Pc V3.3

[clocker]

The air cooled solution has led to (what I pray is) a final version of my new comp.

With the exception of the heatsink, all of the major parts are the same as the last version...some have moved and some have been modded a bit.

Here are two views of the general layout of the case interior. A huge amount of effort has gone into the wiring/cable management. I've tried to keep the airflow in the case as unimpeded as possible.


The HDD has moved to a horizontal position on the front of the floor.
This puts it right in front of the lower front case fan and the temp stays within 2-3 deg C of ambient case temp. Right now it is at 27c ( ambient is 24.7c).
Here is a view of the casefront. All of the Thermaltake decoration has been removed and the resulting opening has been screened and grilled. This gives the front intake fans good access to fresh outside (of the case) air.

I also think that it is less garish than the as delivered look, but that is just me...

Next is the front with the bay door open.The picture ain't so hot, but there isn't really that much to see anyway. From the top I have the stock Thermaltake display (temp) which is basically just taking up space till I get my Audigy Platinum sound rig. Below that is the DVD reader. Third is the infamous smart card reader ( which works just fine now, thank you), flanked by two large red buttons. The switch on the left forces Windows to open the SmartCard reader and the righthand switch clears CMOS. The clear CMOS switch is a fairly easy modification that is almost mandatory if you are considering overclocking at all. A real timesaver. Finally is the (beige, ugh) CD-RW which will go away after Christmas and be replaced with a DVD burner.
Next is a view of the case roof...

The main point here is the extractor fan positioned on a Thermaltake DuctingMod tube which pulls hot air from the rear grill of the PSU. Also visible is the new 120mm fan that I put in the bottom of the PSU. This fan, coupled with the extractor fan and the fan on the back of the PSU has dramatically lowered the temps around the power supply. Measured on the side of the PSU right next to the big capacitors, the temp in this area is also just barely above ambient case temp. The back part of the roof of my case, which used to be relatively warm is now cool to the touch. This is also a pretty easy modification to make and I would recommend to anyone.

Finally is the heatsink...

This is just a standard (old style) AMD heatsink with a 60 to 80mm fan adaptor mounted. As soon as I can con my buddies down at the comp store out of the newer "microfin" AMD cooler, I plan on trying that out. It looks to be more effective. Even so, this setup is as good, if not better than the $50 Zalman that I had previously. With the fans in silent mode my idle temp is 44-45c and it will rise to 48-50c under load. With the fan cranked up, temps drop about 3-5 degC. While I was in the area I added a fan to the stock Asus chipset heatsink. Can't say I've noticed much difference in my motherboard temps (they were pretty low to begin with), but what the heck, I like the look and it sure can't hurt. I also have the stock 60 mm AMD heatsink fan laying on the heatpipe assembly mounted to my video card. I haven't had a chance to monitor temps here yet, but I'll get around to it sooner or later.

And that's about it.
I've tried all the ideas that I can come up with for the moment, and frankly, I'm tired of fucking with this thing.
Now it's time to just enjoy it for a while, gather up my thoughts ( and money) and plan for the next go-round.

Later.

[boyzeee]

nice work

[Virtualbody1234]

There are quite a few good ideas there, clocker.

What's that electrical tape at the upper right on the CDrom frame? Is it holding a temp probe or something like that?

[clocker]

Originally posted by Virtualbody1234@21 November 2003 - 09:31
There are quite a few good ideas there, clocker.

What's that electrical tape at the upper right on the CDrom frame? Is it holding a temp probe or something like that?

What an eye for detail you have 1234.

That is exactly what that is.

Right now I am trying to make a (crude) thermal image of my case interior, hunting for as yet undiscovered hot spots. I am just moving the thermister around and noting the temps.

Right now it is obvious that the greatest concentration of heat is where the largest grouping of heat producing components is nestled- the back half of the case...duh.
This troubles me.

Using my (pat. pending) string and tape method of visualizing airflow, I can already see that the two front inlet fans will never produce enough airflow to reach the most useful area. It is a span of twelve inches from the front of the case to the edge of the motherboard.

I am visualizing a duct from the front of the case to position a fan much closer to the center while still drawing from an external air supply.
This could be fun...

[lynx]

What you need is some washing up liquid bottles, the centres from toilet rolls (or kitchen towels), some old cereal cartons and some PVA adhesive.

I feel sure that Blue Peter (a UK kids program) must have done something like this.

[Kunal]

Originally posted by lynx@21 November 2003 - 17:04
What you need is some washing up liquid bottles, the centres from toilet rolls (or kitchen towels), some old cereal cartons and some PVA adhesive.

I feel sure that Blue Peter (a UK kids program) must have done something like this.

btw clocker, great work. im suprised your zalman was so shit

[clocker]

Originally posted by Kunal@21 November 2003 - 10:08


btw clocker, great work. im suprised your zalman was so shit

Thank you, but I must point out that I never said the Zalman was "shit".

Upon further reading of the reviews, I feel that my expectations were unrealistic.

Had I a slower CPU and not overclocked, the Zalman would probably have performed as advertised.
Mea culpa, I just picked the wrong tool for the job.

@ lynx,

The cardboard and duct tape are already at hand and the bodging is about to commence...

[Virtualbody1234]

Right now it is obvious that the greatest concentration of heat is where the largest grouping of heat producing components is nestled- the back half of the case...duh.
This troubles me.

Hey clocker, since you say you have the heat there, why not try moving the two fans from the front to the rear, right behind the CPU blowing out? Just leave the front 'open' to allow the air to enter there.

It also makes it so that the sound is behind the tower further away from your ears.

[adamp2p]

Looks excellent.

[clocker]

From now on, should I post something like "Well, I think I'm done" or, "This is the final version..." will someone please step up and bitchslap me?

I have already started to make changes from last night's arrangement.

The lower front casefan stays where it is as it provides cooling airflow over the heatpipe cooler on the HDD.
The upper front has migrated to the rear of the case ( great minds think alike), but it is blowing in.
I think that I need a pretty large amount of fresh, incoming air here as the 120mm intake on the PSU bottom has a voracious appetite for sustenance. I could be wrong about this, some temp monitoring and uptime will tell the tale.
It wouldn't be the first time I was wrong...

The fan arrangement has completely changed on the heatsink also. Should the new setup work as well as preliminary results indicate, I'll post a pic.

Serendipity and boredom can sometimes lead to great things.