Message:
Subject: General Cooling Questions
By: Matthias (IP: 64.163.129.*)
Written on: 14-03-2006 21:08

I recently put together a dual core P4 system. I thought I got a sufficientl large CPU fan and the case has two fans, one on the back (sucking air in) and one on the top (blowing air out). I drilled holes in the side cover assuming that as hot air rises, cold air will enter the system from the bottom. I even got removable hard drive bays with two fans.

This morning the system was not responding. The case was quite warm and it got stuck at the Windows 'loading settings' screen so I finally shut it down.

Is there a rule wehre the fans should blow (in or out), should I get more fans (i.e. around the area where I added holes to the side of the fan), should I get sleeves to cool the memory (or is that a waste of money)

Replies:
By: Brad V (IP: 128.186.12.*)
Written on: 15-03-2006 23:50

1) The question is never should I get more fans, the question is always should I get better fans. If you're having trouble cooling, check out Delta High Performance @ sidewindercomputers.com. However I don't think this is what you need.
2) You should EXHAUST out the back and the top. Your PSU is exausting hot air out of the back, then your back fan is bring that hot air back in the case. Bad, bad, bad.
3) You sure heat is the problem? Try running without the sides of the case. If it is fine without the sides, heat is your problem.
4) HDD & 5.25" bay fans are always useless.
5) Consider getting a side blow hole to blow onto the heatsink fan.
6) RAM sleeving is complicated. RAM doesn't respond as poorly to being overheated as a CPU does, and unless you're actively cooling them, sleeving won't help much anyways. I have tested with a thermistor how hot my OCZ gold gets while benchmarking them. They can get to 50C with the sleeves, and 54C without. I saw no difference in performance. The lifespan may be shortened by heating the RAM, but they are generally replaced well before they die.
By: Tillmann (IP: 146.140.7.*)
Written on: 16-03-2006 11:47

Hi,

in addition to these valid points, I also suggest that you have a look at the "case cooling" section of this site, where precisely the question you asked is covered in great detail. It appears that air flow through your case is not optimal due to improper fan orientation.

bye,
Tillmann
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