Cooling Putting everything in the case ...

Hi Guys,

I am currently running a homebrew passive external Rad that cools my system with temps reaching a max of 44C CPU/30C Case when under load.

System:
AXP2500+ @ 2253MHz
Asus nForce2 Deluxe
1GB Kingston HyperX
MSI GeForce4 Ti4600
Pioneer 16x DVD-RW
Liteon 40x16x48x CD-RW
WD Caviar 80Gb SE
Seasonic S12 430W
Hercules Game Theatre XP
CoolerMaster 'BlackWidow'

Rad >> CSP750 (pump) >> Maze4 CPU >> SilentStar (HDD) >> Maze4 (Northbridge) >> Maze4 (GPU) >> Rad





I am however having to move soon to a smaller place so need to reconcider my (Octopus) setup combining everything into the case.

I love how silent my PC is, the HDD is the only barely audiable part (soon to be replaced with RAID samsungs) and when the PC goes into standby the Seasonic S12 430W makes a slight wooshing that you have to hold your breath to hear.

My question is, what would be the best Rad/Fan combination to use that will keep my noise levels down while cooling on par/better than the current setup?

I am thinking about a PA120.1 in the front with a Nexus (undervolted) pulling air into the case through the Rad (FAN>>RAD>>CASE-FRONT) but would this be enough cooling?

Thanks for any help with this.

Cheers

 

That's a nice passive rad you've got. I love those temps.
To get close you'd probably need a 120.2 rad.
Get some nice panaflo fans and 7v them.
Make sure to use a shroud.
rubber gromets on contact points and you should have a very quiet setup.

Or, you could re-design your passive rad to mount around the right side/back/top of your case.
That would look neat. Don't know if it would perform as well.

Wait for the cooling gods to come along and give you the gospel though.
Just my 0.02 ya know

 

Cheers for the reply, might get away with a 120.2 in the front have to measure, I don't use the 3.5" bays at all so could remove the metal (mounting) completely and make a shroud to the front intake ... hmmm.

 

It looks like it might just fit in the front, or if you were less botheres by looks maybe on one of the sides.
I really like the rad you've built, how difficult was it to put together?

 

Cheers, the rad is just two parallel 10 meter coils of 10mm copper micro-bore (about £20) which I hand bent into shape and used zip-ties to hold into place. Then used Y splitters to split the 1/2" tubing into the 2 coils. It has over twice the surface area of a Zalman Reserator for a fraction of the price!

Better picture here (though I have tided up the bends a bit since this pic)...


Also in another thread I read that a PA160 would do as well as a PA120.2! Any comment on this?

 

A PA160 is not quite as good as a PA120.2 (if only...). However for your setup it will do very nicely. A Panaflo at 7V will generate about 19dB noise so that should do the trick. If you go with a PA120.2 you may want to know that two Panaflos at 7V still generate only 21 dB noise.

 

Well 19db is about the same as the Seasonic so I wouldn't notice much difference with this in my machine as the HDD would still drown it out except on system standby! That's good to know. I will do some measurements and see what will fit though I'm thinking the PA160 would be my best bet as I'm not so fussed about temps as long as they are reasonable as I don't stress my system much and hardly ever game

Cheers

 

Trust me, with a PA160 your temps won't even reach 40C.

 

Thanks, sounds very promising

I found a PDF cut out of the PA160 on the Thermochill website so I'll have a look see if it will fit. Fingers crossed!

Only 5 days to pay day ...