Silence! 100% passive P4 at 100% load, for cheap!

Cooling Processors quietly

Moderators: NeilBlanchard, Ralf Hutter, sthayashi, Lawrence Lee

acj
Posts: 28
Joined: Sat Oct 18, 2003 8:30 pm

Silence! 100% passive P4 at 100% load, for cheap!

Post by acj » Sat Oct 18, 2003 8:33 pm

just built a system with this inwin case, and made a few modifications to where I can run entirely without a CPU fan.

My temps after running CPU burn for an hour are:

46/38/42

Idle temps are

26/29/28 (perhaps lower)

I have a Zalman 7000 ALCu, which is a perfect "bowl shaped" heat sink for having a duct rest inside the fins, forcing all air through the fins. The front of the case has been sealed up except for a small amount of airflow carefully directed to run directly over the hard disc.
Air is exhausted from the case via a panaflo 80mm L1A and the PSU, which I will soon replace with a seasonic 120mm fan version, reportedly the quietest thing around, and capable of moving serious CFM when needed.

So this works by the case being low pressure, or a partial vaccuum, sucking all air through the duct and directly onto the cou cooling fins. My temps with the stock zalman fan were 47, or 1 degree higher at low fan speed, and 40 at high (loud) fan speed with the same case fan setup.

Image [/img]
Last edited by acj on Sat Oct 25, 2003 3:34 pm, edited 1 time in total.

wsc
Posts: 161
Joined: Sat Jun 21, 2003 9:25 am
Location: Oklahoma

Post by wsc » Sat Oct 18, 2003 9:24 pm

Great first post 8)

How fast is your processor clocked? Do you have any pictures of your duct setup?

BTW - what color is that case? It looks silvery :shock:

quietOne
Posts: 12
Joined: Sat May 31, 2003 12:51 am

Post by quietOne » Sat Oct 18, 2003 10:43 pm

Sounds like he is saying that the duct that came with the caseslipped right into the Zalman heatsink.

acj
Posts: 28
Joined: Sat Oct 18, 2003 8:30 pm

Post by acj » Sun Oct 19, 2003 12:45 pm

You got it right QuietOne. Except I had to rotate it 90 degrees since it's oval shaped and wouldn't quite fit into the zalman heatsink. I also had to find a way to extend the duct (which has a couple inches of adjustment capability) once the case side was on. I cut out the restricting stamped grill of the vent, and reattached the plastic piece you can see in the photo, so it looks unmodified.

The case is plain old beige.

acj
Posts: 28
Joined: Sat Oct 18, 2003 8:30 pm

Post by acj » Sun Oct 19, 2003 12:46 pm

Oh, I have an intel board so I have no options for over/undervolting, under/overclocking, etc. It's 2.4GHz, and I have just one hard drive and no video card, so it's a pretty cool computer as it is. I can take good pictures of it, but I have nowhere to host them.

Ralf Hutter
SPCR Reviewer
Posts: 8636
Joined: Sat Nov 23, 2002 6:33 am
Location: Sunny SoCal

Post by Ralf Hutter » Sun Oct 19, 2003 1:26 pm

acj wrote:I can take good pictures of it, but I have nowhere to host them.
I'd love to see the pics.

There was someone that used to post here that would host your pics for free. Search the forums for "free AND hosting" (or something like that) and see if you can find him. Maybe he'd still do it.

Phrozenpenguin
Posts: 58
Joined: Fri Dec 06, 2002 10:46 am

Post by Phrozenpenguin » Mon Oct 20, 2003 10:48 am

I can host some pics for you.

I want to see them :)
Last edited by Phrozenpenguin on Thu Jan 27, 2005 2:48 pm, edited 1 time in total.

MGP
Posts: 519
Joined: Thu Dec 05, 2002 4:32 pm

Post by MGP » Mon Oct 20, 2003 12:38 pm

Yes, acj's inwin case + zalman combo for P4C ducted cooling sounds quite alluring. Too bad I'm too lazy to swap my Alpha heatsink and I just bought a brand new case. :D

acj
Posts: 28
Joined: Sat Oct 18, 2003 8:30 pm

PICS!

Post by acj » Mon Oct 20, 2003 10:29 pm

Image
Here's what the closed case looks like. Every inlet is taped except for a little hole on the front which sucks air over the hard drive and the gray duct inlet on the side. Since this works, I'll tape the front from the inside so it looks cleaner


Image
Here's the inside of the case, showing the zalman heatsink with fan removed. I try to keep things pretty clean.


Image
I bent a piece of cardstock to shape and taped it in place here. This forces the most air through the fins, rather than through the large holes on the sides. Testing proved this helps considerably.


Image
Here is a view through the hole in the side of the case. You can see the heatsink lines up perfectly.


Image
This cover goes over the hole and holds the duct from the inside as well. Airflow and cooling are slightly better without this, but it looks more trimmed and is still acceptable with this cover.


