Right now speedfan shows the temperatures as
Ambient 42
NB 49
Video 57
Core0/1 ~40
All my fans are pushing ~1000RPM except my CPU fan which is at 1500. They are controlled by the motherboard's default Q-Fan profile, since it doesn't give options for other profiles.
Here is how the airflow is laid out.
I have two passive inputs, right at the front of my case, right in front of my makeshift HDD suspension rig. I couldn't mount fans in front of the intake holes for lack of space. I DO have a fan mounted right at the bottom-left of this picture (I forgot to label it on the photo), blowing across the drives to the right. It doesn't have a good source to feed from though, and I suspect this may be the root of my problem.
I have another fan mounted on my S1 to help air movement across the blades and to keep it moving across the case in general. It's outlined in yellow on my diagram.
I blocked off the passive intake next to the CPU cooler because I wanted an explicit entry and exit point for air, and I wasn't sure whether I would get that with the hole open. It didn't actually affect the temperature in either direction though so I'm not sure whether I should leave it closed or open.
There is passive exhaust above the PCI card slot though heat loss through the holes seems negligible with a hand-inspection.
I'm concerned that by the time the air hits the CPU fan it is already hot, which means the northbridge and CPU are not being cooled as well as they could be.
Despite what it may look like, I have actually tamed the cable problem in the LC17 and I don't have a mass of cables lying around everywhere, so airflow through the case should be relatively unimpeded, unless you consider the giant S1 bisecting the case an impedance.
The power supply is on a completely separate air cycle. It intakes from the outside and exhausts to the outside so I don't think it adds much if anything to the temperature.
I am shortly going to upgrade this to a Q6600 and I was planning on throwing a Ninja Mini in there to perhaps help direct the airflow a little more. I can add a dedicated northbridge cooler if that is what it takes to help bring temperatures down. Other things I was considering are ducting the ninja mini to a dedicated fan on the currently-closed exhaust hole.
Anyway, I don't want to go about making changes for the sake of making changes I guess the first thing I want to reaffirm is that my temperatures do seem a little high. Ambient temperature in the room here is probably anywhere between 23 and 27c. The case IS in a shelf but isn't really constrained as far as airflow goes. There is an inch clearance on either side, and probably half an inch on the bottom. The rear of the case is wide open with probably 6" of clearance between the cabinet and the wall, no tangle of wires to impede airflow.
Any obvious thoughts or recommendations?