Hardware & Technical Cooling fans

Mo Ronik

Mo Ronik
Is anyone using those 5 1/4" drive bay cooling fans? I have 3 fans in my pc and they do keep it nice and ventilated but I'm thinking maybe another fan or two might be a good thing. I saw a card slot fan that I'm thinking about getting that exhausts the heat generated by the video card. It sits right next to the video card so that might be a bonus. The other fan I saw was a rail mounted fan that sits at the back of the 5 1/4" drive bay. I believe it is a 120mm size fan. Then remove the solid drive bay blank and replace it with the vented and filtered blank. Trying to maybe add some more air flow without adding too much noise. I don't want this thing to sound like a jumbo jet starting up.

https://www.moddiy.com/products/5.25in-Bay-Case-Fan-Cooler-Mounting-Kit.html

https://www.moddiy.com/products/Vented-5.25%22-Drive-Bay-Cover-with-Dust-Filter.html

https://www.amazon.com/Expansion-Slot-Exhaust-Cooling-Connector/dp/B0000510SS/ref=pd_cp_147_1?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B0000510SS&pd_rd_r=e9d41fec-c18e-11e8-bfb2-a95fb8e0f3b4&pd_rd_w=8Jeq1&pd_rd_wg=fp2N7&pf_rd_i=desktop-dp-sims&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_p=3f5155f5-5438-4fc3-ab83-bf013cfc8883&pf_rd_r=A149X16D9RGKGJC8JYJM&pf_rd_s=desktop-dp-sims&pf_rd_t=40701&psc=1&refRID=A149X16D9RGKGJC8JYJM
 

CmdrKafka

CmdrKafka
Maybe you’re not looking to replace your case, but last year I moved into this Vivo airflow case and I’m quite happy now, running two gtx 1070 TI and the ambient temperature in the case is just below 30 degrees Celsius, GPUs sit around 50C while mining ethereum when I’m not playing games ( yes I know it’s not worth gpu mining eth anymore, but I’m committed anyway). I have 6 120mm low noise fans in it, relatively quiet. The only problem;it needs monthly cleaning as it seems to get a lot of lint gathering on the front grill. It was very inexpensive at $71 plus some extra fans, and I was happy to stop fiddling around trying to improve the airflow in my old full tower from the 90s that just wasn’t designed with modern thermal requirements in mind.... https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B01JH4MX3Q/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1
 

Mo Ronik

Mo Ronik
Yeah, not ready to replace the case just yet. That'll be an "after the move" thing if I do it. I just got this used pre-built off of eBay for $67 plus shipping. i3-3220 @ 3.30GHz with 8gb ddr3 ram. It runs cool now but once I get the new video card in that might change. The only other option other than those I linked with or a new case is to get a hole saw and cut an access hole in the top or side for a fan. I think a hole saw bit might be more expensive than this whole computer. Oh yeah, the new power supply is supposed to have a lot more air flow so we'll see as soon as this adapter cable comes in... today or tomorrow.
 

Broon

Broon
Mo Ronik, you say you already have three fans in your case. How are they configured? As in incoming/outgoing?

Having two intake and one exhaust may be inadvertently causing heat buildup since the heat can't get out very efficiently. One intake and two exhaust would be a better option if that is doable in your case.

If you only have one exhaust fan, as many factory case do, it might be an option to configure the drive bay fan in an exhaust role by turning the fan around in its mount and making it blow air out the front grill plate you are looking at. So maybe you have two intake at the lower-front position of your case and the two exhaust, one at each upper corner. Granted the front exhaust would be blowing warm air out towards you but at least it would be getting heat out of your case.

A two-fan-in and two-fan-out system is how my case is set up and I run nicely cool with an i5 chip and a GTX 1080. 35-36C just surfing the net and low to mid 40'sC when gaming.

Here's a nice article on fan setups. http://www.tomshardware.com/faq/id-1858957/airflow-101-setting-fans-keeping-computer-cool.html


BTW, I love your sig. I am born and bred Missouri and still call SEMO home.
 

