Jump to content

Case airflow

RGBisKey
By RGBisKey
in Cooling
 Share
Posted

Hi all, hope you're having a nice day. Recently I put together my first pc by getting a dell OEM and putting a graphics card in it. The problem I'm having is the case airflow is very bad. There is only one exhaust fan and no intake. Plus the pcie slot is at the very bottom of the mobo so my GPU fan is very choked off. As a result my GPU is thermal throttling. I'm not quite sure how to solve this problem because playing with my side panel off isn't reasonable. I found a fourm post on Tom's Hardware linked here:

 https://forums.tomshardware.com/threads/dell-inspiron-3847-cooling-help-thinking-about-using-side-panel-for-a-fan.2775436/ 

 

In the thread someone mentioned being able to mount a fan near the front of the case but I can't figure out where or how. I have attached some pictures of the inside of my case and the part at the front where someone said they mounted an intake fan. Please help me figure out how to mount an intake fan or another way of solving the problem. Thank you.

20200310_142200.jpg

20200310_142236.jpg

20200310_142530.jpg

20200310_142148.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted

Sounds like they zip-tied an 80mm fan to the front since there are no actual mounting holes for a front fan.  That might help a little.

 

Replacing the CPU cooler with a tower style blowing towards the back might help with directing hot air out from the case.  Does that rear exhaust fan speed up as the system gets hotter, or does it stay slow and quiet?  If it isn't speeding up, replacing it with a higher speed fan plugged into the power supply might help, but this will of course cause some extra noise.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted
  • Author
1 minute ago, VIVO-US said:

Sounds like they zip-tied an 80mm fan to the front since there are no actual mounting holes for a front fan.  That might help a little.

 

Replacing the CPU cooler with a tower style blowing towards the back might help with directing hot air out from the case.  Does that rear exhaust fan speed up as the system gets hotter, or does it stay slow and quiet?  If it isn't speeding up, replacing it with a higher speed fan plugged into the power supply might help, but this will of course cause some extra noise.

I'm pretty sure the rear exhaust fan stays slow and quiet. I could be wrong but it's old and meant for an office so probably slow and quiet. The system is pretty noisy as is because of the gpu fan always spinning at 100% under load. I had also had the thought of drilling holes into the bottom of the case right below the GPU fan. Would that help at all?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted

It looks like the bottom of the case sits directly on the floor, so drilling a large hole beneath the graphics card wouldn't change anything unfortunately.  It might be possible to cut a hole in the side panel next to the graphics card and add a decent looking fan filter to cover it.  And if you have enough space between the panel and card, you might even be able to squeeze in a fan to blow cool air directly against the card.

https://www.amazon.com/SilverStone-Technology-SST-FF121-Filter-Cooling/dp/B0036WTDHK

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted
25 minutes ago, VIVO-US said:

It looks like the bottom of the case sits directly on the floor, so drilling a large hole beneath the graphics card wouldn't change anything unfortunately.

Unless OP then gave the case 1"+ feet to stand on! then it would be able to draw in fresh air from the bottom :) 

"Put as much effort into your question as you'd expect someone to give in an answer"- @Princess Luna

Make sure to Quote posts or tag the person with @[username] so they know you responded to them!

 RGB Build Post 2019 --- Rainbow 🦆 2020 --- Velka 5 V2.0 Build 2021

Purple Build Post ---  Blue Build Post --- Blue Build Post 2018 --- Project ITNOS

CPU i7-4790k    Motherboard Gigabyte Z97N-WIFI    RAM G.Skill Sniper DDR3 1866mhz    GPU EVGA GTX1080Ti FTW3    Case Corsair 380T   

Storage Samsung EVO 250GB, Samsung EVO 1TB, WD Black 3TB, WD Black 5TB    PSU Corsair CX750M    Cooling Cryorig H7 with NF-A12x25

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted
  • Author
1 hour ago, VIVO-US said:

It looks like the bottom of the case sits directly on the floor, so drilling a large hole beneath the graphics card wouldn't change anything unfortunately.  It might be possible to cut a hole in the side panel next to the graphics card and add a decent looking fan filter to cover it.  And if you have enough space between the panel and card, you might even be able to squeeze in a fan to blow cool air directly against the card.

https://www.amazon.com/SilverStone-Technology-SST-FF121-Filter-Cooling/dp/B0036WTDHK

The case has rubber feet on the bottom that give it about a half inch of space off of the ground. The system is usually on a desk and not a carpet like in the pictures. I'm not sure if that would be enough space to draw in air though. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted
  • Author
38 minutes ago, TVwazhere said:

Unless OP then gave the case 1"+ feet to stand on! then it would be able to draw in fresh air from the bottom :) 

The case has rubber feet that give it around a half inch of space.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted
Just now, RGBisKey said:

The case has rubber feet that give it around a half inch of space.

Are they attached in the photos? the carpet make sit looks like it's sitting flat on the ground.

"Put as much effort into your question as you'd expect someone to give in an answer"- @Princess Luna

Make sure to Quote posts or tag the person with @[username] so they know you responded to them!

