Who needs case fans when you've get desk fans?

[mothergoose]

If I get some wire mesh or something like that from home depot, mounted it over the side of my computer and opened my side panel, and then put a high powered electric fan right next to the tower and blow air inside it like the dickons... what would be the draw back to that? Case fans move such little air. Some electric fans can move more then 1000 cfm on low settings. Thoughts?

I have been constantly searching for new and creative ways to cool the system I wish to buy effectively. I've even considered putting my computer in a mini freezer and punching holes in the back to feed the wires (I would still- but anything big enough is too big and too expensive).

Has anybody else heard of any exotic ways to cool a computer? Ideas are always appreciated (and usually amusing )

 

[ALANMAN]

Not only will a desk fan solution look stupid, but there's probably a good risk of damaging components from dust/particles moving at a high rate of speed.

 

[CtrlAltDel]

I've even considered putting my computer in a mini freezer and punching holes in the back to feed the wires (I would still- but anything big enough is too big and too expensive).

Here we go again, quite a few threads try to explain that this will not work. Has someone actually tried it (and posted any pics)? I would love to see the damage done...

 

[royalcrown]

mini fridges are 90 bucks !

to the op as far as your fan theory goes...screw the desk fan and use a 20 inch box fan and just seal it up to the side and try that.

,,dust particles don't have enough mass to damage anything, go learn what MASS is.

 

[mothergoose]

Lol, if this thread will offend people then please ignore it and I won't bring up the subject again. Not worth getting flamed over. CtrlAltDel, I would be interested in reading those threads if you could post them.

EDIT: I did find a cheap box fan (35 dollars) that is supposed to be relatively quite, and move more then 2000 cfm. Very exciting! And cheaper overall then six to eight high powered case fans that couldn't couldn't move half of that.

 

[royalcrown]

I would think your avg fan @ 15 bucks would be more than plenty. Also, put your mb in a tube and run wires out the top, have a fan that just fits each end and voila.

 

[szwaba67]

Well, I doubt anyone was talking about the individual pieces of dust actually punching through a component, the problem is the collection of dust. Dust will collect in all the cracks between the fins of heatsinks and anywhere else it can hang on. The collection builds and becomes an insulator, keeping all that heat nice and close to the components.

Anyway, enough about the obvious concerns with dust. Fans have been getting larger and larger for a reason. Larger fans can push more air at lower (quieter) speeds. So the idea of a larger fan is actually a good one, however you gotta think of air flow too. Pointing the fan at the board just makes the air hit the board, but you don't know what kind of chaos that's going to produce. Pushing more air over it will help move it along, but you won't be getting the kind of movement you would from something as simple as royalcrown's idea. You want a FIFO air flow, the first air in should be the first air out, without proper flow, this will not be the case. That means the warmer air could be trapped in a pocket in the chaos (think whirlpool in a white water river).

I might actually google the heating properties of air since I'm curious to see if there's actually a point where the air's ability to absorb the heat effectively is actually hindered by movement. I mean, if you think about it, heat isn't absorbed instantly, maybe moving the air particles too fast could actually not give it enough time to absorb any heat? That would be freaky!

 

[mothergoose]

Air flow doesn't absorb heat, it moves it. The particles in the cooler air collide, push, and generally force out the hot particles to create cooling. FIFO is a valid idea, but the way air works is it will always be moving the warm air out any place it can form an air pocket. What happens is the air travels until it collides with a solid object, moves across it to the point of least pressure to escape, and keeps going. All air behind it follows the same path when the airflow has been established. Even air pockets circulate new air through over and over again or the "pocket" couldn't exist. It would just collapse into stale, still air. Dust could be a problem though... but no more so then with any other case fan. Hopefully home depot will have a cheap screen I can buy to solve the problem .

 

[fudgeboy]

szwaba67 you're right, installing an out-take fan moves heat better than an in-take fan - finally firefighting has helped me solve somebodys problems over the internet. if you want to get REALLY technical then you could set up a small hose before the out-take fan which creates a lower pressure (if i remember correctly) and can massively increase the heat out-take. bahahaha if you're really worried about it then you could take everything out of your case and fill it with smoke and try running the fans without the parts in it - this will allow you to see how effective your fan placement is

 

[fudgeboy]

sorry - edit that - out-take fans move AIR better than an intake fan.
you could always try leak-proofing your case and filling it with vegetable oil. not only do you have a cool computer but you can cook stuff while your games load!

 

[aziraphale]

^lol

 

[outlw6669]

If you don't care how it looks, it will defiantly move some air. Just make sure and put a filter on the box fan so your system dose not get clogged up with dust.