Image
This is an inside view of what the duct looks like. It extends an inch or two, but the case side can not be attached with the duct extended. It hits the fins of the heatsink. So I tied a piece of string accross the duct, and bent a hanger so that I can stick it through the gray plastic cover and push on the string, therefore extending the duct all the way into the heatsink AFTER the side is on.


Image
Here is how the duct sits inside the heatsink. It seems to work best when all the way down, even though the outer fins don't get direct airflow. Maybe some drilled holes will be a future mod.

Image
This one is a view through the gray duct cover. You can sort of see that the duct goes inside of the heatsink.


Image
Finally, here are my temps according to intel active monitor. This is after running CPU burn for an hour or two while typing this, and running all the photos through photoshop, with pefect stability.

Phrozenpenguin
Posts: 58
Joined: Fri Dec 06, 2002 10:46 am

Post by Phrozenpenguin » Mon Oct 20, 2003 11:21 pm

So there is no fan anywhere near this duct? Impressive :)

NeilBlanchard
Moderator
Posts: 7681
Joined: Mon Dec 09, 2002 7:11 pm
Location: Maynard, MA, Eaarth
Contact:

What motherboard is it?

Post by NeilBlanchard » Mon Oct 20, 2003 11:44 pm

Hello:

What motherboard is it?

BTW, the long URL above can be shrunk to this: http://tinyurl.com/rphu

JEN
Posts: 212
Joined: Mon Apr 21, 2003 12:45 pm

Post by JEN » Tue Oct 21, 2003 1:04 am

Hello

Does that PSU come with the case, and is it noisy?

Ralf Hutter
SPCR Reviewer
Posts: 8636
Joined: Sat Nov 23, 2002 6:33 am
Location: Sunny SoCal

Post by Ralf Hutter » Tue Oct 21, 2003 6:26 am

Veerrry nice! Makes me want to get one of those Inwin cases just to play with. Maybe as an HTPC? It's pretty small, only 14" high. And it's only $38!

Newegg also has a black version of this case with a slightly different bezel. Even better for an HTPC! $40!

MGP
Posts: 519
Joined: Thu Dec 05, 2002 4:32 pm

Post by MGP » Tue Oct 21, 2003 7:39 am

Just wonderin', but wouldn't one also need to get the same mobo as acj in order to ensure that the duct with line up perfectly with the cpu socket?

Ralf Hutter
SPCR Reviewer
Posts: 8636
Joined: Sat Nov 23, 2002 6:33 am
Location: Sunny SoCal

Post by Ralf Hutter » Tue Oct 21, 2003 11:58 am

MGP wrote:Just wonderin', but wouldn't one also need to get the same mobo as acj in order to ensure that the duct with line up perfectly with the cpu socket?
Yeah, that probably wouldn't hurt. His board is an Intel 865G m-ATX board. All of those should have the socket in the exact same place so you'd be able to choose from within that subset.

acj
Posts: 28
Joined: Sat Oct 18, 2003 8:30 pm

Answers:

Post by acj » Tue Oct 21, 2003 7:29 pm

I have an intel micro ATX motherboard with an 865 chipset with gigabit ethernet built in, along with intel extreme graphics 2, which is mediocre, but acceptable for the few games I play. I went intel for hyperthreading, which is awsome for what I do (like rendering movies, running long batch photoshop commands, etc.)

Nearly All microATX motherboards have the CPU within .5" of where this one is, so it should fit. Check out motherboard pics.

The PSU came with the case, all for $38. The PSU is remarkably quiet at low loads, still fairly quiet at the mac load my setup can do. It's still the loudes thing in the case. I plan to get a Seasonic Tornado 120mm fan, which I hope will actually give more airflow through the duct, at lower noise, and let me lower the voltage on my panaflo case fan.

acj
Posts: 28
Joined: Sat Oct 18, 2003 8:30 pm

Next Step

Post by acj » Tue Oct 21, 2003 9:39 pm

If I get a higher powered video card, I may buy the VGA cooler featured on SPCR's home page. It exhails air from the case, further enhancing my duct setup, and keeping the hot video card air from warming up my case.

jerryk
*Lifetime Patron*
Posts: 141
Joined: Mon Feb 24, 2003 5:02 pm
Location: Pleasanton, California

Post by jerryk » Wed Oct 22, 2003 1:53 pm

Nice setup.

But, aren't you supposed to run CPU Burn at Normal or High? At least that is what I have been doing.

jerry

acj
Posts: 28
Joined: Sat Oct 18, 2003 8:30 pm

Post by acj » Wed Oct 22, 2003 3:01 pm

Good point. I had assumed that it would be the same since it should theoreticaly use 100% of the idle cycles. Anyway, I tested it out. No difference in temps, even after hours.

fierce_freak
Posts: 36
Joined: Wed Oct 22, 2003 3:32 pm
Location: Western NY

Post by fierce_freak » Wed Oct 22, 2003 3:42 pm

That's the same case I got about a month ago for my new comp. I no longer have the duct there as I put a window in :oops:

I would buy another, but i don't believe the zalman HSF would fit in there (AMD nforce2 board, i think socket is closer to the psu on my board than on the one you have...

energy
Posts: 192
Joined: Mon Apr 21, 2003 4:44 pm
Location: London, UK
Contact:

Post by energy » Mon Oct 27, 2003 2:25 pm

The PSU came with the case, all for $38. The PSU is remarkably quiet at low loads, still fairly quiet at the mac load my setup can do. It's still the loudes thing in the case.
Its a standard FSP/Aopen unit... you can just swap an L1A in there and should be fine. Its got a good combined 5v/3.3v power rating despite the 250W total, its 180W which is the same as the 300W FSPs.

