(posted in response to several "my graphics card/cpu is too hot" posts here)
The problem with 95% of all cases is that they are made for looks and not for airflow. Three tricks to cool down your system fast, other than cleaning out the crud that is blocking the heatskinks/etc.
#3: Install a slot-cooler fan one slot away from the graphics card - leave some airspace. This handles 80% of the heat issues on my video card. Every 2-3 months, take the fan *apart*, clean, and reinstall.(tons of grime gets built up.
#2: Mount your hard drive in the lower 3.5 inch bay. Take the 3.5 inch bay cover above it OFF. Disable your intake fan - it does little good anyways(see below) Btw, I run a Maxtor 300 Gig in my system. Normally, it's too hot to touch. Running the intake airflow over it - warm to the touch.(easily 30-40 degrees difference) 2 years, zero failures - from the hottest temperature drive on the market at the time.
#1: Increase airflow(and lower sound). Most fans are acutally hard to hear - what you hear is backpressure and airflow because someone either has the fan in too tight of a space or *right up against something*.
The intake fan on most systems does little more than create noise. All that air being pulled through a myriad of small cracks that soon fill up with dust... That's half of it. The other half is more insidious:
Look at the rear of your system. See that nice grille/grid of hundreds of holes stamped into the metal? It's only there for looks. If you place a fan right up aginst it, or even mount one there, it's worthless.
¿Que? I can hear you saying about now.
A Quick Test:
Feel the airflow out of the rear of your system. Now, do the same with a fan by itself. Your intake fan is a good side-by-side comparison, since 99% of the time, they are identical fans. Notice anything dramatic?
The obvious solution is to install a proper wire fingerguard/screen on the fan and take the stamped portion out. I used a Dremel myself - sliced it out(obviously put a wire screen on the outside - not a fan of hurt fingers) and... Dropped my entire system by 5 degrees centigrade! Suddenly I have 50-60cfm out the rear instead of 20cfm and a ton of backpressure noise. Dropped my computer at least 10db as well, since there's no intake fan, and the exhaust fans are operating under no stress/backpressure.
Edit:
#3 alone dropped my system 5 degrees C. The other two dropped it over 10 degrees together - I went from 55 degrees in a stock setup to 40 degrees C - all for $20(slot fan) and half an hour labor.
The problem with 95% of all cases is that they are made for looks and not for airflow. Three tricks to cool down your system fast, other than cleaning out the crud that is blocking the heatskinks/etc.
#3: Install a slot-cooler fan one slot away from the graphics card - leave some airspace. This handles 80% of the heat issues on my video card. Every 2-3 months, take the fan *apart*, clean, and reinstall.(tons of grime gets built up.
#2: Mount your hard drive in the lower 3.5 inch bay. Take the 3.5 inch bay cover above it OFF. Disable your intake fan - it does little good anyways(see below) Btw, I run a Maxtor 300 Gig in my system. Normally, it's too hot to touch. Running the intake airflow over it - warm to the touch.(easily 30-40 degrees difference) 2 years, zero failures - from the hottest temperature drive on the market at the time.
#1: Increase airflow(and lower sound). Most fans are acutally hard to hear - what you hear is backpressure and airflow because someone either has the fan in too tight of a space or *right up against something*.
The intake fan on most systems does little more than create noise. All that air being pulled through a myriad of small cracks that soon fill up with dust... That's half of it. The other half is more insidious:
Look at the rear of your system. See that nice grille/grid of hundreds of holes stamped into the metal? It's only there for looks. If you place a fan right up aginst it, or even mount one there, it's worthless.
¿Que? I can hear you saying about now.
A Quick Test:
Feel the airflow out of the rear of your system. Now, do the same with a fan by itself. Your intake fan is a good side-by-side comparison, since 99% of the time, they are identical fans. Notice anything dramatic?
The obvious solution is to install a proper wire fingerguard/screen on the fan and take the stamped portion out. I used a Dremel myself - sliced it out(obviously put a wire screen on the outside - not a fan of hurt fingers) and... Dropped my entire system by 5 degrees centigrade! Suddenly I have 50-60cfm out the rear instead of 20cfm and a ton of backpressure noise. Dropped my computer at least 10db as well, since there's no intake fan, and the exhaust fans are operating under no stress/backpressure.
Edit:
#3 alone dropped my system 5 degrees C. The other two dropped it over 10 degrees together - I went from 55 degrees in a stock setup to 40 degrees C - all for $20(slot fan) and half an hour labor.
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