advice for changing the case

Enclosures and acoustic damping to help quiet them.

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kopilu
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advice for changing the case

Post by kopilu » Fri Feb 03, 2017 2:18 am

Hi,

I would like some advice regarding a possible case change. Right now I have the configuration in my signature.
All the fans are controlled by the MB:
- the two intake Nexus usually spin at 400(idle), 700(load)
- the Antec True quiet exhaust spins at 300 (idle), 600 (load)
- the scythe stock fan on the Kotetsu does not spin in light load, and gets up to 700(gaming).
- the fans on the GPU don't spin in under 40 degrees, under load, they are louder, but it doesn't bother me.
- the psu fan has never started to spin, even in the summer.

My problem is this: right now the system in idle is dead silent (I cannot hear it even at close distance). Under load, the primary noise maker is the GPU, but it's not an unpleasant noise characteristic. During load (gaiming) the system, especially in the summer, gets really hot. If I change the fan profiles, the noise increases much more then the drop of temps: 45 in the case, 50+ for the cpu, 70+ for the GPU.

My question is if it's worth getting another case that has ceiling vents (mine doesnt's have any other fan placement spots). I know that it would aid the temps a lot, but isn't the noise bigger then my current setup?

quest_for_silence
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Re: advice for changing the case

Post by quest_for_silence » Fri Feb 03, 2017 3:35 am

kopilu wrote:My question is if it's worth getting another case that has ceiling vents
It's more not probable than probable: likely a more unrestricted front intake would serve you better, temp-wise, but your mileage may vary noise-wise (I don't know which your video card is and if/how much its fan profile is tweakable).

kopilu
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Re: advice for changing the case

Post by kopilu » Fri Feb 03, 2017 4:53 am

My card is a Asus Strix AMD R9 280. From experience, I can tell you that raising the rpm on the GPU doesn't bring any real benefit to temperatures. I think it's mainly because the fans on the gpu use the already hot air in the case...

I have modded my case in regards to the intakes and exhausts: I've cut the fan grills completely off for both the front and back fans, and I've removed all of the drive cages, so the front fans blow directly towards the gpu and cpu.

quest_for_silence
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Re: advice for changing the case

Post by quest_for_silence » Fri Feb 03, 2017 5:28 am

kopilu wrote:so the front fans blow directly towards the gpu and cpu.
But the air the fans can draw from outside is still limited: something like a Phanteks Enthoo Pro (or at least like a Fractal Design Arc) is what an hot card like the 280X would likely please more.
Or you can swap the card for a more efficient one (like a GTX 1070?), but unfortunately that's a much more expensive option.

kopilu
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Re: advice for changing the case

Post by kopilu » Fri Feb 03, 2017 5:58 am

I am planning on buying in the next month a radeon 480 or a GeForce 1060. (I can't afford a 1070 :cry: ), but I don't think any of the new cards will make a big difference in the overall temps.
Once I even tried a Arctic Cooling Accelero Xtreme IV as a replacement GPU cooler, and it made almost no difference (2-3 degrees at most).

Right now I'm wondering if going for a case with fully vented ceiling would be noisy as hell :?:

quest_for_silence
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Re: advice for changing the case

Post by quest_for_silence » Fri Feb 03, 2017 9:38 am

kopilu wrote:I am planning on buying in the next month a radeon 480 or a GeForce 1060. (I can't afford a 1070 :cry: ), but I don't think any of the new cards will make a big difference in the overall temps.

It's not a matter of heatsink, it's a matter of heat.

The RX480 maybe no (it is close/no better than the R9 380X, power/thermal-wise), but a GTX 1060 will shave off 50-90W (or much more if you're used to overclock your card) of heat dumped into the case.
And that would be a noticeable difference (hint= internal air won't be heated up that much).

Another difference will be that less heat require less cooling, so the right card may spin a bit quieter than your current ASUS.

kopilu wrote:Right now I'm wondering if going for a case with fully vented ceiling would be noisy as hell :?:
With your current card, probably you won't get much lower temps in summer: noise-wise, that ASUS will be much more noticeable under load, how much mainly depends where you sit, with reference to an open top.

