Akasa Venom got boring... Need a new CPU cooler perhaps?

[kyufaker]

Hello Folks,

I am bored... Bored because I like to mess around with my PC and am struggling to find excuses to open up my PC and have a fiddle with it.

After a recent case change from a HAF 932 to a Raven 03, I've begun to think my PC is a bit loud. The Raven is already quieter than the HAF IMO and has amazing fan filters, which probably means more noise and more heat, but nevertheless seems similar temperature wise.

My current set up is i5-760 @ 4GHZ, been like that for nearly 3 years now, thinking of trying to juice out more, for fun only tbh... 4.2?
Akasa Venom fan
GTX 670 windforce
Vertex 3 256 GB + 2 other HDDs
silverpower 650W (now called seasonic if I'm not mistaken)
2x2GB dominators
All the above surrounded by 5 120mm CM blue sickleflow 1900 rpm fans and 2 stock Raven 140mms the latter are set at low...

My cheap indoor thermometer is telling me my ambient is 18C...

CPU idles at 30-33C, games is 45-50C and intel burn test at 20 mins is 80C (even after recent TIM change to arctic silver MX 4
GPU idles at 20-22C, games is 45-50C

The fans are set up such that the two 140mm blow from the bottom, 2 sickleflows intake from the front, 2 exhaust from the top and 1 INTAKE from the back (yes you read it correctly), a lot of positive pressure I guess

The reason I chose the back to be an intake is because of the RV 90 degrees tilt, the windforce takes the air in and blows it out to the sides of the card, so naturally I try to feed it extra air from the back, now just above it I mounted an extractor sickleflow to exhaust through the back/top of the case...

This decreases the idle temps of the card by 2C and game load by 5C vs exhaust through the back and no top exhaust...

To the point... the PC hums a bit loud... 5 sickleflows, 2 SS 140mms and an akasa venom... I thought about watercooling but if I want to have a good crack at it it would set me back 200 quid... seems like a lot...

So perhaps I could go with a fan controller? There isn't really a smart voltage fan controller out there that could adjust fan speed off the 3pins accordingly to the case temp... MEH! Unless I do something like attaching a PWM fan to the controller and try to mimic the voltage response to the other attached 3pins, but this will never be as good as a true PWM...

Going full PWM + splitters seems a tad on the expensive side 50 quid? would rather lash out on W/C + I love my sickleflows

Also have no interest in a closed loop W/C...

So I'm stuck... I want to perhaps remove the Akasa and replace it with a xigmatek gaia? Would that be a noticeable change?

I could simply remove the two front intake sickleflows, but damn they look cool... I know it's silly...

Come on people I need some ideas I'm in a pinch here! (and please don't say stuff like go play CoD, because after 5 CoDs I got bored, similar story with other games)

Any crazy idea is accepted ( and yes I got other stuff to do like a job or sports or a gf... I just love messing about with my PC) I am sure there are people with dilemmas like mine out there! Help out a homie!

Thanks folks! And merry Xmas, as it's imminent!

 

[kyufaker]

C'mon people help a lad in a creativity downturn (much like the current economy)