what would you do w/ this?

djkest · Post by **djkest** » Mon Sep 17, 2007 8:54 pm

I have this mess in my gaming computer. It's loud, and I can't help but think this is a bad design for airflow. What would you recommend for a heatsink/possibly changing out some fans or remounting stuff? Power supply is an Antec NeoPower 480.

Badger · Post by **Badger** » Mon Sep 17, 2007 9:12 pm

what kind of socket/cpu is it

djkest · Post by **djkest** » Mon Sep 17, 2007 9:48 pm

oops, sorry. socket AM2 / Athlon 64 x2 3800+

ronrem · Post by **ronrem** » Mon Sep 17, 2007 10:40 pm

more info....overclocked? what Vid card? What heatsink-fan-fan rpm--load temps?

What kind of case is this and what's the details on the case fans?

Noise comes from whatever moving parts are in the box.
The main noise...fan rpms....is related to whatever heat sources you have.

an X2 3800 can be dead quiet....or sound like a helicopter and there's a hundred reasons in between. So give the detectives all the facts and we'll get you some ideas.

Matija · Post by **Matija** » Mon Sep 17, 2007 11:41 pm

I see a horribly restrictive mesh behind the exhaust fan... What kind of case is it? You can't do much with such restrictions, and you will require a new case, or severe modding.

Bluefront · Post by **Bluefront** » Tue Sep 18, 2007 2:58 am

You're showing a typical computer case....easy to build, but totally wasteful of it's airflow. Take the rear fan for instance.......aside from a restrictive grill as mentioned, much of the airflow being exhausted by this fan, isn't doing much good besides providing cooling for the hard drive.

Ducting or air deflectors can help out with the cooling, allowing less airflow/noise. A better heatsink on the CPU helps a bunch. Me....I'd throw out that case and start over.

djkest · Post by **djkest** » Tue Sep 18, 2007 4:59 am

rear case fan is a coolermaster quiet fan, 1000 rpm. CPU is currently running @1.1 volts down from 1.25. Not overclocked, but I'd be willing to put it back up to stock voltage and get some extra juice out of it if it was a good setup. The video card below it is a radeon x1800xt, stock cooler (for now) and didn't respond well to my overclocking attempts, so running stock for now.

I'm thinking something like a scythe ninja, Actic Cooling freezer 64, or the like that pushes air from front to back would be a decent solution. I'm not a huge fan of that air intake being there interfering with the airflow.

Case is a Silverstone TJ-04.

Matija · Post by **Matija** » Tue Sep 18, 2007 5:12 am

http://www.ibertronica.es/Silverstone/p ... w/tj02.jpg

That's just horrible! And I have feeling the intake is also unusable.

Get your tools and start cutting.

Rinswind · Post by **Rinswind** » Tue Sep 18, 2007 6:13 am

I plan to silence my machine later down the road and I have pretty much the same standard setup inside my Gigabyte Triton case. This issue with the back grill got me scared that my case is hopeless for a silent PC (and it's brand new and I don't plan on switching it any time soon) So does this back grill provide sufficient ariflow?

http://img.hexus.net/v2/cases/gigabyte/triton180/5.jpg

djkest · Post by **djkest** » Tue Sep 18, 2007 7:39 am

Wow thanks for noticing the back grill, funny thing I don't look at the back of my case very often. I have access to air tools, dremels, etc. Also once I suspend my hard drive I can remove 2/3 of the drive cages as well.

Thing that sucks about hacking up a case is that I have to remove the motherboard to keep metal chips off it. I hate installing motherboards. (hooking up usb and all that.)

Here's my list of possible heatsinks for this case...
Scythe Ninja Plus
Zerotherm butterfly thing
Thermaltake ulta-120 (not likely because of cost)
Arctic Cooling Freezer 64 (not quite good enough, but cheap)

Also while I'm hacking this thing up I'm thinking about adding a 120mm intake on the bottom, blowing up toward the video card.

FlorisNielssen · Post by **FlorisNielssen** » Tue Sep 18, 2007 11:46 am

Like you said, the Freezer Pro isn't the best you can get. But it is very cheap. A few of my roommates have used it and are very pleased with it. I myself use a Alpine 7 on a 3800+ X2 and it keeps it very cool and quiet. But I've undervolted my processor to below 1V.
Anyway, it will certainly make your pc a lot more silent. BUT, if you want to overclock your processor it might be good considering an other one. Arctic's are good, but less good for overclocking.

bonestonne · Post by **bonestonne** » Tue Sep 18, 2007 1:46 pm

djkest wrote:Also while I'm hacking this thing up I'm thinking about adding a 120mm intake on the bottom, blowing up toward the video card.

definitely would have to be filtered, but would possibly help. it may affect front to back airflow a little, so it would probably have to stick between 5 and 7 volts, but it is a good idea. case would have to be kept off carpet + elevated a little to relieve back pressure as well.

djkest · Post by **djkest** » Tue Sep 18, 2007 10:54 pm

in that same picture, you can see a 12V PCI-E power connector on the motherboard that is not connected to the power currently. Is that vital?

Looking at that pic, I realized that the CPU isn't plugged into the right pins, should be the 4-pin connector nearby. also, the sytem fan should be plugged in where the CPU is currently. The system fan is plugged into the PS fan monitoring port (I believe! wonder why it still works). Gigabyte did a craptastic job of having their silkscreen NOT match up with the way the board was actually built.

I ripped apart my case and found the front fan had the same uber-restrictive mesh in front of it. Clogged badly with dust. On the plus side I was able to rout my main mobo power cable and the aux 12v power cable around the back of the MB tray(ala antec 182), freeing up a little airflow.

djkest · Post by **djkest** » Wed Sep 19, 2007 4:01 pm

Okay, ordered a scythe ninja plus rev. B for this guy, going to do the recommended front to back airflow. Pics and writeup will be coming in a week or so.

thejamppa · Post by **thejamppa** » Wed Sep 19, 2007 8:26 pm

Good luck with project. We'll be wait how your case modding will go.

djkest · Post by **djkest** » Sat Sep 22, 2007 6:46 am

Installed my Scythe Ninja Plus Rev B last night. Scary thing is that it bent one of the caps over and they are still touching. I'm wondering if the heatpipe will be getting hot enough to do damage to the cap. I'm guessing not. Funny thing about the cooler though I heard all these nightmare stories about getting it clamped. It was very easy for me. I leaned it over, hooked one side, flattened it, and clamped the other side w/o too much drama. I also replaced the NB screamer fan with an enzotech forged low profile copper heatsink. Finally, I installed an Accelero S1 on my x1800XT. After I get off work I'll finish with the hacking up of the case. Pics will come in a few days.

Here's how the ninja fits on the motherboard. And the arrow indicates the bent capacitor.

Lets just say that back fan grill was completely removed (still need to clean up the edges., and the front one will follow suit.