Better case or better cooling?

daz.rathbone

daz.rathbone

daz.rathbone

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21 Sep 2006
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Hi all. Looking for a bit of advice around cooling my setup.
New pc all built in a Lian-Li A05B - i5 750 (@3.2), with a Vapor-X 5870. Titan Fenrir on the CPU. Stock case cooling (rear 120 intake, front 120 exhaust).

At idle the cores sit around 40c, with the 5870 around 45c. Under load the cores max around 60c, but the GPU hits 90c, and the case gets a little warm to the touch, especially around the front exhaust. Makes me worry about the HDDs, and the motherboard temp reports 41 idle, and upto 55/60 load.

So the options to get things a little cooler (I think) are:

1. Mod single/dual 120mm blowhole(s) in the top.
Don't really want to do this as I will make a complete hash of it, and it's such a lovely case.

2. Fit a BS-08B (http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CM-003-LL) in the top, then switch both front/back 120mms to be intake, and let the BS-08B do all the exhaust. Any ideas how well that would work?

3. Buy a case with better cooling.
Also don't really want to do this, as I really like the A05. Perfect size for me, and don't want to go to anything much bigger. If I did then an Alu case is a must (love the lian-li build quality, and it's so light).

Any recommendations? Preferred option would be 2, but unsure how well it would work.

Cheers
 
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Try turning fans around so front is intake and rear is exhaust.

This way you get cool air over hard drives and onto the rear of your gpu.
 
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im the same with my lian-li, i have been a pc65 user since my duron - and im still using the same case, its so ugly its beautifull!

I guess the problem that you are having here is that the front of the case seriously lacks exhaust power as the exhaust is blocked with a sheet of alu, even though the fan is there.

Option 2 deffo sounds like a plan as it seems the problem you are having is getting the heat out of your rig quick enough.

Maybe its time at looking at upgrading your intake and exhaust fans in your rig too ?
 
freddie64 said:
Try turning fans around so front is intake and rear is exhaust.

This way you get cool air over hard drives and onto the rear of your gpu.
Click to expand...

Would have to disagree with that, its worth trying but id rather have the colder air hitting my gpu first, the hdds are the last thing to get cooled, and at 65 its not that bad - but a more powerfull exhaust fan on the front will probably aid you loads
 
Cheers for fast responses.
I've spent hours going over the A05 info in forums, and generally the thought is that the stock airflow is the way to leave it unless modding (back to front).

Stock fans don't seem too bad, although I have some Fractal Designs and a couple of Akasa Apaches around, so maybe will try changing the front. I think you're right though, the issue will still be getting the heat out quickly enough.

Case badly needs some top exhaust, as the gfx gets especially toasty, and with hot air rising, it would need a lot of positive pressure to get the front kicking the heat out (as back is bottom mounted, and front is mid-mounted). That's why I thought of the BS-08B - not sure how good it is, but with front and back as intakes, wondered if it would make a nice positive pressure setup.
 
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Also, as an added bonus if I can get the heat sorted, I'm fairly confident this CPU will do 4GHz without much persuasion. Just don't really want to push it without better airflow.
 
Just ordered the BS-08B. At £27 it's a little steep, but I'll report back on how it goes. Plan is as above, install that, then switch the front to be intake as well (will replace with an Apache during the switcharound).
 
freddie64 said:
Good luck with the cooling. Personally, i would have tried front to back airflow first before ordering the other cooler.
Click to expand...

True as the heat rises to the top of the case so the front exhaust fan has a real hard job removing the hot air at the top of the case .
 
I will try it anyway, but by the same measure, the fan at the back is also at the bottom, so would have the same problem.

That Lian-Li 2x120mm PCI cooler should be here Tuesday, so will change front and back 120mm (both at bottom) to be intake, and have this new cooler as the only exhaust, and will see what happens.

Thanks to everyone for advice - all good stuff as always :)
 
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