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How should I improve airflow in a stock case?

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  • Hewlett Packard
  • Cases
  • Fan
  • Motherboards
Last response: in Motherboards
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June 5, 2014 1:41:35 PM

I have an HP a6230n and recently replaced the stock 300W PSU with a 430W PSU. The new PSU's fan points down with hot exhaust coming out mesh in the rear, where the old PSU had an exhaust fan in the rear. I was concerned the machine could run warm, so I used CoreTemp and found that the CPU hits 60C under moderate (15% to 20%) load, though that cools off if I remove the side cover. I've not tried pushing it by heavy gaming. I've also noticed that the top part of the case above the PSU (case only allows top-mount) gets pretty hot after an hour or so, which suggests that the PSU is pulling in warm air and heating up.

So my question is, how should I improve airflow in the case? The PSU's intake fan is right above my GPU (an 8400 gs with a cooling fan mounted pointing at the PSU fan), which isn't smart, and the sole case fan is mounted at the bottom.

So would putting a rear slot fan either below or between help?

Should I orient the existing case fan to blow in (if it's not already), or perhaps replace it with a higher-speed fan?

Should I augment the limited and passive venting in the side cover by attaching a second case fan?

And is there anything I can do in one of the empty bays in the front to bring in cooler air?

More about : improve airflow stock case

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June 5, 2014 2:04:12 PM

I would need a visual to make the best suggestions, I see that that tower has the mobo upside down which makes it difficult for cooling.
Yes the PSU is sucking in hot air because that is what has risen through the case, this is why bottom mount cases have gotten so popular.

There is several things u can do, but if you really want to fix the problem you will just need a new case. A corsair spec-02 is pretty decent priced around $50.00
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June 5, 2014 2:18:24 PM

Thanks for the response. As a quick illustration, you can see the inside of a stock model in this video at about 2:19.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVzfHCVtwvk

I'll post pictures tonight from mine, and have an illustration of air direction.

I'm leaning towards adding a case fan onto the vented side panel - I think I'd have to drill holes for the screws but I have enough power cords now.
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June 25, 2014 9:10:42 AM

Took me a while, sorry. Here are photos with the side panel off:
http://losh14.tumblr.com/

Say I want a $20 solution with case fans - if I'm going to put it into a new case, i'll just save up for a new MoBo, CPU and hard drive too (it's an HP so the OS won't work with a new MoBo).
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