airflow in custom retro radio pc case

[Jonboy12]

 thI;m thinking about building a pc in an old piece of retro electronics, like an old radio.

i was going to get an open air test bench and mount  that inside, so the installation should be solid even given my non  precise machining.

but how   do i know about the airflow ? will i be OK if i have 2 or 3 case fans blowing out, and about the same area on on a  filtered  input?

or will i only know when i fire it up and look at the thermals ? 

sorry for the odd question .

Thank you

[Bombastinator]

Morphology of the case is going to matter a lot.  Modern PCs, especially discrete GPUs, put out a lot more heat than even old vacuum tube radios.

[Jonboy12]

1 minute ago, Bombastinator said:

Morphology of the case is going to matter a lot.  Modern PCs, especially discrete GPUs, put out a lot more heat than even old vacuum tube radios.

ya, i was afraid of that , i guess my best option is to build it whit more airflow than i think a need, and not be supersized if i need to add more after testing 

[Bombastinator]

2 minutes ago, Jonboy12 said:

ya, i was afraid of that , i guess my best option is to build it whit more airflow than i think a need, and not be supersized if i need to add more after testing 

An apu/iGPU instead of a discrete gpu Would likely help a lot as well.  Will likely cut heat output more than in half.  If a discrete gpu is needed a blower card wouldn’t hurt either.  One thing to remember is sound transparency does not necessarily mean airflow.  Old cloth speaker covers were sound transparent but frequently had massive airflow blockage.

[Jonboy12]

2 minutes ago, Bombastinator said:

An apu/iGPU instead of a discrete gpu Would likely help a lot as well.  Will likely cut heat output more than in half.  If a discrete gpu is needed a blower card wouldn’t hurt either.  One thing to remember is sound transparency does not necessarily mean airflow.  Old cloth speaker covers were sound transparent but frequently had massive airflow blockage.filterd

filterThanks! yah, the plan was to add vets on the bottom (output) and back (filterd), thought i guess there might be some cool way to install filter grills in the speakers

[TVwazhere]

Also depends on what type of CPU and (GPY if applicable) you'd be using. Is this a low wattage CPU that's only going to do web browsing and evmail responding? If so, a nearly passively cooled system should be doable in that instance, but if this meant to be a gaming system (as is the main focus of the forum) then heat would be a concern. 

[Jonboy12]

9 minutes ago, TVwazhere said:

 gaming system (as is the main focus of the forum) then heat would be a concern. 

ya, it would not be a low power system, but not the gaming system of the century, but i don't need passive cooled and im OK with  doing some work to get good airflow, i just have no idea how much will be needed, im even willing to slightly under clock  to get OK thermals, but i need more cores for virtualization (Ubuntu running several copies of windows 10 in a VM) and a lighter graphics card to drive 2 monitors or very LIGHT  gaming (think ori and the blind Forrest or a hat in time  at 60 fps and 1080p)

[TVwazhere]

9 minutes ago, Jonboy12 said:

ya, it would not be a low power system, but not the gaming system of the century, but i don't need passive cooled and im OK with  doing some work to get good airflow, i just have no idea how much will be needed, im even willing to slightly under clock  to get OK thermals, but i need more cores for virtualization (Ubuntu running several copies of windows 10 in a VM) and a lighter graphics card to drive 2 monitors or very LIGHT  gaming (think ori and the blind Forrest or a hat in time  at 60 fps and 1080p)

Ah. That would still definitely benefit fron an intake and exhaust to make sure it all stays reasonably cool. Underclocking and undervolting can be a great way to reduce heat while maintaining most of the performance, but it will depend on the parts and system. 

 

Without testing, it's hard to say for sure how a system would perform, but it's likely that there would be some compromises wither in "original look", performance, or noise. 

[Bombastinator]

12 minutes ago, Jonboy12 said:

ya, it would not be a low power system, but not the gaming system of the century, but i don't need passive cooled and im OK with  doing some work to get good airflow, i just have no idea how much will be needed, im even willing to slightly under clock  to get OK thermals, but i need more cores for virtualization (Ubuntu running several copies of windows 10 in a VM) and a lighter graphics card to drive 2 monitors or very LIGHT  gaming (think ori and the blind Forrest or a hat in time  at 60 fps and 1080p)

Sounds like an AMD system with a 1650.  Lots of cores from the AMD with lower wattage and a 1650 for enough gpu also low wattage.  I can’t think of a cpu that has enough core and a decent built in graphics option at the same time.  Rocket lake might have something with the improved intel gpu but they don’t right now.  Finding a blower 1650 might be a trick though. You’d want an older one.

