Modifying Chieftec frontbezel

Enclosures and acoustic damping to help quiet them.

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Marvin
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Modifying Chieftec frontbezel

Post by Marvin » Tue May 27, 2003 10:44 am

I have Chieftec dragon midi case (DX-01WD) like many others in here.

I was just wondering if anyone have blocked the airvents in frontbezel and cutting the bottom of the bezel open. This way there would not be direct way for sound to escape. Main goal would be to silence casefans hum as I cant turn them to speeds that I can't hear them.

The main concern would be that the opening wouldn't be big enough for the fans to get enough air. Would it cause too much turbulence and therefore noise?

I did a quick calculation and the bottom opening couldn't be nearly as big as are the gaps in bezel.

Just wanted to know if anyone have any ideas is it worth the effort or just total waste of time.

Athlon Powers
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Post by Athlon Powers » Thu May 29, 2003 3:59 pm

I have to say I dont quite follow you. But from what I gather you are trying to open more airflow so the fans buzz less?

First off, the chieftec case vents are more than enough air in front. And second a large space would leave even more noise to escape because the bezel is not deadining some of it.

aphonos
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Re: Modifying Chieftec frontbezel

Post by aphonos » Thu May 29, 2003 7:06 pm

Marvin wrote:I have Chieftec dragon midi case (DX-01WD) like many others in here.

I was just wondering if anyone have blocked the airvents in frontbezel and cutting the bottom of the bezel open. This way there would not be direct way for sound to escape. Main goal would be to silence casefans hum as I cant turn them to speeds that I can't hear them.

The main concern would be that the opening wouldn't be big enough for the fans to get enough air. Would it cause too much turbulence and therefore noise?

I did a quick calculation and the bottom opening couldn't be nearly as big as are the gaps in bezel.

Just wanted to know if anyone have any ideas is it worth the effort or just total waste of time.
I assume you are asking about doing something along the lines of what MikeC did in this article: Silencing a P4-1.6A oc'd to 2GHz
Image
I've trimmed the bottom of the bezel on my Cheiftec case in this manner.
It does open up the airflow to the front of the case without any noise penalty. Whether you end up covering/blocking the remaining vents or not, this mod will aid your airflow and I think it is definitely worth your time.

I'd suggest establishing a baseline set of temps with your case the way it is now. Then go ahead with cutting the bottom of the bezel. Take temps again with the new cut. Then cover the remaining vents on the front of the bezel with something removable (such as posterboard or cardboard). Take temps again and see if blocking the vents cuts off too much airflow. Your temps under load will tell you whether to leave the vents covered or not. You may want to make sure that whatever material you use to cover the vents on the front bezel does not protrude into the airstream coming up from the bottom of the bezel to the fans on the chassis.

FWIW, cutting out the fan grills on the front of the chassis will help increase your airflow, too. See Mike's article for more ideas.

Marvin
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Post by Marvin » Fri May 30, 2003 1:14 am

Yes I was talking exactly the same kind of thing that is done in that article.

I have cutted the grills off long time ago. It seems that I have to do that next week when I have time and energy to do such a thing:)

I'll write back and let people know how it went, and maybe take some pics of the progress.

Athlon Powers
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Post by Athlon Powers » Sat May 31, 2003 4:57 pm

What article is this?

Alistair
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Post by Alistair » Sat May 31, 2003 5:17 pm

aphonos wrote:something along the lines of what MikeC did in this article: Silencing a P4-1.6A oc'd to 2GHz

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