evercase 4252 fan placement

foothoss · Post by **foothoss** » Tue Dec 09, 2003 1:31 pm

I recently got my new Evercase 4252 and put together my gaming system.
Thanks to all for your recomendations: http://forums.silentpcreview.com/viewtopic.php?t=8627

Now I have it set up with a new Fortron 350 PSU and I am not getting the crashes like I was, nor the amount of heat coming out of the box.
But the system is still a bit noisy.
It is not the 120mm fan on the PSU so I am thinking it is the video card or CPU fan (My CPU is posting 50C at idle speed).
Picture of my PC

I have a couple questions:
1. I have one additional 80mm CompUSA fan (I know I Know). Should I use it in the front as an intake(#2) or the rear as exhuast(#1) (remember, I have the 120mm on the bottom of the PSU). WHich would offer the most airflow?
2. Is my hard drive in the best spot, or should I lower it to the bottom of the case to provide better airflow between the video card and hard drive?
3. Should I use the included side fan with the Evercase system? I have heard mixed responses about this.

I appreciate any help on this. I figure if I can increase airflow and lower CPU temp, maybe I can lower the CPU fan speed and thus the noise.

mahkum2 · Post by **mahkum2** » Tue Dec 09, 2003 3:01 pm

foothoss-- Ok, I've got this case so hopefully I can answer this question with some authority. Also, I got the same psu as well.

1. I got an AOpen motherboard with fan control. So I let the motherboard fan control mechanism to decide which fan to turn on and maintain a temperature of 35c. The front fan seldom came on meaning it wasn't needed to cool the case. So one could conclude that the back exhaust fan is all that is needed to cool the case comfortably. Now, since your psu is fan controlled you wouldn't want too much hot air entering it and in the process speeding up the fan. So a back exhaust fan is needed to expel some of the warm air circulating in the case before it enters the psu. So to answer your question, yes! you would need a case fan and yes! it would have to be an exhaust fan.

2. I would recommend lowering it to the bottom since you would want the hard drives to catch the coolest air possible before it got warmed up.

3. I would recommend doing away with the side fan altogether and taping (with sellotape perhaps) those holes to reduce noise escaping. Also, the back exhaust fan could simply suck air through these holes instead of sucking air from the bottom of the case which is not desirable.

Hope this helps....

bondiablo · Post by **bondiablo** » Tue Dec 09, 2003 3:10 pm

I would bet the video card and motherboard northbridge fan are the worst noise makers you've got in there. I used the stock Intel heatsink/fan for a little while and it wasn't soooo bad, until it heated up a bit. Is your system noisy as soon as it starts up or does it get noisier as it warms up? You could replace the chipset heatsink/fan with a passive heatsink, though I guess that's not so easy with the Abit board. Same goes for the video card or Sapphire makes a passively cooled "Ultimate" edition.

GamingGod · Post by **GamingGod** » Tue Dec 09, 2003 3:54 pm

Thats the same video card I have. And I know for a fact that little fan on it is VERY VERY loud. Its driving me insane. Im trying to install a arctic cooling vga silencer on it now. Also that northbridge fan is probably fairly loud. I would move the hardrive down to the bottom cage and either tape up the rear hole or put an exhaust fan there, undervolted to 5v, or with a fanmate on it.

Post by **Ralf Hutter** » Wed Dec 10, 2003 6:28 am

1) Put the fan on the rear as an exhaust fan. It will cool the case better and keep the PSU cooler as well.

2) Drop the HDD down to the top position on that lower bracket. It will be more directly in the path of the air that enters thriough the front grill.

3) I'd recommended not using the side fan and covering the hole to reduce the amount of noise that escapes the case form there.

foothoss · Post by **foothoss** » Wed Dec 10, 2003 6:43 am

Here is what was done last night:

I added the 80mm fan to the rear of the case as an exhaust.
Disregarded the side fan and covered the hole with some cardboard and tape.
THis dropped my CPU temp by about 2 degrees (48C at idle). And did not change the noise at a noticeable level (It may actually be quieter)
I am getting good airflow now through the front of the case. I placed some paper near there and I could see it slightly pulling in.

