Sorry to triple post, but I wanted to let you guys know what I'm thinking of doing. Right now the ambient temperature outside of my case is 78.8*F (digital inside/outside thermometer). My GPU memory is at 61*C at idle, all 3 CPU cores are at 29*C, and internal hard drives are at 35*C. So today I really took a look at my case and see what I could do with it.
While I was messing around thinking of ways to improve air flow, I figured out I could move my hard drive cage around. Here is what it looks like normally.
If I unscrew the cage and flip it 90 degrees to the right, then 90 degrees up (so it would be on it's right back side) it fits between my side panel and motherboard. In that position, the drives are one above the other, with space between each other. I tested out the wires and found out the power cables should be long enough, but the data cables would be too short. So I found some longer ones:
Newegg.com - SIIG 18" SATA Data Cable Model CB-SATD11-S1 - Cables I would have to set something under the cage to use as a riser, so both hd's would be in open view of the vents. Then I would have an open shot straight through the width of the case with the hard drives between. Here is the right side of the case:
Here is the left side:
I would be able to put a fan on either side of the case, one blowing in the right side and one on the other side blowing out (or vise versa). Also, on the side panel, the other set of vent holes is where my CPU heatsink and fan are. I was thinking of getting another fan and putting it either on the outside or inside, blowing in. That way the CPU heatsink (and the rest of the case) would be getting cool air in much faster.
I then started to think of how I could get air flowing from front to back. I found out I could completely take apart the covering on the front of the case. Here it is normally:
With the black piece off:
With no front piece at all:
I could leave the front panel off and place fans blowing in. If I did what I found with my HD's, I wouldn't be able to put the fans towards the bottom of the front since the two airways would be conflicting. I then moved up the front panel, I could put a fan under the port hub, but that's a small space for air to flow through, the air (the small amount it would be) would also travel under my GPU hitting the back of the case. That idea was also out the door. I continued to move up the front, I can take out that Pocket Media Drive Bay since it's not in use. That would free up a little more space for airflow from a fan. I then thought of the idea of moving the front port hub to the space where the Pocket Media Drive Bay was, but soon found out it wouldn't fit. So I then thought of putting it where that expansion slot is, but can't do that since that's where my extra PSU wires are. Looks like it's not worth putting a fan on the front.
I then figured I would scope out where I could place a fan for exhaust, I found a pretty good place between my GPU and sound card:
I can pop out those two slot coverings and would be able to mount a fan on the outside most likely. That would get rid of the extra air coming in, and move hot air away from the GPU (which seems to be the hottest part in there). So I then looked at the GPU fan and thought to myself that it seems pretty small for something that gets so hot. I looked online for a new heat sink for it and found this:
Newegg.com - ARCTIC COOLING ACCEL X8800 Fluid Dynamic VGA Cooler - VGA Cooling I have a GT, not a GTX, would that still work on it? Would the heat sink and fans fit on my GPU without hitting anything else? I don't know if it would do anything, since it is getting no fresh air from the top or any place else.
As I said before, I can only use one of the actual PC fans I have from my old computer. Using that one, I would still need 3 more. I was looking at usb powered fans (I have one free usb port in front, 2 in back, and a 4 port hub I can use), something like this:
Newegg.com - SYBA CL-USB-FAN-W USB Fan - USB Gadgets Would that be sufficient for what I need? The foam blades kind of leads me to think that it wouldn't really do a whole lot. I was also thinking of taking a trip to Target to see if they have any small house fans that would be appropriate for this. I just don't know which fan I have now I would use, and which place I would use it.
What do you guys think of this? Is there anything better I could do without cutting holes in my case? Which of the fans I have now would work better, and what place? The temperatures aren't the hottest ever, but I would like to do my best to keep everything under 60*C. Thanks