Advice On Further Cooling HTPC Needed!

Blade · Post by **Blade** » Mon Feb 02, 2009 2:00 pm

Hi guys,

I've been building this as-near-to-silent-as-possible-while still-on-a-budget Pc for a while now, improving it bit by bit over time, and thought it would be a good idea to come on here and get your views on any further improvements that may be possible... That goes for either noise levels, improved cooling, that sorta thing...

Youd advice would be really appreciated! Anyway, on with the details:-

Its a media PC build, for watching video and movies

Components:-
Abit NF-7 V2 Motherboard (Socket A)
AMD Athlon XP 2800+ (Overclocked a little)
1GB Generic RAM
Panasonic CD\DVD writer
Viet Cong Randombrand Cheapo CPU ("450w"?... See Mods Below! ie Fan, undervolt, side removed)

Asus 9520 AGP Graphics Card (Fanless... Runs hot!)
2.5" Laptop Hard Drive (suspension mounted)
2.5" Multifunction card reader

Cooling:-
Big ole' Thermalright Copper CPU Cooler with...
92mm Antec Tricool Fan (CPU fan... Largest the heatsink will take... Undervolted to 5v)
Zahlman (?) passive northbridge cooler
PSU fan changed for Zahlman 120mm (undervolted to 5v, mounted on rubber fan mounts)
Thermalright Thermal Paste used throughout

A few notes about the mods made to the system:-

- PSU has been cut open so it pulls its air from inside the case and exhausts it... I've used rubber to make a good seal against the top peael, so it exhausts more efficiently. The black pipe attatched is a relic from when an older video card was used, which I removed the fan from, added a heat sink, and used the PSU fan to draw air accross this heat link ... This isn't really needed now, and could be removed if it would eb better to get better airflow through the PSU

- 92mm PSU exhaust vent on the top panel of the case has been enlarged to 120mm to help cooling (NOT SHOWN ON PICS, only did it today!)

- Side case vent, and bottom underneath case vent have both been sealed up, so that air is pulled in from the back of the case (openings by the CPU/Chipset) to aid cooling of chipset/CPU/Graphics/RAM

- I've use rubber strips to make a suspension mount for the HDD

All the noise really seems to come from the PSU fan... But I'm guessing that disabling this altogether will not be possible!

HDD, CPU, DVD Drive are all pretty much silent.

Maybe I should be looking into soundproofing materials... But I'm worried about compromising cooling through the flimsy metal panels of the case

Any input would be really useful

Cheers
Rich

vertigo · Post by **vertigo** » Mon Feb 02, 2009 5:32 pm

I can't see a good way to make that PSU fan quieter. It's in the hot air so a sleeve bearing fan might not last long. Using it as an intake makes it difficult to get rid of the heat.

One idea is to duct the PSU to the bottom couple of pci slots (move those USB plugs closer to the video card) and flip the PSU fan. That way, it'll get cool air and will only need a slow fan, and a sleeve bearing fan will be fine. The PSU heat will go directly out without affecting anything. Then move the CPU fan to the side vent, duct it to the CPU heatsink, open the closed side vent and bottom vent and close one or both of the 60mm's.

I think that would work but it's pretty exotic so don't try that unless you are keen. I'd check for hotspots if doing that. Just wanted to throw out an idea that hopefully could make your system quieter.

Also, I don't mean my advice to be safe for everyone but I assume that you know enough not to let your system overheat (and I'll take no responsibility if it does).

Blade · Post by **Blade** » Tue Feb 03, 2009 12:26 pm

Thats helpful mate, cheers

vertigo · Post by **vertigo** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 3:42 am

Does that mean you are thinking of doing something like I suggested to make it quieter?

niels007 · Post by **niels007** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 3:46 am

Zalman makes very poor fans, slip a low speed Yate Loon or a Nexus in there at 5 or 7 volts and it'll be much better..

Blade · Post by **Blade** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 4:21 pm

Cheers for your advice Vertigo... Helpful to know that in order to get this quieter, a lot of work is gonna be needed! I guess thats a plus and a minus...

Looks like it would be a lot of work to move to a single fan setup (be that keeping the PSU fan, or the CPU fan, I dunno)... Thats a shame, I quite fancied the possibility of moving to a single fan setup

Will definitely change the PSU fan though if the Zalman isn't all that though... Are there any particular model numbers of Yate Loon or Nexus fans I should be looking at?

I hear these "chocolate fans" are low noise, but not sure who makes them!

vertigo · Post by **vertigo** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 6:39 pm

Looks like it would be a lot of work to move to a single fan setup

Positive pressure is not something I have experience with. You could do it and it may work fine, I don't know. I prefer to feed cold air to everything, but as long as the hot air is removed, it'll be okay. Your components will run a little hotter though. I'll not give a final "okay" because I don't have experience with it, I'll wait for someone who has used positive pressure to confirm that it will work.

Plekto · Post by **Plekto** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 6:50 pm

I'd look at a big cooler like a Scythe Ninja series. This can easily cool most CPUs with a fan running at half speed(about 7V vs 12). Of course, you don't HAVE to get one from them. Most makers also have similar large tower type coolers.