[TVwazhere]

3 minutes ago, Bombastinator said:

Sounds like an AMD system with a 1650.  Lots of cores from the AMD with lower wattage and a 1650 for enough gpu also low wattage.  I can’t think of a cpu that has enough core and a decent built in graphics option at the same time.  Rocket lake might have something with the improved intel gpu but they don’t right now.  Finding a blower 1650 might be a trick though. You’d want an older one.

Couldnt find a blower (would be ideal for exhausting air), but they have short GPU's. Not sure how crammed it's gonna be in there so this might be of use

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/GyFKHx/msi-geforce-gtx-1650-4-gb-gt-lp-oc-video-card-gtx-1650-4gt-lp-oc

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/W6848d/zotac-geforce-gtx-1650-4-gb-gaming-low-profile-video-card-zt-t16500h-10l

[Bombastinator]

2 minutes ago, TVwazhere said:

Couldnt find a blower (would be ideal for exhausting air), but they have short GPU's. Not sure how crammed it's gonna be in there so this might be of use

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/GyFKHx/msi-geforce-gtx-1650-4-gb-gt-lp-oc-video-card-gtx-1650-4gt-lp-oc

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/W6848d/zotac-geforce-gtx-1650-4-gb-gaming-low-profile-video-card-zt-t16500h-10l

Yah.  I don’t know if even the original reference 1650 was blower style.

[TVwazhere]

Just now, Bombastinator said:

Yah.  I don’t know if even the original reference 1650 was blower style.

I cant even FIND a reference 1650. I think it's a straight partner board design, as their website shows nothing but AIB cards.

https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/geforce/graphics-cards/gtx-1650/

[Bombastinator]

8 minutes ago, TVwazhere said:

I cant even FIND a reference 1650. I think it's a straight partner board design, as their website shows nothing but AIB cards.

https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/geforce/graphics-cards/gtx-1650/

Well that knocks that on the head.  I wonder if a larger but blower style gpu might do better.  It’s not really about power use, it’s about airflow.  User might be able to get away with the biggest iGPU intel makes if the the 10600 or 10700 has the same iGPU as the 10900 there might be a shot.  Not a good one though.  It sounds like the ideal system would be a leopard2 apu, but of course AMD only sells those to console companies for consoles, and the only apus they make with enough cores are mobile only. 

[Aeuralis]

On 7/10/2020 at 9:28 AM, Jonboy12 said:

 thI;m thinking about building a pc in an old piece of retro electronics, like an old radio.

i was going to get an open air test bench and mount  that inside, so the installation should be solid even given my non  precise machining.

but how   do i know about the airflow ? will i be OK if i have 2 or 3 case fans blowing out, and about the same area on on a  filtered  input?

or will i only know when i fire it up and look at the thermals ? 

sorry for the odd question .

Thank you

So I am currently modifying a old radio to be a PC case.  After looking at it, I decided to use rack cooling fans that will be powered independently of the PC. Wood is a insulator and I am concerned about it getting too hot in the case.  After looking at the airflow pattern, I decided on 250CFM of exhaust fans with 125CFM of intake fans.  IF you want to compare notes, just reach out. I would love to chat with you. 

[Epitome_Inc]

Here's a link to my ongoing build. One of my initial posts shows my plans for the cooling setup. Two upper exhaust fans, two fans pulling in through the front fabric (acting as filters) and two drawing from the bottom (with filters added).
https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/1181105-antique-radio-cabinet-pc-build/

 

[Jonboy12]

On 8/11/2020 at 3:08 PM, Epitome_Inc said:

Here's a link to my ongoing build. One of my initial posts shows my plans for the cooling setup. Two upper exhaust fans, two fans pulling in through the front fabric (acting as filters) and two drawing from the bottom (with filters added).
https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/1181105-antique-radio-cabinet-pc-build/

 

awsome !!!! that is so cool thanks!