Air flow improvement.

[mondogenerator]

I need more air going though my case as my graphics card is a little warm most of the time and I'm lost on ideas to help.

I have a Coolermaster Wavemaster, which looks like the mutts nuts but unfortunately should be called heatermaster. It has two 80mm fans at the front (they suck in dust a treat!) and a single 80 at the back, all connected to an Enermax control unit. The PSU has two fans pulling air out and one at the back pushing air. My 1900XT is one of the Saphire Toxic cards with self contained water cooling and kicks air out the back but can't get enough colder air into the cooling mechanism.

I can't fit anything bigger to the front fans because of space limitations and I can't fit anything bigger to the back without cutting a hole in the side of the removable panel. I've removed the HDD's in the front of the fans and moved them up in the case to help with the flow of air as well and all the cables are out of the way. Its too small for water cooling as well.

Is there a way/device I can get increased airflow through my case? Would mounting a 120mm fan seperately behind the two 80mm fans help much? I'm rapidly thinking about getting a new case

[Clunk]

do you have a pic of the inside of your case?

how about putting a couple of fans in the top of the case?

[-Freebird]

im wondering about this 2 ?..

i have a 80 mm fan at the top , but should it be sending air down or up out of the case..

Please reply.. i need help 2

[oshta]

Take out the blacking plate next to the Gcard?

Tbh, i cant really see why you have too much problem, ive only got a fairly slow card im by pc, but its fairly heavly overclocked, used frequently, and only pasivly cooled.
- Yet its fine with the two case fans (80mm rear, 92mm front) 5v'ed and the psu fan slowed down also.


Daniel

[Clunk]

im wondering about this 2 ?..

i have a 80 mm fan at the top , but should it be sending air down or up out of the case..

Please reply.. i need help 2

try it both ways and see what works best. most people have them blowing the hot air outwards, ive got a radiator in the top of mine and i have the fans blowing inwards, works well for me.

[blueball]

Its also better to have more outflow than inflow to create a "negative pressure" effect. Basically it ensures that the cold air coming in isn't spilling out the sides but is pulled by the fans over the critical components and out through the fan ducts.

[Whiternoise]

I'm guessing out is better for a top blowhole because heat rises and such..

[-Freebird]

indeed..

Well it seems to be performing worse with it blowing out ..overall my temps are higher and my CPU got up to 54 degrees .. with a 300 mhrtz from stock overclock .. Uh oh ..

Im getting some new 80 mm fans.. 4 of em ..

Can anyone suggest me some good quiet but very efficent ones ? led would be cool to lol ..

Ty alot

[GoNz0]

i was faced with your probelm, i removed the fan grills at the back, and behind the front panel. worked a treat. had to cut them out as they were part of the case, but it was worth it.

[cotswoldcs]

How about cutting a hole in the bottom of the case for a fan and placing the tower on a CPU trolley? Have that fan suck cold air from the bottom of the case (air temperature should be the lowest at near floor level) directly towards the graphics card.

Just a thought.

Sharkoon fans are supposedly very quiet- have a look at Custom PC's website for a good review.

[blueball]

Im getting some new 80 mm fans.. 4 of em ..

Can anyone suggest me some good quiet but very efficent ones ? led would be cool to lol ..

Ty alot

Sharkoon 1000s or 2000s (9 or 18 dBa)

Scan sell them

[GoNz0]

yeh i got the 2000's for mine, i had to cut the grills out due to the lower CFM output, 1's startig to rattle tho, hope the rest dont start going the same way !

[mondogenerator]

FYI the CPU (4600 X2) runs around 55 degrees and its got a stock cooler and isn't overlclocked. Ambient case temp is around 40-50 degrees and the 1900XTX runs from 53-75 degrees.

Cutting holes in my case is sort of a last resort, its a very nice case and I am not a very good DIY guy. The top of the case does have a multi panel port under a small lid which I could possibly remove.

Some way of increasing the pressure inside the case to draw more air throught he front is probably the best solution, but how can I do that?

Take out the blacking plate next to the Gcard?

Tbh, i cant really see why you have too much problem, ive only got a fairly slow card im by pc, but its fairly heavly overclocked, used frequently, and only pasivly cooled.
- Yet its fine with the two case fans (80mm rear, 92mm front) 5v'ed and the psu fan slowed down also.


Daniel

The backplate is actually removed but it doesn't actually help cooler air get in as the hot air inside is trying to escape and the fans at the front create just enough pressure that no air in the back will get in.

Part of the problem is the X1900XTX, they are known for running extra hot. 70 degrees is pretty normal for them, but it increases the ambient case temp but 20 degrees over the X800XT I had before.

FYI the case:

The Hexus review
http://www.hexus.net/content/item.php?item=588&page=4
They note the two 80mm at the front should be good, although the large aluminium block that blocks the holes out also blocks the airflow quite nicely as well.



The fans also do not have a filter and require any hard drives to be removed when you clean the fans. This is a pain if you have a graphics card like most poeple as there is about half and inch space between the back of the graphics card and side of the HDD mounting area. Other than that, its a fantasitc case and everyone who sees it wants one.

[GoNz0]

looks like a last resort cut a hole in the top then

[YorkieBen]

I would say remove the ports at the top and install the 80mm fan to blow out, and get a better cpu heatsink (the arctic colling 64 pro is excellent and cheap)

how hot is the graphics card getting? remeber the x1900s are very hot, 75 degrees isnt too bad.

[harry1]

first step imo: would be get a big cpu cooler, i have the wavemaster also, and use thermalright 120, with vantec fan attahced, as stock the fan was trying to suck in lots of air, but it was sucking air from the side of the case above my grpahics card, so..

i dremmeled out a square hole in the side of the case and meshed it over, now it can suck in all the air it wants, i havnt had any major heat problems with my wavemaster. and would keep the case just for the way it feels and mother board trays and little bits i like about it.

but i notic you can but a fan that you attach anywhere in the case for "spot blowing" so that could be an idea, make sure though that the back and top fan are extracting. my opteron in the wavemaster system never exceeds 45 degrees @ 2.9 and the case inside is around 35 deg. gfx card 7800 gtx oced hovers around 40 deg