With an MSI Gaming 1060/Gigabyte Xtreme 1060, YMMV: they are more frugal, a bit quieter, so there's a chance a more open case won't be as much noticeable as you're afraid of.

Said that, even with a new card I don't think an open top is the right move, an open front would be so, but do what you think best.

Abula
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Re: advice for changing the case

Post by Abula » Fri Feb 03, 2017 11:08 pm

I agree with Lucas, i think a lower tdp gpu will help, the MSI GTX1060 Gaming X would be a good candidate, it should be very quiet gpu as long as you have decent airflow.

Olle P
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Re: advice for changing the case

Post by Olle P » Wed Feb 08, 2017 6:30 am

If I change the fan profiles, the noise increases much more than the drop of temps: 45 in the case, 50+ for the cpu, 70+ for the GPU.
Are these temps before or after increasing fan speeds?
Running the CPU at 60C and the GPU at 80C should be perfectly acceptable.

To reduce the case temp I'd primarily use a bit more powerful case fans.
I have a Gentle Typhoon running full speed for my intake (with a restrictive dust filter) and some less powerful Noctua fan for the exhaust.

When I used an R9 280 graphics card a year ago I reduced the annoying cooler noise by running its fans a little faster than normal at idle and then quickly increase the fan speed in small increments as the GPU temp went up during load. This helped keeping the GPU sufficiently cool without having to go 100% on the fans (as was the stock setting on that Asus Direct Cu II). Switching to a GF GTX 1060 made noise a non issue.
As others pointed out, a less power hungry graphics card will help keeping the whole rig cooler! (Your current card has a TDP of ~250W. The RX 480 is 150W and GTX 1060 is 120W.)

kopilu
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Re: advice for changing the case

Post by kopilu » Thu Feb 09, 2017 10:11 am

Thanks for the input guys.

After reading all your replies, i think i'll wait until I buy the new GPU, before going the case-changing-route.

@ Olle: the temps are my current temps. If i set up a more aggressive fan curve for the case and/or cpu fans, the temps become: 42 in the case, 48+ for the cpu, 65+ for the GPU (given the same environment temps and same load).

@ quest_for_silence: my desktop sits just under my desk, on a thick rug. So, you might be right about the noise coming out the top vents.

CA_Steve
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Re: advice for changing the case

Post by CA_Steve » Thu Feb 09, 2017 11:22 am

my desktop sits just under my desk, on a thick rug.
Just wondering if the thick rug means the PSU intake vent on the bottom of the case is effectively blocked->causing the PSU temps to run higher than normal->PSU fan runs faster than normal.

kopilu
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Re: advice for changing the case

Post by kopilu » Thu Feb 09, 2017 11:31 pm

@ CA_Steve: my psu is a Super Flower Golden King Pro 600W PSU, which is a semi passive PSU. Until now, even in the summer, after 4h of gaming, the fan hasn't started to spin. I have a bottom intake for the PSU, but I glued 4 rubber (additional) feet to my case, raising it with about 1 inch (2.5 cm).

Regarding the GPU, I think I'll buy a Inno3D GeForce GTX 1060 iChill X3 6GB DDR5 192-bit. As far I I've read, it has a passive state, and the fans are made by Scythe, so I have high expectations.

On a side note: Steve, why there are no new articles on SPCR?

quest_for_silence
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Re: advice for changing the case

Post by quest_for_silence » Fri Feb 10, 2017 1:32 am

kopilu wrote:and the fans are made by Scythe, so I have high expectations.

Don't be deceived: those fans aren't made by Scythe, they advertise that the "blade design" is "Scythe-like" (so probably either sort of a knock-off, or Scythe "licensed" a blade design to a third party).

It might be good but IMVHO MSI Gaming X or Gigabyte Xtreme Gaming are safer options.

CA_Steve
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Re: advice for changing the case

Post by CA_Steve » Fri Feb 10, 2017 8:30 am

kopilu wrote:On a side note: Steve, why there are no new articles on SPCR?
Site owner moved...hasn't set up the new lab, yet.

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