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(another one) cpu cooling - wind tunnels

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  • Heatsinks
  • CPUs
  • Overclocking
Last response: in Overclocking
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June 28, 2002 3:04:33 AM

Hey guys. I have an Antec 1040B case with an Athlon 1.4 TBird that gets pretty hot. During full loads the temp gets up to 58C to 60C. I have 2 fans in the front(1 for Hd, 1 down low) for intake and 2 in the back for exhaust. I have tried switching the intake/exhaust position but I got the same temps. I am considering adding fans and cutting out a 120mm exhaust hole for a wind tunnel over the cpu and a 80mm hole blowing on the video card. Then adding a 80mm exhaust fan on the top. I would then switch my fans on the front to intake and the fan on the side would intake then the 2 in the back and 1 on top would exhaust.
Do those wind tunnels help drop cpu temps? Do I add another exhaust fan at the end of the tunnel or is the cpu fan enough? Should I forget the wind tunnel and just make 2 holes in the side intaking and cut a 120mm exhaust in the top? If so do I make the all fans intake and just use the top 120mm for exhaust?

Thanks guys!
<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by Martok on 06/27/02 11:12 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

More about : cpu cooling wind tunnels

June 28, 2002 5:04:01 AM

"120mm exhaust hole for a wind tunnel over the cpu"
do you mean in the side of the case? doesn't the hsf over the cpu blow onto the cpu? they'd be going in opposite directions, which sounds bad for air flow. maybe i'm picturing the wrong thing.

that does give me an idea though. cut a hole in the case directly even with the HSF on the cpu. attach a tube of some sort to the HSF so that in effect your HSF is pulling air directly from outside the case onto the cpu.

Wouldnt that give you the best possible temperatures for an air-cooled cpu? you'd probably want filters like anywhere else, mounted on the case. Only problem i see is if that hole gets blocked somehow, and its a tight seal through the tube to the HSF, then it can't get any air at all.

Solution? install a fan in that hole as well, and have the tube from the cpu HSF come within 1-2 inches of it, expanding a bit to capture most of the air.
Since my ascii art looks like porn, <A HREF="http://members.aol.com/bvalenzo/cpu_tunnel.gif" target="_new">here's a somewhat better pic</A>

not sure how those other scenarios would work. can a single 120mm keep up with 4 intake fans? i think you'd want a somewhat balanced airflow.
June 28, 2002 2:16:00 PM

Thanks squeegee, My cpu fan(Volcano 5) blows air off the cpu. I thought if I attach the tunnel the heat fan would blow air out through the tunnel, thus making the case temp lower and reducing the cpu temp. I suppose I can switch it to blow on it. Or just remove it and attach a 120mm on the side to blow on it.
My 2 front fans are kind of blocked due to the front casing. Thats one reason I want to add side intake fans.
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June 28, 2002 3:59:32 PM

Ahh... If your hsf is blowing out, then an exhaust fan on the side with a tunnel should help get the air out, but you're still cooling the hsf with the slightly warmer case air.

I wouldnt remove the fan from the hsf, maybe turn it around if you can though. i think fans that blow onto the hsf work better than the ones that pull it off. invert that fan and see what happens.

from the pics of your case at newegg, it doesn't look easy to modify that front bezel to flow more air without making it ugly. You could probably just move those front intake fans to the side.
June 28, 2002 4:09:02 PM

Thanks again, do you think it would help if I turned it around and add another fan at the end of the tunnel blowing on cpu fan & heatsink.
June 28, 2002 5:03:36 PM

I'm not sure how 2 fans in the same closed pipe would add together.

30CFM + 30CFM = 60? That sounds like a fluid dynamics question, any mechanical engineers know?

maybe its bad for the fans if they're not the same CFM, or maybe it helps them run with less resistance, and draw less current? i don't know. it would at least flow more air, presumably.
July 1, 2002 8:43:59 PM

Having 2 fans should help the air flow, I don't think it will double it. I don't think it will be overly hard on the fans, but you never know.

I myself have a 22" fan with the side of my case open. Now that moves some air.
July 1, 2002 10:27:39 PM

hehe.. my old roommate pulled the house-fan trick. The fan in his PSU died i think, and that was the only one in the system(it was only a P2-400).

Of course, back then, you didnt know the fan had died until you smelled it. anyone else remember quiet systems? The only sound my old P2-450 makes is that damn radeon card's high pitched fan. (it was quiet when it was just a riva128 and voodoo2 =P)
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