Reducing the temps for H440 users.

Disco_P · 22 Sep 2014 at 09:26

So I had an idea in bed at 2am last night.

An idea so great I got up, ran to the office, got my screwdrivers out and immediately tried and tested.

The mesh on the front and top panels of the H440 is held in by screws so can easily be removed, increasing airflow by a fair amount. It comes in 3 pieces, right side of the front panel, left of the top panel and back of the top panel.

I removed all 3 pieces and water temps dropped from about 43C to 37C using my standard BF3 test (where I idle at the spawn menu for hours).

Case won't look as sleek from all angles but I only see it from the left so will test with only that mesh installed and see what difference it makes.

I know a lot of H440 owners struggle with airflow so hopefully this tidbit helps out and if other people can test with their cases that would be cool.

Using 5 Arctic Cooling F12s at 1000rpm on a pair of Alphacool NexXxos ST30 radiators.

Born_2_Kill_83 · 23 Sep 2014 at 13:33

Just wish this method would cool 2 GPU;s as well, my main problem seems to be the dust cover and the fact the case seem's to be so close to the fans inside.

Disco_P · 23 Sep 2014 at 17:03

I removed the dust filter already. It increases temps in an attempt to stop dust from increasing temps. Instead I keep the room clean and use compressed air to remove dust from the inside of the case.

I do use a filtered intake for the PSU as that is impossible to clean.

sellw88 · 23 Sep 2014 at 21:42

Brilliant - may give this a go!

Wondering now if a very fine mesh could be put in place just to keep the red and black look (without keeping the temps to high)...

Kipz · 24 Sep 2014 at 19:49

Ive already done this to the parts I cannot see. I also removed the foam from the front and top pannel to give more breathing room.

I'm 100% water cooled though so don't really know how much it would help airflow but seems to keep everything cool in my case.

I know its supposed to dampen noise but I don't see the point of it when there are exposed holes right beside it. The foam on the sides though is good.

cwgk91 · 24 Sep 2014 at 22:21

Interesting, was on the verge of cutting a big hole in the front of my front plate to try to increase airflow to my radiator! Will definitely try this first

Disco_P · 26 Sep 2014 at 15:39

Kipz said:
Ive already done this to the parts I cannot see. I also removed the foam from the front and top pannel to give more breathing room.

I'm 100% water cooled though so don't really know how much it would help airflow but seems to keep everything cool in my case.

I know its supposed to dampen noise but I don't see the point of it when there are exposed holes right beside it. The foam on the sides though is good.

I would have removed the foam from the front and top if it would come off cleanly. However it looks like it will just fall apart and I don't really want to do anything to drastic that is unreversible (already have 3 extra holes drilled in the bottom of the case)

cwgk91 said:
Interesting, was on the verge of cutting a big hole in the front of my front plate to try to increase airflow to my radiator! Will definitely try this first

Let me know how it went!

Tiptonite · 27 Sep 2014 at 23:13

I've found that leaving the right side of the front panel ajar/unpushed in has a big effect, especially as I've moved my 295x2 Rad to intake on the front (It helped temps drop for 73c to 65c for this gfx card).

Does make me think why they didn't just design it this way instead, as I'm not seeing to much of an increase in noise it left slightly open.

cwgk91 · 27 Sep 2014 at 23:26

Have taken the grating out and it is around a 5C drop in temps, good find!

Disco_P · 29 Sep 2014 at 04:01

Tiptonite said:
I've found that leaving the right side of the front panel ajar/unpushed in has a big effect, especially as I've moved my 295x2 Rad to intake on the front (It helped temps drop for 73c to 65c for this gfx card).

Does make me think why they didn't just design it this way instead, as I'm not seeing to much of an increase in noise it left slightly open.

I would assume that this way it allows the case front to sit perpendicular to the rest of the case and will look good from any angle. Without the grills and viewed from the right it looks slightly odd.

cwgk91 said:
Have taken the grating out and it is around a 5C drop in temps, good find!

Good to hear

Panos · 29 Sep 2014 at 13:43

While dust indeed is an issue, you can always use filters that are attached to the fans with 5cm-6cm washers or bolts. Yes you need longer screws, but you can always buy them from B&Q or screwfix for next to nothing compared to the rest of the system.