WannaOC
Posts: 85
Joined: Wed Jun 11, 2003 1:59 pm

Post by WannaOC » Mon Oct 27, 2003 3:28 pm

Ok, so there are no fans blowing on that Zalman hs? Or is one blowing in the hole to the duct? That is amazing that the HS cools that well with no fan. Very nice setup you have there.

GamingGod
Posts: 2057
Joined: Fri Oct 04, 2002 9:52 pm
Location: United States, Mobile, AL

Post by GamingGod » Mon Oct 27, 2003 3:33 pm

The air that is removed from the case by the power supply and exhaust fan has to be replaced with outside air somehow and since that is the only substantial hole in the case it is forced in across the heatsink.

acj
Posts: 28
Joined: Sat Oct 18, 2003 8:30 pm

Post by acj » Mon Oct 27, 2003 11:08 pm

WannaOC wrote:Ok, so there are no fans blowing on that Zalman hs? Or is one blowing in the hole to the duct? That is amazing that the HS cools that well with no fan. Very nice setup you have there.
Right. There is nothing even blowing remotely towards the heatsink.

By the way, if I take the case side off, things overheat very quickly. To me this proves that the duct is working well.

Seal
Posts: 522
Joined: Sat Oct 25, 2003 4:39 am
Location: Uk

Post by Seal » Tue Oct 28, 2003 1:39 pm

very nicely done! good job, well done

lenny
Patron of SPCR
Posts: 1642
Joined: Wed May 28, 2003 10:50 am
Location: Somewhere out there

Post by lenny » Tue Oct 28, 2003 2:31 pm

That's a very nice setup. I like the elegance.

A couple of questions / observations :

1. Having the duct extend all the way apparently forces the air through the fins better, as your own experiments have shown. Drilling holes in the duct may be counterproductive. Anyway, the part of the fins closer to the CPU will be the hottest.

2. Since the fins are close together near the base of the Zalman, they might become clogged with dust easily. Not sure if the airflow is enough to prevent dust from accumulating.

3. I especially like how you extend the duct after closing the case.

Thanks for sharing this here.

acj
Posts: 28
Joined: Sat Oct 18, 2003 8:30 pm

Post by acj » Tue Oct 28, 2003 7:31 pm

lenny wrote:That's a very nice setup. I like the elegance.

A couple of questions / observations :

1. Having the duct extend all the way apparently forces the air through the fins better, as your own experiments have shown. Drilling holes in the duct may be counterproductive. Anyway, the part of the fins closer to the CPU will be the hottest.

2. Since the fins are close together near the base of the Zalman, they might become clogged with dust easily. Not sure if the airflow is enough to prevent dust from accumulating.

3. I especially like how you extend the duct after closing the case.

Thanks for sharing this here.
Good observations. Thank you. Computers tend to act as an air filter, so I should be sure to periodically check the dust accumulation on the heatsink.

As an update, I have been running for quite a while now without a single lockup or problem, though I tend to use my computer lightly.

exrcoupe
Posts: 31
Joined: Sat Sep 20, 2003 9:43 pm
Contact:

Post by exrcoupe » Wed Oct 29, 2003 1:33 pm

Are you running with onboard video? You have no other cards in the slots?

marc999
*Lifetime Patron*
Posts: 230
Joined: Sat Oct 26, 2002 4:05 pm
Location: Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Post by marc999 » Wed Oct 29, 2003 3:37 pm

acj,
Brilliant!! I've been reading SPCR for awhile now and I've often tried to think of something innovative. Anyway, all I can say is you're making me look bad!! :D Who says Newbies know nothing?!

I would just like to add that you may want to reconsider the SS Super Tornado. There's been a lot of problems with them. I actually bought one and returned it because of them. Check out these before you make any purchasing decisions:
1).http://forums.silentpcreview.com/viewtopic.php?t=7105 and
2.)http://forums.silentpcreview.com/viewtopic.php?t=7489

acj
Posts: 28
Joined: Sat Oct 18, 2003 8:30 pm

Post by acj » Wed Oct 29, 2003 7:33 pm

exrcoupe: Nothing in the slots yet. We'll see how things run with more heat generating components at soem point in the future.

marc999: Thanks! And thanks for the warning. I do need a 120mm fan PSU for another project I have up my sleeves, which is much neater, IMHO. Perhaps I'll look for another.

Post Reply