I cut up my case

[brownbox]

I did it. I put two holes in the side of my computer, and stuck fans in them. It doesnt look half bad! (considering I did it)

Just check it out




Well, what do you tihink? Although, it seems to be noisier now, my graphics card temp has dropped 6 degrees Celcius to 37'C idling

[Jimmy]

theres some skill there! Those holes look perfect

Hey if your concernd about heating then try getting a PCI exhust fan, I don't know how effective my one was but its a good sounding concept, it actuly sucks the hot air out of the case, nice and warm behind the compter too lol have a search on tradme or go to smiths dick or something...

[brownbox]

Ive technically already got one. The way my video card fan works (after market), it sucks air in from the case, over the heatsink, and out of the case. Very handy. Hence the reason I stuck a fan beside the video card, so it would have plenty of air to suck in. Also, I have 1 80 mm exhausting, aswell and the power supply. 1 fan in the front to cool the hd too

  theres some skill there

Not at all! All it needed was a drill, a centre punch, a compass, and a hammer. Not to mention plenty of cursing!

[HardCorePawn]

Are your 2 new fans sucking air in, blowing it out, or one of each?

[Charl]

Inspired by the BB philosophy some time ago (think it may have been the high-voltage test to destruction) I did just this some time ago.
Mine is a single 100mm fan blowing out through a rosette not half as nice as the one BB did.
My fan is a $10 el cheapo however, and it has expired.
Ths makes the situation much worse, as the normal airflow path is now short-circuited.
This results in overheating of HDD and video card.

I have solved the problem as follows:
On starting the computer I check the wall-mounted thermometer.
If it reads above 24 degrees, I remove the side of the case and place my desk fan on the floor next to it, blowing directly into the case.
If the room temp goes above 26, I turn the desk fan onto its High speed setting.
When flying small prop planes, I turn the sound off as there is sufficient noise from the fan to (more than) compensate

Edit: do not try this at home unless you are about to upgrade your entire system

[brownbox]

i have them both (cheapo $6 fans) blowing in. Heres my setup

ONe at front to cool hd
2 in side to cool cpu, video card, and motherboard+other components
Video card aftermarket fan exhausting
1x80mm cheapo exhausting
dual fan PSU also exhausting

I rekon its nicely balanced

[Zöltuger]

dunno if i'd have them blowing in, exhaust fans seem like a better idea

[HardCorePawn]

For the side fans, you probably do want them sucking cooler air in. That should help keep the ambient temps around the CPU and vid card as low as possible.

Due to the idea of keeping the CPU near the top (warmest) part of the interior, having a direct vent to the outside (theoretically cooler) air is a good idea, hence cases that actually have ducted vents sitting over the CPU.

In addition, I would raise the cheapo 80mm fan that you have exhausting at the back (3rd pic), up to the higher position on the case (or is that a 120mm slot?). That way it will remove the warmer (higher) air from the case interior.

[brownbox]

Ok, Ill do that. It is a 80mm slot. All of them are in my computer