a few tips for cooling your pc

madcat · TweakNOOB Joined: 23 Sep 2004 Posts: 164

ok im gonna make a post feel free to correct me if im wrong please

1. a blow hole is a very good way to drop temps
2. dont use factory stock cpu cooling buy your own
3. place computer on the floor it drops the temps a bit by its self
4. make sure your wires are nice and clean
5. clean your fans dont let them get dusty
6. try a side intake i have heard they are also good
7. and for those who were unlucky enoguh to buy a graphics card with out a fan put one on there some how i found that this is good for overclocking them
8. system exhaust fans are also very good normally take up one pci slot
9. put your pc in a cool room not a stuffy hot room
10. atleast 1 intake and 1 out take on your tower
11. most of all a good air flow is really what im getting at

if you would like to add to my list please feel free to
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Xal · Posted: Tue Nov 09, 2004 6:31 am Post subject:

try to have more extractor fans than intake fans eg 2 in 3 out this will help to remove the warmer air from the case.

Make sure your thermal compound is aplied thinly enough that you can almost make out the writing on the cpu or the colour of the core on an amd.

Nice post madcat.

I'm sure ppl will add more.
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[KoG]^weaZel · Posted: Tue Nov 09, 2004 11:15 am Post subject:

and at times the side intake can be a bad idea, as it can disrupt the airflow thru your case. But this is not always true. It depends on the case and the amount of airflow in the different locations.

The ideal setup is to have the cool air come into the lower front of the case and the warm air exit towards the upper back. And you want to have balanced airflow as much as possible.
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2old2care · Posted: Tue Nov 09, 2004 11:23 am Post subject:

I'll disagree with putting it on the floor....I understand that the floor is cooler by a couple of degrees, it also is dirtier. If you could see the dust in the average room's air, you'd be amazed. The particulate count nearly doubles in the first couple of feet off the floor.
Also, a properly (air-cooled) case sucks it's air from the lower front...just like a vacuum cleaner...Hmmmm.

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Ham_fisT · Posted: Tue Nov 09, 2004 4:50 pm Post subject:

if you have pets that have access to your computer room...DO NOT put the case on the floor!

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2old2care · Posted: Tue Nov 09, 2004 4:58 pm Post subject:

madcat · TweakNOOB Joined: 23 Sep 2004 Posts: 164

2old well i have my computer on a glass plate about 2cm above the carpet does that make a difference or would it still be sucking in that dust
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2old2care · Posted: Tue Nov 09, 2004 5:24 pm Post subject:

Obviously, It depends how often you clean your compy, and how dusty your location.

The glass is a great idea to allow the air free flow. I was just saying that although your list is correct for temperature, I would not tell the "average Joe" to put it on the floor, cause he won't clean it, and in 6 months it will be worse off than if he left it on the desk.

I say this from experience. I maintain several desktops where I work, as well as the server. I have a couple that "must" be on the floor. They are always dirty. My main 24/7 server is high up in a rack cab w/ 120mm filtered intake fan, and it is spotless inside, and I don't have to clean that filter hardly ever.

So... YOU put it where you want it...I'll bet YOU keep it clean...but as a rule of thumb I tell ppl to keep them on their desks.
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meobius · Posted: Tue Nov 09, 2004 5:41 pm Post subject:

the total intake should equal the total out. Why? if you have to many exausts, it will create a vacume, or a region of less dense air. Now the less dense the air, the less heat it can absorb... and the whole cooling buisness is about how much heat the medium can absorb... water will absorb more heat than air, which is why some ppl use watercooling.

Heat rises... keep this in mind. top blow holes, and putting the case on the floor, blow hole gets rid of hot air that builds up at the top of the case, and putting the case on the ground gives it access to air that is colder than air at desk level

Ideally you want to keep the case temp as low as can be, which ideally would be room temperature. better the ventilation in the case, the lower the case temp (makes sense right? more air going through which absorbs the heat and gets removed)
the lower the case temp, the lower the temp of the air the cpu heatsinkfan is going to be using, and thus the cooler the cpu will run...

Good heatsink makes all the difference. Ideally you want to pull as much heat away from the cpu and into the heatsink. and from the heatsink to the air outside the case. the stock heatsink is not always up to doing that job.
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Sally · UberTweaker Joined: 31 Mar 2004 Posts: 1158 Location: WA

FILTERED FANS solve the floor placement issue. There is significantly cooler air down there and it is best to make use of that....even if I don't. Also, having pets isn't an issue unless they are going to grarl your cords...or if your pets are mamals and shed (assuming you hve no filters).
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sandness · Posted: Tue Nov 09, 2004 6:37 pm Post subject:

Sally, pets can be an issue, as many are dumb and would be attracted to a humming, glowing box that blows air at them. Imagine if a ferret were roaming around the room...

