Advantage to seperating power supply + Airflow questions

[xazraelx]

I've been thinking for a while about computers. Sounds dumb, but it's true. I don't really *use* my rig anymore except for folding because I kind of got burnt out of computer gaming due to the massive amount of botting/hacking that I always end up doing. So I've moved into console gaming, but that's irrelevant.

So my love is still computers, I love building them, researching them, I know my ignorance is still tenfold that of quite a few on here, but hey...that's why I'm here. I've looked into "case modding" recently, and it looks like a lot of fun. I honestly don't have a lot of room to do it in my apartment at school, but I would like to start tinkering with some things.

Sorry for the long post, so I'll get to the point.

I've been looking at several case designs (the antec 900, p180, 1200, cm690, etc), and have been thinking about my own CM690. I want to tinker with it a little bit, because I know it's not living up to what it could be at the moment, as my temps are quite warm in my opinion, given the cooling I have.

I have the front 120mm fan pulling in air, and two side 120mm fans pulling in air. On the top are the two 120mm blowing out, as well as the rear 120mm blowing out. The vent behind the mobo I didn't do anything with, as there is no room for clearance and I don't really see a point. And I also don't use the bottom space for a fan.

For reference, these are the two fans I'm using:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811999138
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811998123

My ideas:
---I honestly don't think the front intake fan pulls much air in, because of all the "mesh" and plastic in front of it, so I'm considering taking that out.
---I was also considering making a little homebrew "vent" for my power supply so that the heat from that gets directed straight outside the case, rather than in the case. Thoughts on this? I would probably be cutting out some of the metal directly above the power supply, then fixing a small 80mm fan there to exhaust the psu air. Would this be stupid without an intake as well? If so, I'm sure the bottom fan can be used to intake air, then push it out the back.
---Thoughts on the top fans...I can put a piece of paper over them, and it just hovers. I don't think they are pushing out the amount of air they should either. I think this case has a flaw in that it really restricts the amount of airflow because of the "dust filterS" and plastic that is covering the fans. Maybe I can cut out the mesh and plastic, thus simply leaving the case "grill" over the fan. Or I could possibly buy some thinner filters. I'm honestly not sure, I have no experience in this.
---Ways to improve the overall airflow. Are my intakes/outtakes being utilized at their most? Or is there a better way I can do this.
---Move my case from under my desk (still free airflow, just against the wall) to on top of my desk. I suppose this might help

Misunderstandings:
My case is the CM 690. The PSU is located on the bottom.

 

[pjladyfox]

If I did not know better it sounds as if the amount of air coming in and going out is cancelling each other out. Now, as I'm pretty sure you know, you've got two different kinds of air-cooled setups; positive and negative pressure.

Each one has their positives and negatives but here are some things to think about:

1. Make sure that your Thermaltake fans, which have the highest CFM, are the ones in the front and side intakes since these are your primary sources for cool air coming in.

2. Put the APEVIA fans, which have the lowest CFM, on the rear and top mounts in order to balance out airflow going out of the case.

3. Cutting the mesh from the intake areas, the front and side panel, would be a good help for air. However, the outgoing vents it probably would not help as much but it would not hurt either.

4. Consider moving your case to a spot where the fans will not have to work as hard to keep your system cool.

The 80mm PSU fan idea is pretty interesting but I think is not needed. But, if you had your heart set on something like that you could cut a hole in the top of the case then invert the PSU so that the air is blowing out. Would work a lot better in the long run and help with cable management since the main trunk cables would be closer to the motherboard tray.

Hope this helps!

 

[xazraelx]

I appreciate your feedback. I was kind of confused as to one thing though, regarding the PSU fan idea. The PSU on the CM 690 is located on the bottom of the case, and there is a fan right near the psu. Here's a picture to illustrate what I'm referring to (note, this isn't my computer, just an example picture for you that has the same case)

See at the bottom where the PSU is? My idea was to put a fan in that bottom slot to the right of the CPU, then duct it in an arch-shape to the rear of the case, removing/blocking about 2-3 pci slots (that's not my mobo in the picture), which aren't used anyway. Then I could take out about two pci slots and it would, in theory, force the air out the back. That way the PSU generates heat for itself, and only itself, and forces the heat out the back without rising up to the GPU/RAM/CPU.

Would this even be worth doing? Thanks for your feedback though, much appreciated =)

 

[robal]

I'll just throw my few cents here....

There's nothing better than strong exhaust fans... you can leave intake to all 'holes' in your case.

Personally, I think that separating PSU from rest is dumb.... PSU has good exhaust capability and is thermally controlled, so separating it takes away one of adaptive cooling mechanism. You can land in a situation that your mobo env is hot, and PSU area cold.

It's best solution to have all AUX fans controlled by PSU (or mobo, depending on which supports temp. fan control)

That all depends if you value quietness...

Cheers

 

[xazraelx]

It's already loud as hell, the 8800GT fan beats anything I've ever seen before in terms of sounding like a freaking whistle. <--I'm actually buying the Accelero S1 for this, it should come in sometime next week.

I think I understand what you mean by having exhaust capabilities. Here's my PSU, and are you saying that the fan on the PSU pushes the air upwards, "pushing" the air out. If so, then doesn't the hot air have to pass through the RAM, GPU, CPU, THEN the exhaust fans? Just trying to understand where you're coming from. As for the fans, they all stay on high, and are still quieter than my 8800GT whistle.

Thanks again =) I plan on taking my case apart sometime next week, and want to have a firm plan of what I'm going to do before I do it.

 

[pjladyfox]

My bad for some reason I was thinking it was on top. But, this actually makes things a little easier. Take a look here:

http://www.themodbrothers.com/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=15&st=0&sk=t&sd=a&start=20

Basically they've cut a hole in the bottom of the case so that the PSU can exhaust outwards. Now you'll also need taller feet to make sure you have sufficient clearance underneath but you'll get the same benefits all without having to add another fan or any ducting.

IMHO I really wish CM had not put that bottom vent hole where it is and instead moved it under the PSU. I mean it serves no purpose where it is and it usually gets cluttered up with PSU cables to say nothing of making it a pain to route cables if you do put a fan there. It was one of the many irritations I had with the case when I first saw it and wound up going with an Antec Three Hundred via the guys over at mnpctech.

Do not get me wrong, I think your idea of the fan and duct is an interesting one and could give you some benefit. But, unless you like tinkering I think you may be over complicating your solution. ^_^

BTW, nice job on the cable management looks really clean in there.