The other option might be to get a bigger passive cooling device for the GPU. You'll need better exhaust fans, but if the heat is spread out over a larger area and collects more slowly, it's easier to get rid of.

psiu · Post by **psiu** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 7:22 pm

Scythe Ninja won't fit, I am 99% sure.

Except for the front, that case is the EXACT same as a NZXT Duet.

In which case, you don't want the PSU taking air in from the case and exhausting there, that top spot is meant as an intake to keep the psu isolated and running cool. It actually spits air out behind the bezel and underneath, convoluted but it should work if it gets its own air supply.

Yate Loon D12SL-12. Cheap and should do the job. Or a lower speed Nexus or Slipstream.

I can't tell, but if you don't actually have 2 opticals you can put the hard drive under one in spare 5.25" bay with adapter or suspension, gives it more air. Can put 120mm fans on either end, those big vents are sized for them.

Blade · Post by **Blade** » Thu Feb 05, 2009 11:01 am

That makes a lot of sense... Cheers

I'll kick off with a new 120mm fan, one of the ones you've reccomended (Didn't realise the Zahlman was so bad!)

xan_user · Post by **xan_user** » Thu Feb 05, 2009 12:19 pm

looks like a mini ninja might fit? worth checking. if not cut a hole in the top of the case and have a full size one stick out.

(ive always wanted to do that...)

To me it looks like it sits on a shelf over some receiver or other heat producing equipment?

maybe its pulling in hot air from the back, so any cooling is sub par.

Is the right side vent blocked too?

some options i would try,
-blocking parts or all of the back, swaping the psu fan, and on the right side vent, as big and slow of an intake fan as you can pull off.

-swap psu fan, block all/part of back, open both side vents and add big and slow exhaust fan on left side.

QuietOC · Post by **QuietOC** » Thu Feb 05, 2009 12:34 pm

Blade wrote:- PSU has been cut open so it pulls its air from inside the case and exhausts it... I've used rubber to make a good seal against the top peael, so it exhausts more efficiently. The black pipe attatched is a relic from when an older video card was used, which I removed the fan from, added a heat sink, and used the PSU fan to draw air accross this heat link ... This isn't really needed now, and could be removed if it would eb better to get better airflow through the PSU

All the noise really seems to come from the PSU fan... But I'm guessing that disabling this altogether will not be possible!

You need to keep the noise from escaping. You want to avoid having any vents and especially fans on the top or front of the case. I would flip the PS upside down and seal up the top vent. Then think about swapping that Zalman fan for something better. The PS should be taking in air from the bottom of the case. You could build a little duct so the PS is exhausting out the side vent.

You could also duct the Thermalright with the rear (or side) vents. Just placing a fan on those old Thermalrights is very inefficient--most of the air flow is NOT going through the fins at all. I made a little cardboard funnel to channel all the airflow when I had a SLK900A. You could do this with a 120mm fan. Ideally you want all the hot air exhausted out the back.

psiu · Post by **psiu** » Sat Feb 07, 2009 11:47 am

QuietOC wrote:
Blade wrote:- PSU has been cut open so it pulls its air from inside the case and exhausts it... I've used rubber to make a good seal against the top peael, so it exhausts more efficiently. The black pipe attatched is a relic from when an older video card was used, which I removed the fan from, added a heat sink, and used the PSU fan to draw air accross this heat link ... This isn't really needed now, and could be removed if it would eb better to get better airflow through the PSU

All the noise really seems to come from the PSU fan... But I'm guessing that disabling this altogether will not be possible!
You need to keep the noise from escaping. You want to avoid having any vents and especially fans on the top or front of the case. I would flip the PS upside down and seal up the top vent. Then think about swapping that Zalman fan for something better. The PS should be taking in air from the bottom of the case. You could build a little duct so the PS is exhausting out the side vent.

You could also duct the Thermalright with the rear (or side) vents. Just placing a fan on those old Thermalrights is very inefficient--most of the air flow is NOT going through the fins at all. I made a little cardboard funnel to channel all the airflow when I had a SLK900A. You could do this with a 120mm fan. Ideally you want all the hot air exhausted out the back.

Hmm, I thought had added another reply to this thread.

This case is a little different. The 120mm power supply sucking in from the top isn't bad at all. That fan is, and instead of getting outside air it is bringing in heated case air.
To bring air in from the bottom of the case is really not practical in this case with the twists it makes--it forces the air whether coming or going through the bottom to divert through a duct in the front bezel and then hit the standard outside facing of the power supply.
A Ninja Mini should fit fine I believe.
I ened up removing my rear fans during my rebuild this week and just have 2 120mm fans blowing in at 5V, and then a stock AMD cooler turned all the way down with the Fanmate 2.
Could check the General Gallery for what I started with in my case and the evolution so far.
Also, the IDE->SATA adapter for my DVD drive seems to work flawlessly so I am quite happy with that improvement.

Advice On Further Cooling HTPC Needed!

Advice On Further Cooling HTPC Needed!

Re: Advice On Further Cooling HTPC Needed!

Re: Advice On Further Cooling HTPC Needed!