Adjusting case fans

I was under the assumption that the computer will run cooler closed up, if the case fans are operating properly. In running my noisy tt Smart Fan IIs (1 intake and 1 exhaust), I was surprised to find that my CPU temp dropped from 14 degrees C above case temp (which is 2 degrees above ambient) to 10 degrees C above case temp when I removed my side panel. Is it normal to get a 4 degree improvement with the case side off? Someone suggested that I turn my exhaust around and use both Smart Fan IIs as intake, pushing the exhaust out of the PSU and vents. Any thoughts on these issues?

 

Guess I'll go back to my comment in August when you first started telling us all about fans.

Having said that, I guess you need to do some more reading.

Still chilling out down here ........very cool by comparison - quiet too!

 

Rockster2U,
I'm sure that not everyone has the money or inclination to be an extremist. Some people just want to learn what they can to make their basic system as efficient as possible. Ask whether your "two cents" adds anything to either this forum or anyone else in your life. I could recommend a good psychotherapist to help ease these judgmental tendencies.
Barry

 

I have no idea what Rockster's talking about, Barry. I wouldn't fret too much about the fact that your cpu runs cooler with the cover off. There are so many factors in any PC cooling scenario that come into play such as the insulative quality of your case, case structure, obstructions, etc., etc. If your airflow was ideal (and this will never happen), then maybe you wouldn't experience this but there's just too many factors stacked up against getting ideal airflow.

One idea I've toyed with is buying a cpu cooling ducting kit which uses one of your rear case fans to draw air in from the outside and blow it through a duct onto your cpu's heatsink. Seems like an ideal cpu cooling scenario. But I could see it would be just too much of a hassle. I'm using a very high quality HSF and temps are not a problem for me. And that's with an XP2100+ that's overclocked to 12x166.

 

Chiles,
Thanks for the response. I didn't think my temps were too high, but I want to stay on top of everything and just make sure I'm not making any mistakes. This is my first experience building a computer from scratch.
Barry

 

Not trying to be too darn judgemental here but for the last couple of months you've been acting the part of the techno-cooler "extremist" - re-read your own comments. My take was that you really weren't too interested in other opinions, were quick to dismiss suggestions and even quicker to regurgitate technical specifications.

Now, by your own admission, you have a noisy box thats inefficient with regard to cooling.

By comparison, I'm running the same Barton 2500+ OC'ed to 3200+ on a 400mhz bus with 1.675 VCore at 39C. No noise, no pots to worry about, no extra fan control software needed. Standard air cooled system. 34.5C - no load temp.

Please, send me the name of that shrink and quote me some more specs on all your variable speed what-cha-ma-call-its (inside?) that "sideless" case.

 

Get a case with a side fan. My machine is running as cool now with the side on as it did with the side off in my old tower.

 

Ask an overclocker.

"assumption that the computer will run cooler closed up "

Wrong. Overclockers fequently leave the side(s) off to disipate heat. I''m not overclocking now but mine runs cooler with the case open; I can't recall how much tho

 

Unless you're moving huge amounts of air in your case then it kind of makes sense that you'd be cooler with the case side off. With it closed, your PC traps heat from every single component.

Given that heat rises, my next case would come with a top panel fan, preferably 120mm.

The thread lives on !

Gary

 

Dropped ~2c with my side case off temporarily {troubleshooting a past blinking power light & no boot at startup}. MBM5 temps, already cool, dropped to case=23c mobo=24c chip=27c at online/idle. Had already put in a 2nd (exhaust) 80mm fan in the ugly hole I cut.
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Athlon Tbird 1.4ghz{noc'd}, 512mb Crucial pc133 sdram
Mobo MS6340M VIA vt8365a, k7mpro, FSB 266mhz
Award BIOS v6.0pg, TweakedMe{98-}, IE5.5 SP2
IDE uata100, Samsung SV4084H HDD, Princeton 17" 73e crt
Sparkle 400w PSU on UPS, Sony cd/rw, dvd
GF2 mx400/64, PCITel v.92/.44 hardmodem
MBM5 online/idle: mobo-24c, chip-27c, case-23c
Mid-ATX 2 case fans, HSF & PSU, usb2 & firewire added