Modifying my PC Other Vista Discussions Discuss Modifying my PC in the Windows Vista forums; I'm the process of silencing the PC I just built a bit more. It is going to be used as a server and needs to be as quite as ...

[felix8406]

I'm the process of silencing the PC I just built a bit more. It is going to be used as a server and needs to be as quite as possible. I just ordered a Thermaltake CL-P0401 CPU Cooler (see picks); it uses a 110mm fan as opposed to the 80mm currently installed. My current CPU cooler produces about 45dBA, while the Thermatake produces 18dBA at lower speed and 27dBA max. Since it can be mounted in any four directions, it will be installed with the airflow away from the RAM chips, towards the back of the PC; the RAM chips will benefit as the air pass across them before it reaches the cooler. Also, using this cooler will eliminate the need for the case mounted side fan and the HD fan, since the cooler's fan will be drawing the air from the front of the PC straight through the back. The power supply fan will also aid in the cooling of motherboard components. The side door will have openings adjacent to the graphics card to maintain the card cool as well.

The reason the current fan is noisier, apart from having a smaller diameter, has to do with the fact that the air is drawn from the top and towards the heatsink. As it contact the bottom of the heatsink, it encounters a sudden stop and must change directions. It spreads outwards, creating a small turbulence, which creates noise. It also creates back pressure on the fan, enough to cause vibrations and additional noise. The reason for the back pressure is because as the air contact the bottom of the heatsink, it must slow down to change directions, forcing the fan to increase its working force...acting as a compressor. (By the way, mounting the fan to draw air away from the heatsink is less efficient. The reason being is because the air will follow the pass of less resistance, avoiding the center of the heatsink, where the greatest temperature resides.)

The CL-P0401 fan is side mounted, so the air flow does not encountered that sudden stop and the flow of air continues across the cooling fins in one smooth direction. Since the fan is mounted between the two sets of cooling fins, the air drawn in and the air coming out at the other end is somewhat uniformed. There will be some slight differences due to temperature, but overall it'll be very stable. Also, both, the fins and the core are made from copper, which has excellent heat transfer characteristics.

By the way, what I had just described is not necessarily a scientific fact; it just sounded good when I wrote it. I'm basing my reasoning based on my experience as jet engine instructor; so I could be wrong. I'll let you know how it goes and how much lower the temp is after the Thermaltake CL-P0401 CPU Cooler has been installed.

[airman]

Nice Heat sink fan I tried a Thermaltake brand a while back amd it sounded like a jet engine forget the make I think it was the Volcano 9 I am very found of the Zalman 9500 and the 9700 that I use and also the 7500 I think they are very quite at low speed and cool great but the Thermaltake CL looks very impressive and have read good reviews about performance

[felix8406]

I read many good reviews, both on Zalman and Thermaltake. I went with the Thermaltake because it was on sale and becuase of the fine reviews. It's huge though and not designed for small cases.

[felix8406]

So far, my average temp (with the older cooler) is about 27.2 degrees C or 81 F. That's running the PC in a 22.2 degrees C or 72 F though. I don't believe I will get the CPU a lot more cooler than that, at least with such a cool environment. I'll keep my eyes on it until my new cooler arrives so I can get a better average.

I'm using Core Temp to monitor the temperature: http://www.alcpu.com/CoreTemp/

By the way, the cooler I'm currently using is for AMD “A' socket CPU. I had to modified it to fit the AMD 939 socket. The center is made of copper, but the rest is a metal alloy. Had to modify it so the center of the heatsinkwould fall directly onto the CPU. It worked, but I don't recommended...you could easily fry the CPU and even the mobo.

[Vistanoob]

What a gorgeous CPU cooler! Looking forward to hearing what the temperature effects will be using the new one. What you explained above sounds right to me, and I agree that modifying an existing cooler would be dangerous unless a person knows the risks and has a lot of experience with computer hardware.

[felix8406]

Thanks, I can't wait; it should arrive here today. In the meantime I've been getting the PC ready. The case has an acrylic window with a a 80mm fan opening, so two days ago, I removed the acrylic window and install a piece of flexiglass. I was going to get a window kit, but it was $47.00 US, so I just bought a piece of flexiglass for $6.50 drilled some holes and it worked fine (see snip...you can also see my silhouette on the background). I used screws/nuts to attached the the flexiglass to the door, instead of plugs. The plugs cost about $6.00 US and the bolts/nuts just $1.49 US.

For two days I ran the PC with one 80mm fan on the front of the PC drawing air inside and one on the back exhausting the air. The average temperature within those two days was 84°F or 29.9°C.

Today, I cut a hole to accommodate a 120mm fan. I installed the 120mm and removed the two 80mm case fans. So far, the average temp is a cool 79°F or 25°C. The noise has gone down as well. One thing about flexiglass, as the name implies, it flexes, so I wouldn't recommend it for an 80mm cooling fan as it might vibrate. However, it's inexpensive and easy to cut. Also, if you make a mistake you might be able to afford to buy another piece.

[crabby]

I hope all your fans ahve removable dust filters? My next PC is hopefully going to use the same elite components as you, but my budget atm means I cant even upgrade to a dual core processor

crabby

[felix8406]

That's what I wanted, a dual-core, but can't afford it right now. But it'll happen eventually. As for the dust, you brought a good point; With front or back cooling fans installed, many of the dust particles tend to collect by the grills or fans. But with a side mounted fan, the dust particles tend to go straight to the mainboard.

To minimize this problem, I moved the PC to my upstairs room where there's no carpet installed. It also sits on my desk instead of on the floor. By the way, I didn't get the CPU cooler yesterday, so it should be here this afternoon.

[crabby]

You can always apply your own dust guards by using thin cotton fabric. Dust is incredibly annoying when it gets in your PC, especially with a perspex side. You can get mini vacuum cleaners which produce no static charge and so don't harm the components, but my fave way to get rid of dust is to remove everything from the case and blow!

crabby

[felix8406]

Another thing is that CPUs are getting smaller and cannot tolerate heat as some older ones. I remember servicing some Micro computers using the Pentium III CPU, where the fan case didn't even work and there was dust all over and still worked.

Once I get the cooler install, I'll head to a local store and see what I can come up with to make sure the cooling air gets filtered without affecting the temp or noise level.