 RGB Build Post 2019 --- Rainbow 🦆 2020 --- Velka 5 V2.0 Build 2021

Purple Build Post ---  Blue Build Post --- Blue Build Post 2018 --- Project ITNOS

CPU i7-4790k    Motherboard Gigabyte Z97N-WIFI    RAM G.Skill Sniper DDR3 1866mhz    GPU EVGA GTX1080Ti FTW3    Case Corsair 380T   

Storage Samsung EVO 250GB, Samsung EVO 1TB, WD Black 3TB, WD Black 5TB    PSU Corsair CX750M    Cooling Cryorig H7 with NF-A12x25

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted
  • Author
1 minute ago, TVwazhere said:

Are they attached in the photos? the carpet make sit looks like it's sitting flat on the ground.

The system is usually sitting on a desk. I had taken it off in order to get better pictures. Sorry for the confusion

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted

According to the pictures I found on google images, there seem to be ventilation holes on the side panel, above the CPU cooler. You could add (zip tie or similar, just be creative. :D) a good intake fan there to help fresh air enter. :) Adding a fan to the front doesn't seem to be able to do much, as the front side appears to be completely solid. If you don't care about the looks (and a slight increase in noie), you could take out the 5.75" covers and pop a fan there. :)

PC SPECS: CPU: Intel Core i7 3770k @4.4GHz - Mobo: Asrock Extreme 4 (Z77) - GPU: MSI GeForce GTX 680 Twin Frozr 2GB - RAM: Crucial Ballistix 2x4GB (8GB) 1600MHz CL8 + 1x8GB - Storage: SSD: Sandisk Extreme II 120GB. HDD: Seagate Barracuda 1TB - PSU: be quiet! Pure Power L8 630W semi modular  - Case: Corsair Obsidian 450D  - OS: Windows 7

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted
  • Author
4 hours ago, TomvanWijnen said:

According to the pictures I found on google images, there seem to be ventilation holes on the side panel, above the CPU cooler. You could add (zip tie or similar, just be creative. :D) a good intake fan there to help fresh air enter. :) Adding a fan to the front doesn't seem to be able to do much, as the front side appears to be completely solid. If you don't care about the looks (and a slight increase in noie), you could take out the 5.75" covers and pop a fan there. :)

I am beginning to think the side panel will be what I go for. And if it still needs more I'll add a hole to my case underneath the GPU fan and add a dust filter over it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted
On 3/11/2020 at 7:08 PM, RGBisKey said:

I am beginning to think the side panel will be what I go for. And if it still needs more I'll add a hole to my case underneath the GPU fan and add a dust filter over it.

Is the system sitting on carpet? There might not be much ventilation without lifting the case further off the surface it's sitting on. 

As for a side panel mounted fan, I'd recommend trying both intake and exhaust to see which performs better. 

If you ever need help with a build, read the following before posting: http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/3061-build-plan-thread-recommendations-please-read-before-posting/
Also, make sure to quote a post or tag a member when replying or else they won't get a notification that you replied to them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted
  • Author
2 hours ago, WoodenMarker said:

Is the system sitting on carpet? There might not be much ventilation without lifting the case further off the surface it's sitting on. 

As for a side panel mounted fan, I'd recommend trying both intake and exhaust to see which performs better. 

No the system is on a desk. I haven't drilled any holes but I did mount an intake fan to the side panel. I never thought of trying it as an exhaust though. I'll have to look into that. As for the holes would it be better to drill a bunch of smaller holes on the side panel next to the GPU or one big hole right under where the GPU fan is in the bottom?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted
1 minute ago, RGBisKey said:

No the system is on a desk. I haven't drilled any holes but I did mount an intake fan to the side panel. I never thought of trying it as an exhaust though. I'll have to look into that. As for the holes would it be better to drill a bunch of smaller holes on the side panel next to the GPU or one big hole right under where the GPU fan is in the bottom?

A large opening would be better for airflow but might mean there's not much stopping things from falling into the case.

Are you using a large hole to mount a fan or just for air to flow in? If it's just an opening for air to flow in below the graphics card, using a side panel exhaust above it may be better for the negative pressure. 

If you're using the hole for fan mounting, you can get a wire fan grill to prevent things from hitting the fan and use that for intake. 

If you ever need help with a build, read the following before posting: http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/3061-build-plan-thread-recommendations-please-read-before-posting/
Also, make sure to quote a post or tag a member when replying or else they won't get a notification that you replied to them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted
  • Author
9 minutes ago, WoodenMarker said:

A large opening would be better for airflow but might mean there's not much stopping things from falling into the case.

Are you using a large hole to mount a fan or just for air to flow in? If it's just an opening for air to flow in below the graphics card, using a side panel exhaust above it may be better for the negative pressure. 

If you're using the hole for fan mounting, you can get a wire fan grill to prevent things from hitting the fan and use that for intake. 

I was planning on just using it for air to flow in. I already have one exhaust fan at the back of my case. If I make the side panel fan exhaust, should I switch the rear fan to be intake?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted
Just now, RGBisKey said:

I was planning on just using it for air to flow in. I already have one exhaust fan at the back of my case. If I make the side panel fan exhaust, should I switch the rear fan to be intake?

Nope, all exhaust fans would help draw in fresh air for the graphics card from the planned slot and rear pci slots. 

If you ever need help with a build, read the following before posting: http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/3061-build-plan-thread-recommendations-please-read-before-posting/
Also, make sure to quote a post or tag a member when replying or else they won't get a notification that you replied to them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted
  • Author
Just now, WoodenMarker said:

Nope, all exhaust fans would help draw in fresh air for the graphics card from the planned slot and rear pci slots. 

Ohh okay now I understand how the negative pressure would draw fresh air right onto the GPU. I'll have to try this. THANK YOU!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing Cooling

×