Newbie cooling questions

carl · Post by **carl** » Mon Mar 14, 2005 9:50 am

Hello all. I'm about ready to buy a system; with help from many people here I narrowed the specs down and it's going to look like this:

CPU: AMD Athlon 64 3000+ 1.8GHz, 512KB L2 Cache 939-Pin 64-bit Processor
Mobo: ASUS A8N-SLI Deluxe
CPU Heatsink: Thermalright Heatsink XP-120
Case: EverCase ATX Mid Tower Case E4252BB-81
PSU: Seasonic S12 Series ATX12V 2.0 430W Power Supply, 12cm fan, Model S12-430
HD: SAMSUNG 160GB 7200RPM IDE Hard Drive, Model SP1604N
RAM: Mushkin Blue Dual Pack 184 Pin 1GB(512MBx2) DDR PC-3200
"EN6600/TD/256" -RETAIL
Video Card: Gigabyte passive cooled GV-NX66128DP 6600 PCI-express
DVD/CD-RW Drive: Plextor 12X DVD+/-RW Drive, Model PX-712SA/SW-BL
Floppy Drive: NEC 1.44MB Black Internal Floppy Drive

In addition I was planning on using two Nexus "Real Silent" 120mm fans, one for the CPU, and one for the case exhaust. The case fan will be mounted in the rear and blow outward.

I am also considering replacing the motherboard fan with a Zalman NB47J passive coolingheatsink.

Question is: is the one case fan enough to cool my system? I'm worried about replacing the chipset fan with a passive cooling heatsink, along with using a passive heatsink in the graphics card, that a lot of heat might build up inside the case. Maybe this worry is unfounded; I certainly don't want to put extra fans when they aren't needed, as this will just make things louder.

I appreciate any advice here. This will be the first time I build a system, and I want to double and triple check everything. I don't want to fry my first system build!

Carl

tay · Post by **tay** » Tue Mar 15, 2005 7:51 pm

Your build looks good as do the components. One case fan should be enough especially with a 120mm PSU. There are tons of people running similar setups albeit with slower video cards. Check out the gallery section. Also make sure you snip out any restrictrive grills.

Good luck!

elasticdog · Post by **elasticdog** » Wed Mar 16, 2005 8:47 am

You should have absolutely no problems at all with switching the chipset fan with the passive heatsink. The Evercase 4252 has great airflow, and the Zalman NB47J provides more than enough cooling for the chipset. If you think about it, a small 40mm fan, even going at high speeds (and LOUD), won't be pushing hardly any air in comparison to the air your rear 120mm fan will draw over the passive heatsink.

Looks like you've got a great system picked out there...the trick is to just take your time, and do things right. I think you'll be more than satisfied with your first real build...good luck!

carl · Post by **carl** » Wed Mar 16, 2005 9:05 am

Great, thanks! I just ordered everything, so I should be building it next week!

Carl