Soldato
- Joined
- 4 Aug 2007
- Posts
- 22,395
- Location
- Wilds of suffolk
I know its an open ended question and all 
and its a bit of a random thread so random answers/thoughts only please 
So lets break it down, three main heat causing areas as far as I can really deduce (in order)
1) Graphics card if its high spec
2) Processor, could be highest depending on overclocking and what graphics card is in use
3) Power supply, but more efficient = lower heat (the heat is the inefficiency)
Rest of components of course generate some, but RAM, controllers etc are generally not many watts from what I can tell, maybe HDDs generate a fair bit if used heavily for prolonged periods but short bursts I would think would seep the heat over time so not have a dramatic effect on the background heat
So power supply is easy, they are semi self cooling as they exhaust hot air themselves although they do appear to radiate some heat its unclear if this escapes into the case really or is actually pulled back via airflow through the power supply.
Processor well these are fairly well understood, we know what sort of airflow is required to keep one cool enough. I am assuming they are radiating a lot of heat into the case even if you have them pointed towards an exhaust since airflow will be turbulent?
Graphics card, this is the one that generally I am not 100% sure about, its got a small fan (relative to processor) for the heat it produces, so either its very efficient at venting that heat or its going to be radiating a fair amount into the case?
So I am thinking are we waaay over the top on overall airflow being pumped through cases to cover weakspots in the overall design?
Im looking at the expedit pc thread and wondering if a single large fan (such as the 220mm one on here) could be used to pump enough airflow into the "case" so that the overall airflow would be enough to eliminate any hotspots etc and effectively give all components ambient air. It flows 90cfm of air so thats a damn lot surely? I am starting to think that pc cases are generally a pretty poor design for cooling but that they are accepted in form and hence cant be really changed.
So if you were designing from scratch what would yours look like?
Im thinking something like an 18" diamater tube, large 18" fan at each end in push pull config and everything else inside with most heat critical components closer to in and less critical closer to out.
So where do I get that 18" tube?
and its a bit of a random thread so random answers/thoughts only please So lets break it down, three main heat causing areas as far as I can really deduce (in order)
1) Graphics card if its high spec
2) Processor, could be highest depending on overclocking and what graphics card is in use
3) Power supply, but more efficient = lower heat (the heat is the inefficiency)
Rest of components of course generate some, but RAM, controllers etc are generally not many watts from what I can tell, maybe HDDs generate a fair bit if used heavily for prolonged periods but short bursts I would think would seep the heat over time so not have a dramatic effect on the background heat
So power supply is easy, they are semi self cooling as they exhaust hot air themselves although they do appear to radiate some heat its unclear if this escapes into the case really or is actually pulled back via airflow through the power supply.
Processor well these are fairly well understood, we know what sort of airflow is required to keep one cool enough. I am assuming they are radiating a lot of heat into the case even if you have them pointed towards an exhaust since airflow will be turbulent?
Graphics card, this is the one that generally I am not 100% sure about, its got a small fan (relative to processor) for the heat it produces, so either its very efficient at venting that heat or its going to be radiating a fair amount into the case?
So I am thinking are we waaay over the top on overall airflow being pumped through cases to cover weakspots in the overall design?
Im looking at the expedit pc thread and wondering if a single large fan (such as the 220mm one on here) could be used to pump enough airflow into the "case" so that the overall airflow would be enough to eliminate any hotspots etc and effectively give all components ambient air. It flows 90cfm of air so thats a damn lot surely? I am starting to think that pc cases are generally a pretty poor design for cooling but that they are accepted in form and hence cant be really changed.
So if you were designing from scratch what would yours look like?
Im thinking something like an 18" diamater tube, large 18" fan at each end in push pull config and everything else inside with most heat critical components closer to in and less critical closer to out.
So where do I get that 18" tube?
