What will the summer of 2008 bring?

Felger Carbon · Post by **Felger Carbon** » Sun Apr 29, 2007 8:55 am

I began the summer of 2005 with 92mm case fans and the InWin Z720 chassis. The summer of 2006 began with 120mm case fans and the Ever Case ECE 3505 chassis. Klamath Falls just got hit yesterday with its first summer day of 2007, and I have 220mm case fans with various big-fan chassis.

What size case fan will I be using the summer of 2008?

(A chassis using a "360mm" fan goes on sale next month. No joke.)

jaganath · Post by **jaganath** » Sun Apr 29, 2007 9:24 am

A chassis using a "360mm" fan goes on sale next month. No joke.)

Are you going to get one?

Felger Carbon · Post by **Felger Carbon** » Sun Apr 29, 2007 10:25 am

jaganath wrote:Are you going to get one?

That specific model is a variation of the Aplus/Xclio A380 case, with the side fan being replaced by the larger fan. The interesting thing is, the larger fan exists (obviously, else the case couldn't be sold). And I bought an A380 case a few months back to get the 7-blade 220mm fans it comes with - I threw away the sheet metal.

So when you ask if I'm gonna get one, do you mean am I going to build it up and use it? Or if I just want the big fan?

I assume you noticed the A380 case has the same model number as the humongous Airbus double-decker? The one with a 40-lane bowling alley and a full-scale replica of the La Scala opera house?

jaganath · Post by **jaganath** » Sun Apr 29, 2007 11:23 am

That specific model is a variation of the Aplus/Xclio A380 case, with the side fan being replaced by the larger fan.

Does this imply that the only change is a replacement side panel with an enlarged aperture for the larger fan?

do you mean am I going to build it up and use it? Or if I just want the big fan?

haha, I bet you will just cannibalise it for the fan

I assume you noticed the A380 case has the same model number as the humongous Airbus double-decker?

LOL, the similarity doesn't finish with the name, its airborne namesake also has one of the biggest fans in the business, at 2.95m

qviri · Post by **qviri** » Sun Apr 29, 2007 11:28 am

jaganath wrote:LOL, the similarity doesn't finish with the name, its airborne namesake also has one of the biggest fans in the business, at 2.95m

Undervolt, anyone?

Felger Carbon · Post by **Felger Carbon** » Sun Apr 29, 2007 11:59 am

jaganath wrote:
That specific model is a variation of the Aplus/Xclio A380 case, with the side fan being replaced by the larger fan.
Does this imply that the only change is a replacement side panel with an enlarged aperture for the larger fan?

Since the new case is not yet for sale, its detailed specifications (dimensions etc) have not been released. But the only obvious difference from the pic is the diameter of the side panel fan.

Willy Higinbotham · Post by **Willy Higinbotham** » Sun Apr 29, 2007 12:21 pm

I'm keeping an eye on that case as well. It's looking impressive and I'm very curious to see its cooling potential.

Felger Carbon · Post by **Felger Carbon** » Sun Apr 29, 2007 3:33 pm

Willy Higinbotham wrote:I'm keeping an eye on that case as well. It's looking impressive and I'm very curious to see its cooling potential.

Keep in mind that in addition to the "360mm" side intake fan, there's also a 220mm front intake fan. With those two huge intakes, the air has to escape from inside the case back to the outside somehow. One 120mm rear fan hole with a grill on it isn't gonna do a very good job!

Willy Higinbotham · Post by **Willy Higinbotham** » Mon Apr 30, 2007 1:10 am

Felger Carbon wrote:Keep in mind that in addition to the "360mm" side intake fan, there's also a 220mm front intake fan. With those two huge intakes, the air has to escape from inside the case back to the outside somehow. One 120mm rear fan hole with a grill on it isn't gonna do a very good job!

Looking at your outstanding performance on your previous works, I'm sure that you'll find a way to plant a 220mm exhaust fan somewhere on that case

Felger Carbon · Post by **Felger Carbon** » Mon Apr 30, 2007 3:52 am

Willy Higinbotham wrote:I'm sure that you'll find a way to plant a 220mm exhaust fan somewhere on that case

I'll find a way?? Just a cotton-picking minute here! You are the person keeping an eye on that case, and wondering about its cooling potential.

Besides, a big exhaust fan isn't needed, just a big exhaust hole.

Bluefront · Post by **Bluefront** » Mon Apr 30, 2007 4:44 am

Actually you don't need a big hole.......just enough holes in the right places. FC uses a std power supply with the fan removed. In order to get airflow through this PSU, the total area of the other exhaust openings must be restricted somewhat, in order to force airflow through this PSU. How much total exhaust area actually needed must be determined by the case builder, after careful consideration of the exact spot(s) where airflow is necessary. This is easier than it sounds. You can leave the rear case opening completely open.....then experiment by partially blocking it off, forcing exhaust through other openings, like a fanless PSU.

Felger Carbon · Post by **Felger Carbon** » Mon Apr 30, 2007 5:10 am

Bluefront wrote:In order to get airflow through this PSU, the total area of the other exhaust openings must be restricted somewhat, in order to force airflow through this PSU.

I'll take Bluefront's word for the above, but I've now used fanless std cheap PSUs on three different big-fan cases and I have yet to do anything to try to force more air thru the PSU because that has not been necessary. In fact, I've gone to a lot of trouble to run slower fans at lower and lower RPMs, which has the effect of reducing the airflow thru the PSU. Despite this, I get 6C (PSU exhaust - case input) on my Mio, and 6.5C on my Aplus CS188A, both using 600RPM nominal TT 220mm fans running at 4V.

Bluefront · Post by **Bluefront** » Mon Apr 30, 2007 6:51 am

Well on my big fan project, I'm using a fanless Zen PSU. And I carefully monitor the temperature. A large amount of the exhaust airflow is forced over and through this passive PSU. When I run the case without the big fan hooked up and the side open, the PSU temps go straight up. The CPU, GPU, and hard drives have separate fans, so the only thing affected by the removal of the big fan, is the PSU......due to the reduction of exhaust airflow over this Zen. Just how much a particular setup would be affected by a certain airflow configuration will vary system to system. But in my setup, most of the positive pressure exhaust serves to cool the fanless PSU......very well in fact.

Felger Carbon · Post by **Felger Carbon** » Mon Apr 30, 2007 9:48 am

Bluefront wrote:Well on my big fan project, I'm using a fanless Zen PSU.

Congratulations on your incredibly expensive PSU!

Bluefront wrote:...most of the positive pressure exhaust serves to cool the fanless PSU.

I wonder how a std cheap PSU, with the fan removed like mine, would work (with no special cooling precautions) in your project?

Bluefront · Post by **Bluefront** » Mon Apr 30, 2007 1:10 pm

It's a crap-shoot (gamble). I have a little-used computer I built about six years ago. I pulled the fans out of an Antec True Power 330w, and used the only case fan to pressurize a lower chamber, with the Antec as the only exhaust point. Works ok......but I suspect that a designed-fanless PSU will be more reliable in such a setup. YMMV