 

[szwaba67]

mothergoose... I'm not sure what you mean. The "hot particles" that you refer to are AIR, thus, the cooler AIR (cooler particles) that are colliding into the "hot particles" are simply "moving" the heat away. You say AIR doesn't absorb heat, well how the heck did those particles get hot!? Once the cooler air is in the space that the hotter air once was, it absorbs the heat from the components and thus becomes hotter than the cooler air being forced to it.

I do like your theory on "the way air works" but it doesn't seem right. The idea of a pocket is that the air around the pocket is colliding into only the outer edges of the pocket, forcing the air in the middle of the pocket to swirl. I agree SOME air is moved through this pocket, but it still creates a hot spot because not ALL of the air is moved. Think of the back of a pickup truck on a highway (please excuse this seemingly redneck comparison). You get an air pocket causing air to swirl in the back, so if there's leaves or something they just swirl around and around. Sometimes they fly out when the pocket is disrupted, otherwise, just swirl around and around. Picture this on a much smaller scale, with just AIR, the warm air particles instead of leaves, and fans inside a case instead of 60Mph speeds on a highway. Why is that not valid?

 

[Shadow703793]

What's up with the cooling ides? This is the 2nd one I have see today
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/248154-29-idea-processor-overclocking#t1767744

Any ways OP post back with results. Good luck.

 

[njalterio]

What's up with the cooling ides? This is the 2nd one I have see today
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/248154-29-idea-processor-overclocking#t1767744

Any ways OP post back with results. Good luck.

It's the summer, people are getting desperate.

 

[50bmg]

outlw6669 - LOL. I dont see why not.

Have you seen some of the 250mm + fans they are putting on cases now?

Just spend a few extra bucks and get a quiet fan.

LOL.

 

[jeb1517]

there's probably a good risk of damaging components from dust/particles moving at a high rate of speed.

lmao...you serious??

Anyway, if you're going to leave the side open, there's no need for a huge fan. You just need a small desk fan at the bottom in the front of the case pointing towards the base of the processor heatsink. This provides more than enough cooling for all of your components.

 

[Onus]

A reasonably well-designed case with intakes in the front and/or side and exhausts in the rear and/or top should efficiently remove heat without a noisy rush of wind or whining of turbo fans. A box fan would probably work very well too, but be noisy, bulky, unsightly, and inefficient. There are some cases out there that have larger fans for more airflow. XClio and Enermax come to mind, but I think there are others too.

 

[mothergoose]

If you don't care how it looks, it will defiantly move some air. Just make sure and put a filter on the box fan so your system dose not get clogged up with dust.

http://www.americanallergysupply.com/images/1dylos-fiberglass.jpg

I like it

 

[jeb1517]

A reasonably well-designed case with intakes in the front and/or side and exhausts in the rear and/or top.

costs too much for some people (like me).

 

[th_username]

in winter just open the window better than a fan

 

[50bmg]

Bunus with outlw669's idea.

That setup will create positive pressure in the case. All openings will become exhausts. Reducing the dust coming in from unfiltered openings. If you were to spend a couple of dollars on a good little better filter, that could work well for dust control. Even at low speeds. You would still need enough openings to allow the air out or you will not get any flow.

I would suggest getting a quieter fan and a better filter. Cheap house A/C filters dont stop the fine particles that can mess up circuitry. Get a good house a/c high flow hepa filter.

You would still want a fan on your heatsinks.

adding an 80/120mm exhaust fan with a fan controller might help if you dont have enough exhaust openings. If the case has to high a positive pressure from the box fan, you will get no airflow no matter how big it is. the air needs a way out.

 

[th_username]

why you care about dust it wont damage your pc
just buy a can of compressed air and done
my pc is covered with dust and it work fine

 

[mothergoose]

I can always drill some whole in my case to let out some air in the back and sides. I think with the air coming in from one source and going out the vents I should have something like the FIFO szwaba was talking about.

 

[mothergoose]

Actually, I may have found a better solution. I found a case that comes onboard with the power supply I want and a 250mm side intake fan. That's almost the size of a small desk fan. I went shopping to see if I could find a 250mm case fan with good airflow and there aren't really any that push a lot of air for that size (most I saw was 105 cfm... good but not what I want). Is is possible to up the rpms on a fan like this with a fan controller to be able to move more then this much air ( a lot more)? Can you adapt other types of fans to fit in a case? What are the specifications for a fan such as this if I wanted to go to a hardware store and try to find something similar? (I know it is 12v and the size but not sure what else it important).