Need a second opinion

Oza

Oza

Oza

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Joined
17 Jan 2014
Posts
14
Hello all,

my partners pc has a problem with over heating, I've included a picture of the machine to hopefully give a clearer understanding of the problem. The graphics card has started to flicker in some games, mainly Rift when it seems she gets too hot.

The case, nvidia coolermaster 690 II Adv, the gfx card msi gts 450. We've since swapped the gfx card out for my old gtx 9600 to see if the gfx card is damaged and it does seem to be. However before we replace it we wanted to make sure the case isn't the problem.

I was thinking maybe the front fan wasn't pushing enough air into the case? Yes the machine is kept as dust free as I can manage to keep it. I'm also looking to get some cable ties to help remove the cables from affecting the air flow. There are 3 case fans, 1xfront, 1xtop and 1xback, also the psu fan is pulling air out of the system at the bottom.

2ivkyv7.jpg
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I don't see any problem with that kind of airflow apart from those cables could cause some more heat.

is the PSU facing upward? shouldn't be downward?

A good thermal compound would help too if you think the CPU is getting really hot.
 
Turn PSU upside down so the fan is drawing air from underneath the case.

Get as many cables as you can behind the motherboard tray.

If you can, remove the lower HDD cage and move the fan down so the air flow is unrestricted.

You could put a 120mm fan in the DVD drive bay (zip tied or wedged in with some foam blocks).
 
Hello,

Thanks for the advice, I've tried to do my best with moving the cables behind the motherboard and remove what I can. Unfortunately I wasn't able to remove the Hard Drive casing as it requires a special type of tool that I don't have.

Here is the final version with a clearer picture. Any way I can tell if the front fan is working sufficiently?

144ctug.jpg
 
Looks better.

The HDD cage should be held in by a few cross head screws, 4 on the bottom of the case under the filter and 3 (i think) on the rear of the cage. Was you trying to remove the upper cage? As i don't think this is possible without drilling out the rivets.

Are you still getting the flickering in your games?
 
Yes I went for the rivets ;) I'll look into moving one of the drives above the DVD writer and remove the bottom section. The flickering is not a problem at the moment due to me using my old gfx card. I could try switching that back in to see if the problem now still exists, which will likely prove that the card is already damaged.

Needless to say you've made my partner very happy as we've been told the case had to go etc for one with the psu at the top. Hence me wanting to check what was said!

My only concern at the moment is still that the front fan isn't upto the job.
 
Oza said:
Needless to say you've made my partner very happy as we've been told the case had to go etc for one with the psu at the top. Hence me wanting to check what was said!
Click to expand...

Cooling your system by the PSU at the top has been outdated for a long time.

Nearly all modern performance cases nowadays put the PSU at the bottom and have vents/fans at the top, as this is better for general cooling and the cooling of the PSU.

The ones that don't tend to be in more exotic configurations (such as motherboard in different orientations).
 
Then it might well be time for the case I use to go, Asus Vento. But that's another topic ;)

I'll give the gfx card of hers a try tomorrow and see how it goes, if the memory is the problem it's a new card for her.

Appreciate all the help :)
 
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