Case Cooling - Lets Discuss It

[Brian_Holiday]

I have been looking inside a lot of comercial PCs lately and I have noticed that Dell and Compaq put baffles over their processors and vent them directly out of the case. So I got to thinking, why don't we all do this?

BH

[-Spazmatic-]

I have been looking inside a lot of comercial PCs lately and I have noticed that Dell and Compaq put baffles over their processors and vent them directly out of the case.  So I got to thinking, why don't we all do this?

BH

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

It's pointless? You'll get less airflow with that stupid duct..

[bearskin]

I don't know whos right or wrong but does dell or compaq have heatng problems? it just may work.

[TheTerrorist_75]

The Dell 4700 with the duct does have heating problems Some owners have tried turning the fans around to fix the problem. Every proprietary PC I've worked on that had these ducts had issues with heat. To me they are a collection chamber for smoke, dust, hair and other other contaminants in the air which reduces the airflow through the duct.

[bearskin]

very good terrorist...that's what I like to hear...people that have experieced this firsthand.

[TheTerrorist_75]

Just about all of the Dells I have worked on the fans and chambers were clogged with garbage. Even the air intake vents were blocked. In fact most of the fans were DOA. The damn things seem to be more efficient as a vacuum cleaner than a computer.

[Brian_Holiday]

It's pointless? You'll get less airflow with that stupid duct..

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

But can we take that for a fact? I mean, if Dell is doing it some engineer had to work out that it was a good idea. Corporations don't spend any more on a product than they have to.

While the vent will reduce the air flow by friction at the least, a bigger fan would solve that problem.

BH

[Brian_Holiday]

The Dell 4700 with the duct does have heating problems Some owners have tried turning the fans around to fix the problem. Every proprietary PC I've worked on that had these ducts had issues with heat. To me they are a collection chamber for smoke, dust, hair and other other contaminants in the air which reduces the airflow through the duct.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Ok, thats the kind of stuff that is good to know. So what if they are clean, ever had overheating problems witha clean duct?

BH

[TheTerrorist_75]

Pushing more air through a restricted area will not improve perfromance. You need to move that airflow out as well as in. I have always remove the duct and installed a better heatsink/fan combo.

Now this PC case has an interesting idea of using ducting. It seems like a more efficient way.

Enermax Maxflow CS-718B

Ok, thats the kind of stuff that is good to know.  So what if they are clean, ever had overheating problems witha clean duct?

  BH

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The Dell 4700 runs hot even when clean.

Edited August 24, 2005 by TheTerrorist_75

[bozodog]

Boy, don't I know how badly Dell's get dirtied up. And they use that shroud to elimate the CPU fan. Using the case fan and duct to direct the airflow around the CPU heatsink. Now that drags all the dust and crap right to the heatsink fins. It's the only place for it to go. And if you have a graphics card without a fan,(I know, cheap) that ends up with overheating problems.

My solution was a GFX fan, and a new heatsink and fan for the CPU. Tossed the duct and I now have a case that the dirt collects in the bottom, not on the CPU. One last problem to be solved... the HDD is right behind the front intakes and must be removed to clean back there. It also makes it difficult to make sure my other drive stays cool.

[Brian_Holiday]

Pushing more air through a restricted area will not improve perfromance. You need to move that airflow out as well as in. I have always remove the duct and installed a better heatsink/fan combo.

Now this PC case has an interesting idea of using ducting. It seems like a more efficient way.

Enermax Maxflow CS-718B

The Dell 4700 runs hot even when clean.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

That is interesting, it looks like you invert the motherboard and put the processor inside a push/pull strait flow through air chamber, isolating it from the rest of the pc. The only turbulence you would have is at the grills and directly over the sync. I hadn't considered that as an option. That might be worth looking at for hard disks also. My hard disks produce the most heat in my PC. I can touch the heat sync on the processor after a couple of hours of gaming and it is barely warm.

BH

[-Spazmatic-]

The Dell 4700 with the duct does have heating problems Some owners have tried turning the fans around to fix the problem. Every proprietary PC I've worked on that had these ducts had issues with heat. To me they are a collection chamber for smoke, dust, hair and other other contaminants in the air which reduces the airflow through the duct.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Ok, thats the kind of stuff that is good to know. So what if they are clean, ever had overheating problems witha clean duct?

