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Thread: Case with 2 huge 24cm side fans, but GPU is cooler with side panel off!?

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    Case with 2 huge 24cm side fans, but GPU is cooler with side panel off!?

    Basically I bought an XClio Windtunnel case around 2 years ago on a whim. I didn't do much research into it and just figured it's a full tower case so airflow will be fine with those huge fans.

    I bought a 7950 recently and have been really disappointed with its temperatures. It idle's at around 40c on a cold day, add another 5c for a normal day and it pushes 70-80c when gaming, goes to 90c when overclocked
    My i5 is another story, with a Cooler Master V8 heatsink, it's average temp is around 28c (min has been 23c today), and that's with it overclocked to 4.4 GHz, so it's not like warm air is hanging about the case?

    Yesterday I took the side case off to rearrange cables a little, and just by chance glanced over at my monitor and saw that GPU-Z was reporting it's temp as 36c, how is it even possible for room temperature air to be cooler than it being pumped in by the fans? I have an exhaust fan on the rear, but no front intake. Would that be the problem? I've never bothered because the gaps for the air to come out of the front are so limited (due to the hard drive tray) I've never seen the point.

    Am I better off buying a new case with better airflow or just installing a front fan? I've been eying up the Fractal Design R3 and R4's...
    Last edited by mamboboy; 25-01-2013 at 04:27 PM. Reason: fff

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    Oh Crumbs.... Biscuit's Avatar
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    You kind of answered your own question within the post.
    Cooling performance isn't purely about blasting air onto the components but about the flow of the air through the case. It's often better to get a nice path for the air to flow from the bottom front to the top rear and avoid having fans on the side as these will mainly create air pockets.
    Saying that, it's reasonably normal for the ambient case temp to be higher than the room temperature and GPUs do get hot, those temps are nothing to be alarmed about.

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    Re: Case with 2 huge 24cm side fans, but GPU is cooler with side panel off!?

    Yeah, graphics cards in my experience switch off due to overheating at about 110-115C, so you've not got anything to worry about.

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    Re: Case with 2 huge 24cm side fans, but GPU is cooler with side panel off!?

    I think modern GPUs with smaller transistors have lower thresholds than that. A quick bit of googling brings back mixed results as to what GPUs can handle nowerdays, it would be nice to read something with a bit more scientific backing than people making claims on internet forums ^_^

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    Re: Case with 2 huge 24cm side fans, but GPU is cooler with side panel off!?

    Last experience was a 4870, so not *too* old. I agree though, would be nice to have some newer data.

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    Re: Case with 2 huge 24cm side fans, but GPU is cooler with side panel off!?

    Never found any case that was better with the side panel on - well as far as short term cooling goes. There are issues leaving the side panel off though.

    GPUs are generally warmer than CPUs; but yours looks a bit toasty IMO (OTOH those numbers for the CPU look too low for under load, maybe the Tjmax is wrong - try it with Intel Burn Test).

    Anyway for the GPU if it's a little old it may be worth giving it a clean - dust can clog up ducts and make a big difference to performance.

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    Re: Case with 2 huge 24cm side fans, but GPU is cooler with side panel off!?

    The GPU is only a month or two old! Thinking over what Biscuit said, I imagine the space between the GPU and soundcard (around 3-4 inches) is causing a pocket where the heat is circulating and not dispersing out of the rear fan fast enough. A part of me thinks the XFX 7950 DD just runs super hot no matter what, it literally acts as a radiator when I'm gaming and heats the room up!
    I've spent the week eyeing up some new cases because to be honest I'm tired of the amount of dust this things draws in any ways. Wittled it down to a Fractal Design Core or a CM 690 II Advanced. Or I may even hold out and save up to get a Silverstone Raven or CM HAF X instead

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    Re: Case with 2 huge 24cm side fans, but GPU is cooler with side panel off!?

    A quick google search suggests the 7950 runs around 40 deg at idle. But as your concerned about your temps. Download msi afterburner and set a custom fan map.

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    Re: Case with 2 huge 24cm side fans, but GPU is cooler with side panel off!?

    Quote Originally Posted by snootyjim View Post
    Last experience was a 4870, so not *too* old. I agree though, would be nice to have some newer data.
    The 4870 was very happy to run hot as well, robust little toaster

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    Re: Case with 2 huge 24cm side fans, but GPU is cooler with side panel off!?

    Is it worth trying the fans flipped round to exhaust rather than intake?

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    Re: Case with 2 huge 24cm side fans, but GPU is cooler with side panel off!?

    Quote Originally Posted by squirrelz View Post
    Is it worth trying the fans flipped round to exhaust rather than intake?
    I would say no. I personally think a slight positive airflow (more coming in than going out)is better than a negative airflow. This is debatable though.

    As said before, its not really about the volume of air that is moved, but about the flow of said air that's important.

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