It's cheaper then a new cooling system

Lockups bugging you? crashes? It could be heat, it was in my case, so heres what I didI'm gonna drill some more holes later, But it has actually helped so far

Shawn "IcyFire" Kenselaar
"...But in a way the Big Boy never left, It still offers the high tractive effort, In a articulated wheel configuration!"

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RE: It's cheaper then a new cooling system.., derekmorton, Aug-05-02, 07:11 PM, (1) RE: It's cheaper then a new cooling system.., jm1941, Aug-05-02, 07:43 PM, (2) RE: It's cheaper then a new cooling system.., pdave1s, Aug-05-02, 11:30 PM, (3) RE: It's cheaper then a new cooling system.., Transcon, Aug-05-02, 11:39 PM, (4) RE: It's cheaper then a new cooling system.., Motley24Crue2, Aug-06-02, 00:09 AM, (5) RE: It's cheaper then a new cooling system.., IcyFire, Aug-06-02, 00:11 AM, (6) RE: It's cheaper then a new cooling system.., Transcon, Aug-06-02, 02:15 AM, (7) RE: It's cheaper then a new cooling system.., Kombatant, Aug-06-02, 05:05 AM, (8) RE: It's cheaper then a new cooling system.., troub, Aug-06-02, 11:06 AM, (9) RE: It's cheaper then a new cooling system.., pwillard, Aug-06-02, 04:05 PM, (10) RE: It's cheaper then a new cooling system.., quaia, Aug-06-02, 08:25 PM, (11) RE: It's cheaper then a new cooling system.., West_Coast_Railroader, Aug-06-02, 09:47 PM, (12)

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You are far better off to install an extra fan at the back of the case to pull the hot air out.
My system was getting too hot (over 60c), I installed an extra 80mm fan at the back pulling the hot air out and now the max I get is 54c.Derek

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I still have the old AT-BABY computer box. Much more closed in than the newer ATX boxes.Two years ago I drilled a lot of holes in the bottom of mine after an upgrade to a Pentium III board and P3-850 cpu, and Geforce2 video card and three hard drives. Here in Oz the Temp gets into the 40's quite often in summer. This worked a treat. Did not install extra cooling fans.IF you really NEED to do this.
Then drill your holes at the bottom of your mid tower computer box, not in the side of it.
This is for 2 reasons.
1. So the air is being continually moved across your Motherboard, cpu, vid card, hard drive(s) and other parts, by the exhaust fan.
2. Plus also you do not see the ugly drilled holes in your mid tower. (not desktop boxes)
Since I did this no problems with heat since. I now have (3) ATA-100 hard drives and these do get much hotter than the old ATA-66's. Speaking for myself, everythings still cool these days even if the temperature gets into the 40's.The negative side to this is, I found you get more house dust inside the box. But if you regularly blow the dust out, no problem.BE WARNED:- If you drill holes in your computer box, dismantle the part you drill holes through. Motherboards do not like bits of drill metal flakes wandering around inside your computer box.

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LAST EDITED ON Aug-05-02 AT 11:31 PM (EDT)

If you must drill your case,(not a great idea) think about where you drill very carefully, you may actually increase local temps by disrupting air flow! Personally i just grab a fan from an old case and mount it near where the pc speaker is, most cases have provisions in this area for an extra fan, also i use some filter material cut from a new furnace filter, with 1/4" carpenters mesh screen and mount it between fans and case,and the air intake holes in the rear of the case, keeps all the dust bunnies out!!!(just remember to change the filter every 3 months or so)
Dave

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That's what I call the "hillbilly" way of cooling a computer down! LOLI'd be more comfortable with an extra fan than a few ugly holes!Plus, I doubt my Intel Celery 556 mhz processor creates that much heat anyways!------------------------------------------------------------I'll never let go of the railroad that inspired me to involved with trains, the Union Pacific!

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Drilling also allows more "Dust" to enter the case which can slow down the Computeryou would be Better off getting Fans Bob
Philadelphia, Pa

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well as if the holes arnt enough im thinking about, just cutting a square out of the side panel, and putting some screen door type netting over it, now that's airflo

Shawn "IcyFire" Kenselaar
"...But in a way the Big Boy never left, It still offers the high tractive effort, In a articulated wheel configuration!"

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ROFL you're nuts!------------------------------------------------------------I'll never let go of the railroad that inspired me to involved with trains, the Union Pacific!

