Help me with an airflow problem

almoststew1990 · 26 May 2015 at 17:20

I have the following gear in a naff cheapo case:

Sandy Pentium G870 3.1GHz CPU (@60c under load) on a 92mm Aidios cooler
2x2GB RAM
1x SSD
1x 3.5" HDD in same shelf (out of the way)
GTX 580 (@90c after 15 minutes of gaming)

As I've cleaned out the GPU and the CPU has recently been mounted and remounted, I think the problem is the lack of air and crap circulation in the case:

I think the CPU is warm as it is pulling the PSU air over it?
I think the GPU is warm because the inhale fan can't move enough air and is generally suffocating?

As the mobo is ITX it seems I can't mount the CPU cooler sideways.

How would you do the airflow in here? The GTX is a Frozr II cooler so not a blower designed one.

MrMD · 26 May 2015 at 17:49

PSU fans act as intakes,so the psu is sucking air in from the case

Your Cpu fan appears to be in a push config,so its blowing air through the heatsink down onto the GPU,which itself is pushing its hot air up into the CPU cooler area.This is not optimal,explains hwy your GPU temps are so high.

Try mounting the CPU fan the opposite way round,so its pulling air through the heatsink towards the top of the case.

almoststew1990 · 26 May 2015 at 18:00

Doh! I didn't know PSUs inhaled fro nthe case! I thought it was the other way around

Edit- Is it better to push air or pull air?

lude1962 · 26 May 2015 at 18:25

try reversing the front fan and rear fan (It doesnt look like the rear can suck enough air out) so front is exhaust and rear is inlet
or consider adding a pci slot blower fan

pastymuncher · 26 May 2015 at 18:55

Personally I would replace the case. Only a single 80mm exhaust just isn't up to the job these days. For just £25 you can get the Raijintek Arcadia and it would be a massive upgrade in cooling capability. It even has dust filters.

almoststew1990 · 26 May 2015 at 19:28

this is a second PC that I mess around with and use for games in the Bedroom, so I'm hoping to not spend more money on it (other than a quad core to let the GTX 580 loose).

Even with the side panel off, I still get 77c on the 580; were they just hot cards?

If cases are really that cheap I might get one for £25 or so, but it would have to be MATX.

What MATX case would you recommend at the cheapo end of the scale?

CyberCrow · 26 May 2015 at 21:13

Turn HS around so it side facing, pulling in from the front fan blowing out to rear.

Turn PSU up side down so it blows out.