ideas on getting cooler?

[legwon]

hi guys.
ok quick form of 2 hr novel.. lol.
made this pc myself. was having problems to begin with, kept shutting itself down. figured out a solution. was running great.
just last month i decided to check the temps. was running at 120C.
so i checked every possible avenue as to what was happening. found i had no thermal grease on the heatsink/processor.
now running 49C idle - 70C load.
vid card is running about 60C idle, and 75C load.
hdd's sitting at 25 and 30 degrees respecfully.

ive got a total of 7 fans. 2 intake, 2 exhaust, processor, vid card and the PSU.
i know the wires are messy, im workin on it.the round IDE cables are not cheap here. $35 a pop. but this is what i got.
outside
guts

specs:
AMD Sempron 2400+ (1.66ghz)
ECS 741gx-m mobo
BFG 6600 gt
Linksys wireless lan
USB 2.0 (5 port)
Samsung HDD 80 gb (X2)
Okia 450watt PSU
768mb DDR ram

what im looking at doin is:
- changing exhast fan one for a 120mm fan, and mounting the 80mm from there to the side. below the exsisting one.
- making a port through the front for the intakes. as so they dont have to work so hard to pull in air from that dinky little hole in the bottom. but im not sure how to do this w/o destroying the case. (suggestions?)
- also want to find a vid card cooler for the empty space i have there.

the issue is, i believe its still running quite hot. my room is the warmest in the house. however when i have the pc off for a period of time, my room gets cold.. lol. so that should tell u something.

any suggestions on making this beast cooler?

[Alfie]

You may want to move 1 or 2 of your hard drives to the wider slots below the optical drives,you can get adapters to do this.
That way the fresh air coming in isn't obstructed as much.
The video card could use some more breathing room,can you move the device below it to a lower slot?
You can easily make your own round cables,by going to a hardware,electrical supply or automotive parts store and getting split wire wraps,they come in different widths and if you take your ribbon crumple it up,it will fit inside of the wrap,the advantage is that it's round and can be bent into any shape you want.
The disadvantage of having the drives in front of the fan,is although the drives are kept cool,the air being pumped into the case is now warmed by the drives.

[Stuey]

I highly doubt that the system would run at 120°C. The CPU would have shut down waaaay before that.

The rear fan looks dusty; a thorough dust-cleaning could help.

The fan on the side looks like it's an exhaust fan. Flip it over and use it as an intake, if anything. Actually, put the largest fan in the rear as an exhaust. I guess that's the Antec that's in your side panel now.

As for the front intake, try your best to open a vent, but there's no need to go overboard.

If you have some extra cash, spring for a better branded power supply. I'm not familair with Okia, but it doesn't seem to be a quality brand.

A quality PSU, such as an Antec, *might* provide better ventillation.

ALSO, open up the PCI slots closest to the video card, and put the cards into the slots furthest away.

It probably won't make much of an improvement, but separate your two HDs. Keep the bottom-most one where it is, and move the other one to the top-most position. This could provide for a less obstructed airflow channel, but only do so if your ribbon cable is long enough and you can move it out of the airflow channel.

Aside from the optional PSU upgrade, the only part you should invest in is a fan grill. Reversing directon of the side-panel fan will leave you more exposed to the fan blades. Also considering in picking up some zip-ties at the local hardware store. These are very cheap but can assist in if holding wires or cables out of the way.

EDIT: Wow, I'm a slow typer.

[legwon]

moving the other pci cards down... not an option only got 3 pci slots and using 2 of them. them free space between teh wireless lan and the vid card is the 3rd pci. i would scrifice the slot for a card cooler if i could find one.

would flipping the antecfan, just fight the processor fan? its placed right infront of it.

I highly doubt that the system would run at 120°C

thats what i thought also. but according to mbm5,speedfan, and others it was way too freakin hot.

wouldnt "crumpling" the IDE cables, wreck them? i was always told not to bend or twist them as much as possible.

ill move the hdd tonight. see if that makes a difference.

[Stuey]

Well, the CPU fan should be drawing air into the heatsink, replacing the warm air with fresh air. Reversing the side fan should further feed the CPU fan, providing it with fresher air than the stale air that passes through the HDs.

LOL, I see what you mean. Somehow I knew that the motherboard didn't extend all the way down but I thought there were more PCI slots there magically or something.

Um... I guess you could try swapping PCI cards. The bottom-most one looks like it has less obstructing surface area and might allow the video card to draw a bit more fresh air.

You can also replace the video card cooler if you're not happy with its cooling performance, but it'll be a hassle.

Still, I highly doubt that a Sempron can reach 120°C. The motherboard sensors might be out of whack or perhaps it was in Farenheit?

[Alfie]

IDE ribbons are forgiving,they can be crumpled,folded,etc.
Sata cables can't be bent at a 45 degree angle.

[Stuey]

Originally Posted by Alfie IDE ribbons are forgiving,they can be crumpled,folded,etc. Sata cables can't be bent at a 45 degree angle.

I have my SATA cables folded up and scrunched together length-wise with no ill consequences.

[jfk]

Originally Posted by Stuey83 I have my SATA cables folded up and scrunched together length-wise with no ill consequences.

Me too. They're double up on each other a couple times, zip tied, and tucked into my 3.5" bay slots. No problems at all.

[legwon]

Originally Posted by Stuey83 Um... I guess you could try swapping PCI cards. The bottom-most one looks like it has less obstructing surface area and might allow the video card to draw a bit more fresh air.

very possible to try. didnt think about that.

You can also replace the video card cooler

no not replace it. one of those ones that fit into the rear slot.

like this one.

will shut down and do these things an a few... right now , gotta fix the washing machine.

thx all, we'll see what happens.
___________________________________________________

well, i flipped the side fan, movedthe hdd, and fixed up most of the cables.
http://ttcustoms.com/temp/guts2.jpg

WOW!! 10 degrees cooler.

thx guys. i really appreaciate it!

[Stuey]

Looks good! What are your approximate temperatures now? Also, flipping over the side-panel fan probabaly had the most influence but the other changes could only have helped.

I'm glad we were able to get to the bottom of this. At this point, a slot cooler *may* slightly improve temperatures, but I highly doubt that it'll be necessary. Save your money for an upgrade later on or something.

[legwon]

according to speed fan, my processor is now running at 40C idle. and according to Nvidia settings(built in temp sensor) my vid card hasnt changed, still running at 60C idle. havnt tried loads yet.

[Alfie]

I have mine folded over,as well,but according to manufacturers of sata drives,don't fold them over at a 45 degree angle,apparently can cause data corruption.

[legwon]

my bad on the temps. i guess my cmos battery is dead. set everything to safty settings. the last temps posted are running at 1ghz.
when i bumb it to max(where it was b4), 1.6ghz. temps are the same as before.

[legwon]

holy cow!! i just installed 120mm in the rear and 500w dual fan PSU.
my idle temp is now 37C. made sure i was set up right too... lol.
unbeleiveable how much a little adjustment changes it.

OMG! just checked my vid card temp idle is 47C.
wooo hooo