Cooling...I give up!

[dorkface]

My PC with 1G Tbird on an A7V133 is inside a cabinet that does not have very good ventilation. I am not an overclocker, and I don't care if my 1G T-bird runs at 60 degrees Celcius. What I DO care about is the fact that at this temperature, my case and PSU (Enermax 451) fans go nuts. And I hate fan noise.

I went from a Taisol HSF to a NoiseControl Silverado to a Koolance case. The latter does not do the best job of cooling, but IS very quiet...as long as it doesn't get too hot. With my CPU temp at 55+ celcius under load, the Koolance case makes just as much noise as aircooling (3 little HS fans + the PSU fan).

Given that I am stuck with this crappy PC location, what else can I do to bring the heat down? An Intel CPU maybe?

 

[Technonut]

<< My PC with 1G Tbird on an A7V133 is inside a cabinet that does not have very good ventilation. >>


Is there a specific reason that you have to keep your system inside a cabinet? I would be looking for a less restrictive location to put it to ensure good air flow. As far as the Koolance goes, I have found it to be the most quiet setup that I have run to date, even with the power supply fan. The 3 bottom 50mm cooling unit fans on mine (replaced the stock ones with higher CFM Deltas) have never run at full speed yet, and I really do not notice them. Your best bet is to run your Koolance in an open area with no heat build-up, and good exhaust for your power supply, and bottom fans IMO.

EDIT: Is the 55+ Cel. under load being reported by the Koolance LED waterblock probe? if so, then your bottom cooling fans are probably running at full speed, and your actual core temp would be very hot.

 

[dorkface]

Is there a specific reason that you have to keep your system inside a cabinet?
Yes, this is a built-in desk area, only possible location is the designated cabinet.

As far as the Koolance goes, I have found it to be the most quiet setup that I have run to date, even with the power supply fan.
I actually replaced the Sparkle PSU by an Enermax 451EV, as it is definitely quieter. Required a little modding of the Enermax.

The 3 bottom 50mm cooling unit fans on mine (replaced the stock ones with higher CFM Deltas)
Did that give you any increase in noise level? (noise is my main concern, not temp)

Is the 55+ Cel. under load being reported by the Koolance LED waterblock probe?
Reported by Hmonitor Pro. Same as BIOS. That Koolance LED thingy is pretty, but not terribly useful

 

[mechBgon]

The bottom line appears to be this: ventilate your cabinet so that your system cools down and runs quieter. Add a Panaflo L1A fan to ventilate your cabinet, perhaps; even just 24cfm of room-temperature air will go a long way toward diluting the considerable heat being put out by your system.

Another option would be to build a really cool-running system, perhaps a P3 550E (about 15 W instead of 50+) and a GeForce2MX or something... but you don't really want to go backwards, methinks.

 

[Technonut]

If you are stuck with having your system in a cabinet, I really don't know what to suggest. The Koolance temps do not seem bad under load in your situation if reported by HMonitor Pro. The Koolance LED probe is important since that it controls the fan speed on the 3 fans. The 50mm Deltas that I installed are no louder than the stock Koolance fans to me. Like I said I do not really even notice when they cut on, and they have never run at full speed. I also used a cooling mixture of distilled water, antifreeze, and Water Wetter to replace the original contaminated liquid that caused excessive pressure build up that resulted in a leak. I decided to mod the Koolance myself instead of sending it back. I also plan on installing my Enermax instead of the Sparkle when I have the time. I am using the Koolance as a backup system now with an IWill KK266-R &amp; 1200 T-Bird. My primary system is still a loud multi-fan &quot;screamer.&quot;

Maybe someone else could offer you better advice. I just can't think of anything to give you a very quiet system in an air restrictive space. Good Luck.

 

[dorkface]

Appreciate your feedback. I suppose it IS asking for a little much...cooling with little air to breathe. Perhaps I will try a Duron 950 to lower the wattage.

Thanks!