Heat issues - new case?

No-One · 12 Jul 2008 at 00:25

Spec:
Q6600 at stock with stock cooler
ABit IP35
2 gb Corsair DDR2
BFG Geforce 8800 GTS 512meg
Corsair HX 520 PSU
2 WD 320gig Sata HDDs
Pioneer DVDRW
NZXT Hush Classic

CPU temperatures are 47c at idle and 68c under load. GPU is 68c idle. Haven't taken a load reading of the GPU yet. With the side panel off the cpu drops to 44c idle and 58c load, and the GPU drops to 63c idle. I'm using the 2 standard 120mm fans that came with the case. When I open the case after it's been running for a while I can actually feel the heat escaping the case.

Has anyone had any experience with this case? Would it be worth changing the fans or just changing the case?

PhoenixUK · 12 Jul 2008 at 05:11

No idea about the case but yeh thats really high.

I guess just changing the fans won't do the job if the case airflow itself is poor.

1kiwi · 12 Jul 2008 at 09:55

good cable management will help. what does you case look like at the moment?

oceaness · 12 Jul 2008 at 10:36

Those temperatures aren't too bad considering your using the stock cooler.

A little high perhaps. High enough that I would look into removing un-needed cables and tidying up the needed ones and seeing about improving airflow through your case.

Perhaps some better case fans.

It is normal for a PC to be a little cooler with the side off.

No-One · 12 Jul 2008 at 12:34

This is how it looks at the moment. The only way I can clear the excess cables out the way is by stuffing them into the unused drive bays. There's no space behind the motherboard tray to route them

1kiwi · 12 Jul 2008 at 12:40

Ouch thats quite bad. You have a pretty decent system. I would get a half decent heatsink and case. MM may be a good place to start.

oceaness · 12 Jul 2008 at 12:59

I would consider upgrading the CPU cooler that would help immensely. The cooler of choice at the moment has to be the Xigmatek HDT-S1283 which costs about £22 + P&P unfortunately OcUK don’t sell it :eek:

This will drastically lower your CPU temps and probably make your PC much quieter. The GPU is fine they can run much hotter than a CPU can.

I dont think your case is too bad, the main route through is mostly clear:

No-One · 12 Jul 2008 at 13:16

That's the main area i was trying to clear. Noise isn't an issue really. When the CPU fan is at its slower speed (which only really happens when the panel is off) the system is pretty much silent. It just seems that when it's closed there's a pocket of hit air just sitting within about the top 1/4 of the case. I'm toying with the idea of changing to the Atec P182 at the moment.