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I just run with one of the sides off...if u really want just blast a regular house fan into it LOL

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LAST EDITED ON Aug-06-02 AT 11:08 AM (EDT)

>. . .im thinking about, just
>cutting a square out of the side panel, and putting some
>screen door type netting over it, now that's airflo Actually, it's not. You would probably accomplish exactly the opposite of what you want. The reason for this is that the heat will tend to stay inside your box without something taking it away (so, if you did take someone's advice and put a regular house-sized box fan up to the side of you computer, that would probably work pretty well). This is accomplished by airflow, which is related to several factors including pressure. If you have fans blowing out of a closed-up case, the pressure inside will be less than that outside, and will cause air to be drawn into the case through small openings (not to mention the fans exhausting the warm air inside the case). Also, remember that pressure, volume, and temperature are all related--reduce the pressure, and temperature decreases. I have experience in trying to cool computer cases, server cabinets, etc., and the best way I have found is to maintain a somewhat closed case, with fans blowing out. This not only exhausts heat, but reduces the pressure, and in my experience provides the best cooling effect (using just fans, and not using water cooling or other advanced means).If you open up the entire side of your case, you lose the "closed" aspect, and you make it impossible to reduce the pressure inside the case. The loss of pressurization (or negative pressurization) also reduces the "concentration" of the air being pulled out of the case by the fans, meaning that the air going into the fan to be exhausted out the back of the case is not necessarily warm air from your computer components, since you've opened the case.Now, all of this is for normal circumstances. . .if you plan on sitting the computer on top of the air conditioner vent or something, maybe you'd want to open the case up a little more to let that cold air in (although the room itself would probably get pretty uncomfortable), but in most circumstances it's more beneficial and efficient to get as much air out of the case as possible.

troub
MSTS: Illinois Central

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The holes... minimal benefit at most...Here's what you need to do...Place this sucker right next to your Graphics card... it will suck away all that excess heat right out a Card Slot.Much better idea to pull the hot air away from hot items vs general airflow using holes.Pete Willard

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LAST EDITED ON Aug-06-02 AT 08:35 PM (EDT)

The problem of cooling the PC is indeed one of the most complex and articulated, nowadays even more as processor speed are higher and there are accelerated video and sound cards.The main aspect to be considered is that cold air tends to stay down and hot air tends to go up.So, because of that, air tends naturally to enter near the bottom and to exit near the top of the case. Of course, this flow is not enough to cool the system efficiently, so normally the power unit, which is the component which generates more heat, is equipped with a fan which forces air circulation in the whole system. The power unit is positioned near the top of the case and the fan takes the air out of the unit. So the heat of the power unit goes out immediately and does not affect other components. Moreover, in case the power unit has problems, the eventual smoke goes out immediately avoiding damage to other components. I've seen cases in which the power unit is not near the top of the case. If another fan is not installed above, all the units higher than the power unit suffer from overheating, as heat does not go down, but stands still at the top of the case.
If two power units can be installed in the case, the upper position is the first one to be used and the second one must be kept closed if not used for an additional fan or power unit.Critical components must be placed as lower as possible. That's the reason because the motherboard is aligned towards the bottom of the case, the disc drives are above it and fixed discs are lower than floppies and cdroms. If you can choose, install cards on the bus starting from the lowest position and leaving an empty hole between them, from the most critical to the least one. If a hole must be filled, put there a card which does not generate too much heat (a network card or a modem card, for example).Cables must be kept as tidy as possible, because they obstacle the air flow and risk to interfere with the processor fan.Normally, the air should enter from the bottom only, to exploit the natural air flow. Intermediate holes at mid-height are not very useful, because they reduce fan efficiency: in this case air enters from mid-height (air tends to enter as near to the fan as it can) and the lower part of the case is not well cooled.Holes for additional fans must be kept closed if not used. I've seen that many assemblers give away towers with this additional holes open. Of course, if air flow must be increased, you can install an additional fan. Normally, the additional hole is near the top, so even this additional fan must take the air out. If the hole does not exist, you can make the hole near the top to install the additional fan, considering fan dimensions and positioning of the screws.
If instead the hole is near the bottom, the additional fan must push fresh air into the unit. The important thing about fans is that they have not to go against the natural air flow, but they must enforce it. Moreover, if hot air goes out near the bottom, that same air enters the case again from the air inlet holes above.If possible, the case should not be kept on the floor, because dust in rooms tends to stay near the floor, and enters the case when the floor is cleaned. Dust goes into removable disc units as well, causing malfunction. Keep it on the desk if you can, or at least a little higher than the floor. Periodically, take dust away from the components, or change air filter if present.Of course, it's clear that around the case there must be space enough for air to flow Try to avoid placing objects against the holes, or placing the case against the wall.The case guarantees electromagnetic shieding, as well as helping in keeping dust away. Any removal generates radio interference as well as invalidating conformity and safety rules. So that should be considered an emergency resort only.If the case is overcrowded, consider upgrading it to a more bigger and efficient one, with more fans. Normally the cost is not too much, but all the system works better afterwards. Moreover, better cooling avoids component failures and strange random errors, expecially if the system is always on.Umberto

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3 months before I purchased MSTS,I bought a new computer with a bigger housing and when I opened it for the first time I noticed that there were more fans.1 for the power unit
1 CPU
1 intake at the bottom and front
1 outtake located at the back and half way up
1 on the AGP card
I have picturesthis is the out take and CPU fans
front in take
AGP card fan
notice cables and wires are neatly kept

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