Mo Ronik

Mo Ronik
Right now there is one case exhaust fan and the exhaust fan in the power supply and it is huge. Looks like another size bigger than the stock power supply fan. The third fan is pulling air thru the cpu cooler that has one of those plastic shrouds around it. I'd like to use that 5 1/4" rail system with a fan and the vented blank with a filter for an intake fan but I don't know how loud it is. That card slot fan would be almost exclusively for exhausting the heat from the graphics card. Can't do much with this HP case short of cutting holes in it and I really wanna avoid that. SEMO'ish (Park Hills) is home for me too till the wife and I pack up and head to Australia.
 

Broon

Broon
Is there any venting on the lower front of the case, maybe obscured by the hard drive cage? I had (well still have in the closet) a factory Dell case that has a spot for a fan up front. By moving the HD up closer to the optical drive and removing the HD cage I was able to mod a 90mm fan in the spot and get some cool air in that way.

If not the optical drive bay rig you have in mind just might do the trick since it sounds like all you have is exhaust fans a CPU cooler and are relying on those to pull in the air flow. forcing some air in should help your temps some.


Park Hills? No way! I'm right around the corner in French Village, not far from Goose Creek Lake. We are like neighbors.
 

Mo Ronik

Mo Ronik
I'll check the temps when I get this system up and running. Well it's running now but with the stock 320 watt PS and the new video card says a minimum of 400 watts. I got a 600 to install. The power supply adapter is supposed to be here tomorrow and then I can put the video card in. Dang these proprietary HP motherboards. Hello neighbor! Been to Goose Creek a few times.
 

Chris Simon

Chris Simon
If I were you, I'd rather tidy up the case, inside, to allow the best airflow possible. Two intake fans and one exhaust fan (plus PSU if you have it draw the air from the inside) is more than enough airflow in most cases. Simply pumping more air in/sucking more air out doesn't mean better cooling. Just more noise.

The only rule I've always adhered to was to keep the pressure inside slightly positive (eg. one more intake than exhaust.) The positive pressure inside the case makes the air escape through the various gaps and grates in the case. That way, if you have a filter on the intake, you'll keep your case dust free. If you have more exhausts and therefore a negative pressure, the case will suck the dust inside through all the gaps and cracks.
 

Dural

Dural
You do need decent airflow through the case, ideally you want to be exhausting hot air out via the shortest path possible. Since hot air rises, it's usually reckoned to be good to introduce cool air at the bottom and front of the case and exhaust it at the top and back. You want the input and exhaust fans as far away from each other as possible to get air flowing through as much of the case as possible too.

Positive pressure in a case means less dust over time if you use decent fan filters although you're more likely to get hot spots. Negative pressure means you may need to dust more frequently but are less likely to get hot spots. It's one of those arguments which has been going for years. I prefer the latter approach, either is fine if implemented properly.

I've not used one of those 5 1/4" fan adapters but they look like a good idea if they fit with the rest of the cooling scheme.
 
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Zak Gordon

Zak Gordon
Mo Ronik said:
Is anyone using those 5 1/4" drive bay cooling fans? I have 3 fans in my pc and they do keep it nice and ventilated but I'm thinking maybe another fan or two might be a good thing.
Click to expand...

So what are your temps? That is usually the first thing to check when deciding on cooling solutions.

For example, my gaming rig is a shoe-box (pretty much):

https://forum.rockpapershotgun.com/t/economical-gaming-mini-itx-build/9884

It has just 1 exhaust fan (plus 1 CPU fan and the 2xfans that are on the GPU), yet under full gaming load won't go over 45 degrees C on the CPU and around 65 degrees C on the GPU. I could add another fan to the mix (maybe a 120mm on the side?), but i don't need to based on the temps i get. It is also a pretty silent rig, which is worth something in a build i find.
 

Zak Gordon

Zak Gordon
Yeah as Morbad mentioned you need to get an idea if you have a problem by running some demanding tasks. Do you have a game you can run in windowed mode? If so you can then run a temp monitoring tool, i like Speccy:

https://www.ccleaner.com/speccy

As it is free and gives the full range of temps across my system (from CPU and GPU to storage devices). Anyway with a game running that is going to use your hardware a bit (even something like CivIV will do) you let that run for a while (say 30 mins to an hour) and see what your main temps are at. This will then guide you to IF you need more/better cooling etc.
 
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