2old2care · Posted: Tue Nov 09, 2004 6:53 pm Post subject:

Just FYI...I'm at work and got curious...so I went and grabbed a Thermo-hygrometer from the lab...
My desk temp in front of my compy is 77.8/25.4
28" lower or 1" above the floor 77.4/25.2
RH = 26.7%

Of course we are not really running heat or air conditioning right now....But if there is forced heat I bet there's more difference. I need to run this test again in January and July.
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Ham_fisT · Posted: Tue Nov 09, 2004 7:29 pm Post subject:

ALL carpet holds dust, no matter how much you vacuum it. and every time you walk by, that dust is kicked up into the air.

I have had my rig both on the floor, and on the desk, and have seen absolutely NO difference in case temps.
I have, however, noticed a significant reduction in dust buildup.

Besides....what good is it, having a windowed case full of UV coolness, if you cant look at it?
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JayDubya · Posted: Tue Nov 09, 2004 7:45 pm Post subject:

Silicon Skum · Posted: Tue Nov 09, 2004 10:33 pm Post subject:

Well, most of the important bits about air cooling have been covered, but don't forget about he benifits of adding a water cooling system. Less noise, reduced heat inside the case and less fans required, hence less of a dust problem. Also the MOST important point of a water cooled rig is that water cooling is 10 TIMES more efficient at transfering heat away than air cooling.

A decent water cooling setup is no more dangerous to a computer than an OEVERLY HEAVY copper heatsink which under it's own weight could tilt away from the CPU die and cause damage to the chip / socket and motherboard. As current ENTRY level CPUs approach and PASS the 100Watt heat dissapation mark, water cooling is / will become more of a necessity, rather than just something "die hard overclockers" play with.

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2old2care · Posted: Tue Nov 09, 2004 10:38 pm Post subject:

^^^Next thing you know we'll all need Goo to keep up.

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Hoedizzy · Posted: Tue Nov 09, 2004 11:04 pm Post subject:

No one has said anything about having larger case fans. If you replace small high rpm fans with larger lower big fined fans, you can also increase your airflow.

Xal · Posted: Wed Nov 10, 2004 3:31 am Post subject:

Gotta love all the different views

Everyone has a different idea as to how to keep a machine cool but at the end of the day you just have to follow the basic rules and see what works for you.
You need to try for efficient hot air removal whilst maintaining a good intake of cool air. There are numerous products on the market today that all say they are the best, ducts, hsfs, fans....etc but a well organised cooling system is different from case to case. Just experiment and see what works for your rig

All of the above advise is good to some degree or other, its how you combine them that will determine your results.
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meobius · Posted: Wed Nov 10, 2004 7:21 am Post subject:

actually in some cases, the cpu wattage is dropping to below 40watts, and others its hitting 120w. Depends on what cpu you get.
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Xal · Posted: Wed Nov 10, 2004 8:36 am Post subject:

I'd love to get my hands on a desktop pentium M 2.0 dothan core. Damn they run cool. 3W at lowest speedstep rate

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null_set · TweakNOOB Joined: 22 Sep 2004 Posts: 151 Location: Jersey

These are all very valid points, especially about the thickness of thermal grease applied to the chip. Beginners often make the mistake of applying too much thermal paste, which actually impedes the heat transferance between chipset and HSF.
Wire management is also vital. It doesn't matter how many 120mm fans you have in your case if the airflow is completely obstructed by a tangled mess of wires. Flat IDE cables are also a problem (if you still have flat IDE cables, it's not that hard to make your own MacGuyver-ed roundies. Just fold them twice and zip-tie). A good rule of thumb is if the cable isn't being used, it doesn't need to be in the general case area. It's much better to tuck it inside your support rails, or behind drive cages, or behind the mobo backplate, or even behind your PSU.
When it comes to aircooling, more is -not- neccessarily better. AirFLOW is key. You want to make sure that the CPU fan is preferably pulling in relatively cool outside air, as opposed to stagnant, warm, ambient case air. You want to also make sure that all that warm, ambient case air is being exhausted, instead of circulating inside the case. As has been said, you want good flow, rear exhausts, and if practical, a blowhole.
Try and follow the airflow of the different fans. Is your CPU fan pulling in air that's already circulated past your HDD's and video card? Or is it pulling in cool air from a side intake? This makes all the difference.
Of course, you could just watercool, making most of this moot. However, unless you watercool most of the heat producing components of your machine (CPU, VPU, HDD's) there's still heat buildup inside your case. Meaning you'll still need some sort of ventilation.
My personal solution to all of this is simple : Only the cables that are in use are out in the open, I've loomed all my exposed cables, I've got 3 intakes, 3 exhausts, and....my case is parked on top of my desk, right next to my AC. The AC blows right into my side intake =] And now that it's getting colder out, I can just put it on "fan" and blow in outside air. It's glorious.
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Xal · Posted: Fri Nov 12, 2004 1:53 am Post subject:

^ good tips

Thanks for the info nul_set
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