Side Panel Open Help?

[SamThunderr]

Hi guys!

 

I was just wondering, will opening the side panel of my case (mostly for looks) help the cooling of the interior of the case itself? Or the airflow will still be restricted inside the case?

 

I want to know because I am gaming whilst using my stock cpu cooler still (Built my PC 2 days ago) and I'm saving up for a better one.

 

Running i5-4670K @ 3.4 GHz & Asus GeForce GTX 770 2GB DirectCU II OC.

[Excon]

You will have better temps with it off but not even to matter. Leave it on so you can't hear the screaming stock cooler.

[Guest GRRigger]

For cooling, you really dont need to worry either way, unless the case has terrible airflow.

For looks, i guess okay... you could get like acrylic sidepanel and mod it yourself. What case you have?

[Faceman]

Hi guys!

 

I was just wondering, will opening the side panel of my case (mostly for looks) help the cooling of the interior of the case itself? Or the airflow will still be restricted inside the case?

 

I want to know because I am gaming whilst using my stock cpu cooler still (Built my PC 2 days ago) and I'm saving up for a better one.

 

Running i5-4670K @ 3.4 GHz & Asus GeForce GTX 770 2GB DirectCU II OC.

I also recently built a brand new computer with similar specs.  I used to have my case completely closed off, but when I noticed the temperature drop when I left the side panel open, it was a no-brainer to leave the thing open.  I have an i5-4670k(Hyper 212 EVO) and EVGA GTX 780 w/ ACX Cooler, this particular video card exhausts the hot air directly into the case instead of outside the case, so my results could vary from yours.  I noticed a temperature drop of -11 degrees C, just by removing my side panel.  Looks aside, the performance gains by leaving your case open are incredible.  I left my fan setup the same as if my case was closed.  Just be sure to clean it monthly.  Buy some of the duster cans and set a reminder in your calender/phone to give your rig a good dusting every month to ensure longevity and cleanliness.

 

I also would recommend buying a Hyper 212 EVO for your CPU cooler.  For $30, you will see incredible gains over stock cooler for CPU.

[SamThunderr]

For cooling, you really dont need to worry either way, unless the case has terrible airflow.

For looks, i guess okay... you could get like acrylic sidepanel and mod it yourself. What case you have?

 

Corsair 200R

[SamThunderr]

You will have better temps with it off but not even to matter. Leave it on so you can't hear the screaming stock cooler.

 

Do you know any good applications to read my temperatures from, I know you can check in the BIOS, but any good Windows compatible ones?

[Excon]

Do you know any good applications to read my temperatures from, I know you can check in the BIOS, but any good Windows compatible ones?

RealTemp and CoreTemp are the best 2 options. I prefer RealTemp since CoreTemp messes with my computer.

[flibberdipper]

It might help a little bit. And as for temperature software, RealTemp, CoreTemp, or HWMonitor are all great.

[Faceman]

Do you know any good applications to read my temperatures from, I know you can check in the BIOS, but any good Windows compatible ones?

MSI Afterburner has a Riva Statistics Tuner that will give you temperatures while in game.  Your temperatures during heavy use are the most important.

 

A good way to test this is by running Unigine Heaven, its a graphics intensive program used for benchmarking and checking overclocking stability.  It will stress your GPU, causing temperatures to rise and will simulate what it will be like during in-game scenarios.  Have Riva Stats running in the background while Heaven is running and it will show you your temperatures.  Do this first while your side panel is on, then again while it is off and you will be able to see a tangible difference.

[SamThunderr]

MSI Afterburner has a Riva Statistics Tuner that will give you temperatures while in game.  Your temperatures during heavy use are the most important.

 

A good way to test this is by running Unigine Heaven, its a graphics intensive program used for benchmarking and checking overclocking stability.  It will stress your GPU, causing temperatures to rise and will simulate what it will be like during in-game scenarios.  Have Riva Stats running in the background while Heaven is running and it will show you your temperatures.  Do this first while your side panel is on, then again while it is off and you will be able to see a tangible difference.

 

Does Asus GPU's software or the GeForce Experience Software have the same thing? (Forgot the name of it).

[flibberdipper]

Does Asus GPU's software or the GeForce Experience Software have the same thing? (Forgot the name of it).

The ASUS should, but I don't think GeForce Experience does.

[Mateyyy]

Maybe you will get a couple degrees lower temperatures with the side panel off, but if you have good overall case airflow, it shouldn't be too big of a problem

[onionring]

You ll get worse temps with the panel off as it directs the air where it needs to go.

that is unless you have TERRIBLE airflow and less than 2 fans.

it ll also get your parts dusty in no time, which is terrible for heat transfer.

[Faceman]

I want all of you to measure your temperatures under load while the panel is first on, then off.  You will notice a massive difference.  I have excellent airflow in my case.  I will attach a picture.

 

 

I put the Orange Cougar fan that is not connected in the "Yellow" position, and moved that one to the "Green" position.

 

Before you even start, it is a bad angle that the photo was taken from, all cables except for 1 is in the way of a fan, and even then, it is minimal because it is wrapped around the cage and not directly influencing the fan's airflow.

 

Now, I don't know if this is just because I have an EVGA GTX780 and this particular GPU exhausts heat directly inside the case, you can even see the exhausts in the picture shown, but I got massive temperature reductions by removing my side panel.

I have never exceeded 60C with the panel off, and when it is on, I will hit 71C.