Will My Old Case Be Ok?

[BENBOBBY]

Hi,

Im planning on upgrading my computer and switching some old components around. I have two old Coolermaster cases from previous computers built around 2006 and am just wondering if they will be have adequate air flow for modern graphics cards and cpus. Below are details of the cases and specs of the computers I intend to build:



COMPUTER 1:




CASE: Coolermaster Mystique 631 (http://www.coolermaster.com/product.php?product_id=32)
CPU: Intel i7 2600K OC
CPU COOLER: Dark Rock Pro BK016
RAM: Corsair Vengeance LP Memory 16GB (4x4GB)
MOBO: Asus P8Z68-V Pro
GFX: GeForce 570 GTX 1200MB OC (or maybe 590 GTX)
PSU: 1000W Silverstone Tech Strider ST1000-P
HDD: 1TB Hard Drive + 240GB SSD
NIC: Killer M1 Network Card
SFX: Creative X-Fi Fatal1ty FPS




COMPUTER 2:




CASE: Coolermaster Praetorian 732 (http://www.coolermaster.com/product.php?product_id=58)
CPU: Intel Q6600
CPU COOLER: Standard Fan
RAM: 8GB (4x2GB)
MOBO: Asus P5N-E SLI
GFX: GeForce 8800 GTS 512MB OC
PSU: 600Watts
HDD: 1TB Hard Drive



They are both high quality aluminium cases and prefer the more stylish look more than the over the top ones today, so would ideally like to still use them. However, they have no floor or ceiling fans/vents I notice a lot of newer cases have. As well as gaming I do a lot of 3D rendering and video encoding where typically the CPU is at 100% for long periods so dont want to risk anything overheating!

If neither of the above are suitable does anyone have any suggestions? I quite like the Coolmaster Enforcer or HAF.

Cheers.

[GoNz0]

you need at least 120mm out, plus psu for modern kit, factor in a video card that blows hot air into the case and make that 2x120mm

if you do 3d work and its pushing 100% then at least 2x120mm out and the same in to get a good flow.

[BENBOBBY]

Thanks for the reply

Sounds like sadly one of the cases wont be suitable then. What do you make of the Coolermaster Storm Enforcer (http://www.coolermaster-usa.com/prod...roduct_id=3038)?



Front: 200mm Red LED fan x 1, 1000 RPM, 19 dBA
Rear: 120mm black fan x 1, 1200 RPM, 17 dBA
Top: 200 mm black fan x 1


Would that provide adequate cooling? Does one 200mm fan roughly equate to two 120mm fans?

Second question is with the PSU is it better to have the intake fan facing into the case to help extract hot air from the case and exhaust it out the back, or have it facing out against a vent so it intakes cool air from outside?

[Agent]

The move to 120mm fans was more about noise than airflow. Most cases these days come with low RPM cheap 120mm fans, as opposed to the nasty squealers you used to get with cheap 80mm fans.

As long as you have decent fans in those cases they will be fine IMO. Make sure you get a graphics card that dumps the heat outside the case as that will help loads.
I have a CM210 That I've run quadcores in before - granted I brought some good 80mm fans to help with the flow, but it's never caused me an issue.

As a 3D render myself (3D world is my living ) most people seem to forget how high CPUs can go before they throttle or cause issues. If you've seen any nasty PCs from 'PC World' you'll have seen the standard low profile HSF that Intel provide being used, which causes most of their chips to run at temperate that most people would freak out about on here.

Intel chips will auto throttle if overheating, and simply shutdown in a worst case. You simply can *not* damage them through overheating if installed correctly. They have their own dedicated circuitry to ensure this that's been in place since the Pentium 3 days.
You'll also come across people commenting on keeping them 'alive' longer through lower temperatures. Sure, lower temperate are always better for electronics, but as long as you're not pushing stupid volts through a CPU, it'll outlive its usefulness by a long shot. Your motherboard is much more likely to die due to the capacitors and other wear and tear parts, which a CPU has less of.

My personal recommendation is to install it and try it. If you have issues, then change.
To me, this is more a question about noise and what you're willing to put up with - not if it can be done

[Bagnaj97]

Either case should be fine. The Mystique might be a little quieter (120mm rear fan will be quieter than 2x80mm) and the Mystique also has the hdd cage facing the side panel which makes life a lot easier if you play with your hardware a lot (ooh err...) so that would be my choice.

[scaryjim]

I used to run a Q6600 and an 8800GTX (in fact, I run an almost identical set up to your system 2, only I've downgraded my CPU recently) in a cheap, bog standard beige box. I've got an 80mm temp controlled Antec exhaust fan, and the PSU fan (it's a top mounted PSU so that helps exhaust heat from around the CPU). The CPU has the stock solid aluminium Intel HSF, and the GPU has the reference 8800GTX cooler so it exhausts out of the case. That's about it for airflow. My CPU hits ~ 70C in heavily threaded loads, and my GPU hits 84C rock solid in furmark. Both of those are perfectly acceptable temperatures in an air cooled case, and the noise isn't that bad - particularly at idle as all the fans are controlled one way or another.

So the answer is undoubtedly that either of those cases will be OK. The question is whether you're happy with OK, or if you want super-duper cooling or ultra quiet operation? Either of those requirements will change the parameters and may leave you needing to either invest heavily in high quality fans, or consider using a different case.

[Pob255]

I used to run a Q6600 and an 8800GTX (in fact, I run an almost identical set up to your system 2, only I've downgraded my CPU recently) in a cheap, bog standard beige box. I've got an 80mm temp controlled Antec exhaust fan, and the PSU fan (it's a top mounted PSU so that helps exhaust heat from around the CPU). The CPU has the stock solid aluminium Intel HSF, and the GPU has the reference 8800GTX cooler so it exhausts out of the case. That's about it for airflow. My CPU hits ~ 70C in heavily threaded loads, and my GPU hits 84C rock solid in furmark. Both of those are perfectly acceptable temperatures in an air cooled case, and the noise isn't that bad - particularly at idle as all the fans are controlled one way or another.

So the answer is undoubtedly that either of those cases will be OK. The question is whether you're happy with OK, or if you want super-duper cooling or ultra quiet operation? Either of those requirements will change the parameters and may leave you needing to either invest heavily in high quality fans, or consider using a different case.

Jim's beating me to good answers today.

One thing I will add is overclocking, overclocking does tend to increase the heat generated and often low the safe working max temperature.

My own personal preference if to keep the cpu bleow 60c and the gpu bleow 80c

Asking if one fan is the same as two smaller fans is missleading because it'll depend on the rpm (which is the main factor in fan air flow) of the fans involved.
Larger fans tend to be better as they can move the same amount of air at far lower rpm's and thus be quieter, or run at the same noise level but move more air.
There are, of course, certain points when other factors start coming to to break this basic premise, eg the very large fan have low static pressure, ie limited ability to resist pressure build up.

As it stands however the Coolermaster Storm Enforcer is a very nice case and one I wouldn't mind getting if I had the money.

[scaryjim]

Jim's beating me to good answers today.

Slow day at work! Glad that you think my answers are good though - I do sometimes worry that I might not be as clever as I think I am

[BENBOBBY]

Hadnt noticed the additional replies. Many Thanks. I think I will do as suggested and try it out with my old cases and see how it goes...