I've been lurking around for some time, reading articles and dropping the occasional comment. In hind-sight, I should have taken a closer look into fan recommendations and control. Oh well, well, well.
My system components:
Case: Rebel 9 economy (the one without the enourmous side fan)
3x120mm fans: Zalman ZM-F3, sleeve bearing, running around 1000rpm with the supplied resistor cable
PSU: Enermax Pro82+ 385W
CPU: E2160 overclocked to 3 Ghz, 1.285V, 333MHz FSB
CPU-HSF: Scythe Mine, running around 1000rpm as well
HDD: WD 320GB single platter AAKS, SATA
Graphics card (on it's way): SCS3 passively cooled HD3870 from PowerColor
DVD-RAM: Samsung, I've forgotten the exact numbers, but it's a SATA drive as well
RAM: OCZ 4-4-4-15 @ 666Mhz, 1.9V
My current system layout. Unfortunately, my paint skills aren't amazing and I haven't come across installing much on the rig.
Both front fans are "silicon-mounted" on sharkoon metal frames. One of which on a 140mm frame, which was originally designated for the Rebel12, but Scan ran out of stock for the Rebel9. Between the fans is a piece of carboard ducting to allow both to suck air through the front mesh. The HDD is suspended in front of the bottom fan.
Despite being an excellent power supply, all the sleeving on the Pro82+ is horrible for cable management. In the end I will probably remove the sleeves and use zip-ties instead. Does anyone know whether this causes the warranty to expire?
Now to the actual restructuring (see little schematic): I have ordered a 140mm fan (Sharkoon, 1500rpm) as well as a Zalman fanmate controller and intend to replace the upper front fan. I'd also like to move the HDD to the space above the DVD drive in suspension, swap the PSU orientation so it sucks air from the top and tailor some ducting for HDD cooling. My concern is the currently low airflow through the PSU and the merely 5-10mm wide gap between top-panel and PSU.
Then I'd move the bottom front fan towards the motherboard, so it's aligned with the new 140mm fan. When the graphics card is installed, I'd like to form a duct from the bottom 120mm fan to the graphics card. My intention is to throttle the 140mm fan with the resistor cable and use the fanmate on the 120mm fan. This way both hopefully with end up at around 700rpm.
Finally, I'm not sure whether it is necessary to have an exhaust fan with such a strong intake fan in place.
What do the experts think? All comments and banter appreciated
Cheers,
Cistron