with greater spacing between the cards. Either way, I would like to get some suggestions or creative ideas.

I don't think I can get any more powerful fans in the case without exceeding an acceptable volume level, but I am thinking a case with perhaps more unrestricted airflow in that area might improve the situation.

Any help is greatly appreciated.
 
I'm wondering if a Silverstone SG02 would do the trick for you? This might help your crossfire cooling as it changes the orientation of the cards so that they are side-by-side instead of one being on top of the other being cooked. You can also install two 80mm fans above the PCI-e slots to help cooling a bit more. My big question would be fitting the corsair radiator, but someone more familiar with this case might be able to help out there. I'm just not sure how well the case does on overall cooling but the card orientation was what I was really considering on this.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811163112

Other cases I would consider are the Silverstone FT03 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811163176
The "heat rising" design of this case might do the trick as well, especially with the cooling fan that blows over your graphics cards

or Antec mini-P180 http://www.amazon.com/Antec-Mini-P180-Case/dp/B001450OMO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1319553929&sr=8-1
This would still have the cards stacked on top of each other but with a good fan in the front of the case and the two exhaust fans, that might help.
 
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are your 5850's reference or non-reference

do they exhaust all the hot air, do they re-circulate the hot air in the case?
 
Jaheed said:
I am assuming that this solution would take the form of a new SFF case, but I guess I may have to replace the mobo as well with something with greater spacing between the cards. Either way, I would like to get some suggestions or creative ideas.
Click to expand...
Check out the LIAN LI PC-V354B. It is a M-ATX case but includes a 5th slot to allow more spacing between the video cards.
 
2x Sapphire Radeon Toxic HD 5850 1 GB DDR5 PCI-Express Dual DVI-I / HDMI / DP Graphics Card 100282TXSR
 
non-reference cards, those cards will exhaust some of the heat in the case

you'll need to find a way to get the heat they build up out of the case.

You can mod your case. see if you can fit a 80mm or so fan to exhaust the heat they generate
 
looking at the case, how about you clear the area over the gpu's and stick a high cfm 80mm exhaust over the gpus

will work wonders
 
Jaheed said:
Wouldn't this require a motherboard with 5 slots? I have the Asus Rampage II GENE and it seems like I would have to replace it as well.
Click to expand...
No, it still takes a 4-slot board and has a 5th bracket for mounting a 2-slot card in the 4th position.
The board would need to have the appropriate PCI-e slots in position 1 and 4 to work this way though.
 
adjas said:
looking at the case, how about you clear the area over the gpu's and stick a high cfm 80mm exhaust over the gpus

will work wonders
Click to expand...

Big Reason is that I would be losing 4tb of storage from the system.
 
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