I am still getting about a 10 degree increase when playing UT2003 (my CPU temp is about 58-59C) I am assuming this is normal.

But in an effort to see if I could reduce the temp more, I cranked the dial on the back of the PSU, so that the fan was at full speed (I am not sure how to use this dial since there is nothing about it in the directions, but I normally keep it on the low end).
ANyways with the PSU fan all the way cranked up, I was playing UT2003 when all of the sudden I got an error from Hardware Doctor, that said my CPU fan had exceeded maximum speed and the system will be shut down.
THat is right, my CPU fan not my PSU fan which I had cranked up.
I quickly opened the case and noticed that the CPU fan was off. So I shut the system down and rebooted back to normal, with the PSU fan in the low position and everything is back to normal.

Kinda weird huh?

Hey GamingGod, How is that arctic cooling vga silencer going? I am curious to know how difficult it is to install (and of course if it works).

GamingGod · Post by **GamingGod** » Wed Dec 10, 2003 8:35 am

LOL it broke, im rmaing it. The damn screw holes werent drilled very well and I couldnt get the screws to go all the way in. What cpu are you running again? Mine is at 30idle, 42UT2003. But im using a 2.4c with a zalman 7000alcu.

foothoss · Post by **foothoss** » Wed Dec 10, 2003 12:41 pm

I am running a P4 3.0Ghz 800Mhz FSB with the stock heatsink and fan that came with it. From my preliminary reasearch it seems that my temps are not too far off. These 3.0 processors tend to run quite hot. (My current temps are 48C at idle and 59C at Ut2003)

Of course I would like to think that I am smarter than the average Joe and could get my temps down to a more acceptible level, but then again this is all new to me. My previous computer that I built was as simple as putting everything together and flipping the switch.

I was hoping to do the same with this machine. I mean, I am not into overclocking (yet) and was not interested in tweeking my system so much. If I was, I would have bought a slower processor (for a lot less money). Oh well, you live and learn.

Now I gotta get my hands on some 3D testing software to get some more accurate numbers. Although the UT2003 test seems to be quite accurate for me. Especially since that is my favorite game and it is a perfect "real world" test for me.

So GamingGod, what broke? The video card or the silencer?

Post by **Ralf Hutter** » Thu Dec 11, 2003 5:57 am

foothoss wrote:I am running a P4 3.0Ghz 800Mhz FSB with the stock heatsink and fan that came with it. From my preliminary reasearch it seems that my temps are not too far off. These 3.0 processors tend to run quite hot. (My current temps are 48C at idle and 59C at Ut2003)

Looks like that's an Abit board. Are you aware that they report temps about 10°C hotter than other P4 boards? Abit does this deliberately and there's quiet a dustup about it over at Abit-usa forums. So if you knock 10°C off your idle and load temps you get 38°C and 49°C which are actually quite good temps for your CPU.

foothoss · Post by **foothoss** » Thu Dec 11, 2003 6:21 am

Yes it is an Abit IS7.

I am glad to know that I am not alone.

I will have to spend some time over at their forum to find out what the deal is. But at least I now know that it was not my system configuration that is causing the high temperatures (it is by MOBO design).

When I put together this new computer I added it to my office which only had one at the time. All of the sudden I realized that I was sweating in my office. (It was also noticably louder) SO I started my quest to cool and silence my PCs.
I got rid of one of the CRT monitors and am using a KVM switch. I placed my older 1Ghz Thunderbird in the closet to reduce the noise and now I am working on my new machine. But with the high temps comes the need for better airflow and more fans which means more noise.

I will have to keep experimenting.

Post by **Ralf Hutter** » Thu Dec 11, 2003 7:05 am

foothoss wrote: I will have to spend some time over at their forum to find out what the deal is.

Start here. Then here.