Giving up on my BQE (too hot) what do I need for a P180?

Enclosures and acoustic damping to help quiet them.

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BoB-O
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Location: Seattle, WA

Giving up on my BQE (too hot) what do I need for a P180?

Post by BoB-O » Mon Sep 19, 2005 8:46 am

Hey all,

I've been fighting with this BQE for a few weeks now. It's running too hot up top. This is for a quiet (not silent) workstation that contains an X2 4400+, 2GB RAM, Asus A8N-SLI Prem, 4 Maxtor 300GB drives in RAID5, PCIe RAID card, 1 Raptor 74GB drive, DVDRW, and passive PCIe GeForce 6600.

As a result, I'm going to switch to a P180 as I suspect that will have superior airflow. That said, I'm wondering what all I'll need for the full monte, so to speak? I know I'll need the case and (I'm guessing) 4 Nexus 120mm fans.

What power supply pairs best with this system? Also, will I need any cable extensions? I'd like to wire this as neat and clean as possible.

Thanks,
BoB

Vulcan
Posts: 205
Joined: Sat Jan 10, 2004 10:45 pm

Re: Giving up on my BQE (too hot) what do I need for a P180?

Post by Vulcan » Mon Sep 19, 2005 1:43 pm

BoB-O wrote:Hey all,

I've been fighting with this BQE for a few weeks now. It's running too hot up top. This is for a quiet (not silent) workstation that contains an X2 4400+, 2GB RAM, Asus A8N-SLI Prem, 4 Maxtor 300GB drives in RAID5, PCIe RAID card, 1 Raptor 74GB drive, DVDRW, and passive PCIe GeForce 6600.

As a result, I'm going to switch to a P180 as I suspect that will have superior airflow. That said, I'm wondering what all I'll need for the full monte, so to speak? I know I'll need the case and (I'm guessing) 4 Nexus 120mm fans.

What power supply pairs best with this system? Also, will I need any cable extensions? I'd like to wire this as neat and clean as possible.

Thanks,
BoB
The P180s airflow, while slightly better isn't going to vastly change your temps (actualy, some people have actualy had worse temps when coming from a 3700/sonata). What exactly are the temps you are getting?

BoB-O
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Location: Seattle, WA

Re: Giving up on my BQE (too hot) what do I need for a P180?

Post by BoB-O » Mon Sep 19, 2005 2:10 pm

Vulcan wrote:The P180s airflow, while slightly better isn't going to vastly change your temps (actualy, some people have actualy had worse temps when coming from a 3700/sonata). What exactly are the temps you are getting?
I'm using an XP-90 with 92mm Nexus. With my S12-430, I get idle 40C, dual Prime95 load 57C. The problem is that the top of the case gets nuclear hot. When I put in the SL350S that came with the case, the top of the case stays nice and cool, but the temps go to 44C idle and 62C load. In addition, the fan on the SL350S ramps up to full speed and the air coming out is quite hot.

If I open up one of the drive bays, things cool off. This indicates a negative pressure problem. I don't want to operate this way 24x7, so I'd like to go with better ventilation. The P180 looks like a good, quiet, solution.

BoB

Vulcan
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Re: Giving up on my BQE (too hot) what do I need for a P180?

Post by Vulcan » Mon Sep 19, 2005 2:29 pm

BoB-O wrote:
Vulcan wrote:The P180s airflow, while slightly better isn't going to vastly change your temps (actualy, some people have actualy had worse temps when coming from a 3700/sonata). What exactly are the temps you are getting?
I'm using an XP-90 with 92mm Nexus. With my S12-430, I get idle 40C, dual Prime95 load 57C. The problem is that the top of the case gets nuclear hot. When I put in the SL350S that came with the case, the top of the case stays nice and cool, but the temps go to 44C idle and 62C load. In addition, the fan on the SL350S ramps up to full speed and the air coming out is quite hot.

If I open up one of the drive bays, things cool off. This indicates a negative pressure problem. I don't want to operate this way 24x7, so I'd like to go with better ventilation. The P180 looks like a good, quiet, solution.

BoB
What kind of exhaust fan are you running? I have no temp problems with my sonata. With a X2 3800 and Freezer 64 I have an idle of around 27C, I'm not sure what the load is I'll get back to you on that.

BoB-O
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Location: Seattle, WA

Re: Giving up on my BQE (too hot) what do I need for a P180?

Post by BoB-O » Mon Sep 19, 2005 2:31 pm

Vulcan wrote:What kind of exhaust fan are you running? I have no temp problems with my sonata. With a X2 3800 and Freezer 64 I have an idle of around 27C, I'm not sure what the load is I'll get back to you on that.
I'm using a Nexus 120mm exhaust and another Nexus 120mm up in front of the drive cage.

BoB

chylld
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Post by chylld » Mon Sep 19, 2005 2:31 pm

if it's a negative pressure problem i suggest snipping out the front fan grill and enlarging the opening at the bottom of the plastic bezel. i remember doing various airflow mods like these to my bqe back in my aircooling days and it dropped my temps by about 5 degrees. worth a shot :)

Vulcan
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Re: Giving up on my BQE (too hot) what do I need for a P180?

Post by Vulcan » Mon Sep 19, 2005 2:37 pm

BoB-O wrote:
Vulcan wrote:What kind of exhaust fan are you running? I have no temp problems with my sonata. With a X2 3800 and Freezer 64 I have an idle of around 27C, I'm not sure what the load is I'll get back to you on that.
I'm using a Nexus 120mm exhaust and another Nexus 120mm up in front of the drive cage.

BoB
Very odd... I am running a higher speed fan, the fan I use probably pushes around 20-30CFM more. I can't hear it right now anyway because my 7800GTs fan is stuck at full speed.

I guess at this point I would try going to the P180. If you do so let us know if it helps.

hmsrolst
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Post by hmsrolst » Mon Sep 19, 2005 3:31 pm

I'm not sure how relevant my experience is since I have a very low power P-M system. I moved it from a 3000B to a P180 and it got quieter (went from near silent to nearer silent), but the CPU temps went up a few degrees C and the mobo temps a bit less (both still very modest). I'm confident it was because the 3000B had the side air tunnel and vents, although they also let out a small amount of sound.

So you might want to think about a 3000B, since they run cool and are inexpensive.

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