Help cooling my system

[A_N_T_H_O_N_Y]

Hey guys.

I currently have very bad airflow in my system (I think?). I only have two case fans, and the stock intel HSF.

here are some pictures:



My case



here you can see the side case fan, positioned near my graphics card. The case fan is currently intake.



Case rear, two fan grills, only have one installed. it's exhaust.



Case interior. there are two fan grills in the front near the HDD bays. no fans installed. my power supply has a fan on the bottom of it, don't know which way it's blowing. also there's a fan on the graphics card, i also don't know which way it's blowing. then i have the stock intel hsf.


I am planning on buying a few fans (maybe 3, to fill all of the empty spaces in my case). I need help figuring out which ones should be intake and which ones should be exhaust.

My current system:

Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 @ 2.4 GHz
Asus P5K-E / WiFi-Ap Mobo
Crucial Ballistix PC2-6400 2GB RAM (2 X 1GB)
Galaxy GeForce 8800GT Overclocked 600MHZ 512MB Graphics card
Corsair CMPSU-450VX 450W PSU
500GB SATA HDD

Now I am probably going to be switching from the Intel Stock HSF to a better one, most likely the Sunbeam Core Contact Freezer. I would like to overclock, to the highest possible safe speed that I can get to. Also, when I get the new HSF, which way should I point the fan? towards the back of the case? is it intake or exhaust? should i also get an extra fan to put on the other side of the HS?


the Sunbeam Core Contact Freezer

Please help :).

[MpG]

Honestly, that's looking like a pretty poor case where airflow is concerned. But if you're looking to keep it around, it's not unredeemable.

Firstly, you definitely want a better heatsink fan for your CPU, the stock ones are seriously garbage. The one you listed isn't bad, but you might consider checking out the Noctua NH-U12P fan in the forum deals section right now. For $39.99, it comes with an excellent fan, and is designed to hold a second fan without much trouble. If you want to run two fans on the heatsink, you could grab a Noctua NF-P12-1300 fan (also in the deals section right now), which is the same fan that the heatsink comes with. Whichever heatsink you go with, try to aim it out the back, so that it works with the case exhaust fans.

Your PSU fan is working as an exhaust fan. However, the fan on that PSU is a very slow, quiet fan, so it probably isn't doing too much for your case flow.

When adding more fans, you'll want the fan(s) at the front to be intake, and the fan(s) at the back to be exhaust. The side fan should also be an intake, so that it blows cool air on your graphics cards.

As far as overclocking is concerned, results will always vary. But I think I'd be surprised if you couldn't get that chip to 3.2 GHz (using a good heatsink, of course), with minimal tweaks. Higher is certainly possible, but those chips start to get much hotter at that point, so you might need stronger fans.

[Spaceman-Spiff]

Tidying up the cables will help, get some cable ties. Good cable management will provide better airflow.

Sometimes in the summer I'll keep my side panel open all the time :P. It's not recommended in dusty enviornment, unless you feel like cleaning (blowing) your heatsinks more often.

[A_N_T_H_O_N_Y]

The cables really due need tidying... It's just that they're kind of short, so it's hard to get them organized.

[enaberif]

buy a new case.

Any case that uses 80mm fans is NOT a good case and is hampering your cooling very badly.

[paphman910]

I have a pretty bad air flow in my case. I think the fan in the front of the case will make the the ambient temperature of the case go down by a few degrees.

If replacing a cpu heatsink make sure there is enough clearance for it. The cpu heatsink maybe too high and you may not get the case lid back on! I am not sure but I heard the Asus P5K-E mosfet gets a bit bent due to the Sunbeam Core Contact Freezer and the fan clip just clears the northbridge heatsink.


Paphman910

[enaberif]

Originally Posted by paphman910

I have a pretty bad air flow in my case. I think the fan in the front of the case will make the the ambient temperature of the case go down by a few degrees.

If replacing a cpu heatsink make sure there is enough clearance for it. The cpu heatsink maybe too high and you may not get the case lid back on! I am not sure but I heard the Asus P5K-E mosfet gets a bit bent due to the Sunbeam Core Contact Freezer and the fan clip just clears the northbridge heatsink.


Paphman910

Not worth it with a case like that.

Your gonna end up with more hot air in your case cause the exhaust can't get it out fast enough.

[paphman910]

Originally Posted by enaberif

Not worth it with a case like that.

Your gonna end up with more hot air in your case cause the exhaust can't get it out fast enough.

I agree! I have almost the same setup. I will upgrade the case to Cooler Master 590 pretty soon this summer when I get enough money. I tried the system with two 80 mm fan and a 120 mm fan but the case is cooler but very noisy. I would prefer to have a large 120 mm fan that can suck up the excess heat from the cpu and less noise.

Paphman910

[A_N_T_H_O_N_Y]

Originally Posted by enaberif

buy a new case.

Any case that uses 80mm fans is NOT a good case and is hampering your cooling very badly.

Now, what if i cut a whole on the top of my case and mounted a 120mm fan, would that salvage my case?

[enaberif]

Originally Posted by A_N_T_H_O_N_Y

Now, what if i cut a whole on the top of my case and mounted a 120mm fan, would that salvage my case?

Not worth it.

You'll get minimal benefit from it while putting a big hole in your case.