BH

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I have an HP and it has one of those retarded ducts. It limits airflow in the case...I took it out to get the dust out, and while I was away my little brother turned on the case. I came back from walmart (about an hour later) and told him to get off. I opened the case and there was a noticable difference in case heat. That PSU fan can move some air, it's a small case anyhow.

[macmarauder]

the problem with using ducting systems to direct air flow is just to harsh on the heat dispersion. that's why without any ducting it runs cooler. hot air is like water, it spreads out to the area with the least resistance. with the tried and true method of putting an intake fan towards the bottom, an exhaust towards the top, and a cooling fan on top the heatsink to spread the air around works better. cause then at least the heat can spread out evenly over a larger area. using those ducts confines the heat into a smaller area. have you ever wandered why huge cases are so easy to cool?

[tenmm]

..

Edited August 27, 2005 by tenmm

[DarkestDream]

Boy, don't I know how badly Dell's get dirtied up. And they use that shroud to elimate the CPU fan. Using the case fan and duct to direct the airflow around the CPU heatsink. Now that drags all the dust and crap right to the heatsink fins. It's the only place for it to go. And if you have a graphics card without a fan,(I know, cheap) that ends up with overheating problems.

My solution was a GFX fan, and a new heatsink and fan for the CPU. Tossed the duct and I now have a case that the dirt collects in the bottom, not on the CPU. One last problem to be solved... the HDD is right behind the front intakes and must be removed to clean back there. It also makes it difficult to make sure my other drive stays cool.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

to get less dust is to get mesh filter, then the dust start to get on mesh then the dust itself will gather to dust and keep inside more clean

[JDoors]

Here's a better solution: MORE FANS!

(I'm usually obsessivly organised, it's a disease but I lost the link to the site of the guy who built this.)

Edited August 25, 2005 by JDoors

[DarkestDream]

Here's a better solution: MORE FANS!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

there a slashdot story on that picture... people, that picture is real

[Brian_Holiday]

the problem with using ducting systems to direct air flow is just to harsh on the heat dispersion. that's why without any ducting it runs cooler. hot air is like water, it spreads out to the area with the least resistance. with the tried and true method of putting an intake fan towards the bottom, an exhaust towards the top, and a cooling fan on top the heatsink to spread the air around works better. cause then at least the heat can spread out evenly over a larger area. using those ducts confines the heat into a smaller area. have you ever wandered why huge cases are so easy to cool?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

But couldn't you use another analogy. Which is going to cool beer quicker, a flowing stream or dropping into a bucket of water?

What makes cooling work is the delta between the temp of the incomming air and the temp of the sync. If the inside of the case is 100 degrees F, and you are pushing 70 degree air across the processor, I assume it would cool better.than the 100 degree in the case. I wouldn't want too much of a difference, since there is thermal cycling and condensation to think about, but logic seems to follow.

Granted, this doesn't really matter for most of us. I could put at least 2 full PCs in my mini tower, and it has 4 fans. Itt does however matter for a project I am working on, which is why I brought it up. Lots of smart people willing to give opinions here

Thanks all,

BH

[Brian_Holiday]

Here's a better solution: MORE FANS!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

there a slashdot story on that picture... people, that picture is real

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Hmmmm...Do you think it will hover?

[DarkestDream]

Here's a better solution: MORE FANS!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

there a slashdot story on that picture... people, that picture is real

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Hmmmm...Do you think it will hover?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

no, it too heavy but sure make a huge windy noise

[macmarauder]

Here's a better solution: MORE FANS!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

there a slashdot story on that picture... people, that picture is real

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Hmmmm...Do you think it will hover?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

no, it too heavy but sure make a huge windy noise

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

that's where i put my wind noise machine

[DarkestDream]

Here's a better solution: MORE FANS!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

there a slashdot story on that picture... people, that picture is real

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Hmmmm...Do you think it will hover?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

no, it too heavy but sure make a huge windy noise

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

that's where i put my wind noise machine

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

then that where you get your wind power

[macmarauder]

yes and as a backup plan i can be a real blow hard

[Brian_Holiday]

yes and as a backup plan i can be a real blow hard

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

This is a PUNishing thread!

BH