InWin A500..

[maxcom99]

Hi All,
I think its the A500 (Its the one smaller than the S500) anyways, The case has areas that are just drilled with holes. Should I cover these up by ducting a fan or let them be?

Also, I ducted a 30CFM fan from the outside to blow right onto the processor but the temperatures remained the same everywhere, not even 1 degree. My case runs at 30C (8 above room temp) and the P4 1.6 @2400 runs at 46C under load. Should I just take the fan out or is there a better use for it? Should it be blowing air OUT instead of IN?

Thanks in advance for any help.
-max

 

[lordbob99]

hey maxcom99,

u'll want to make sure that u have decent flow through ur case. without this, your temperatures are always going to be high, as new cool air isn't being pushed through the case. if ur case supports it, u'll want to have both intake and outtake fans. make sure it's pretty even, and if there's more one way than the other, that outgoing has the extra airflow. i don't know the normal temperatures for a p4, but i'd imagine 46 load is rather high, since i'm running a tbird 1.4 and get load temperature similar if not slightly better than what you're reporting.

hope this helps.

lordbob99

 

[mechBgon]

The Inwin A-series cases have the power supply mounted so it is next to the motherboard, rather than above it. It sounds like that's what you have, since it does have a lot of areas with ventilation holes on the rear by the card slots and at the top rear. It has no auxiliary rear fan positions and has a plastic fan holder in the lower front.

If you want all the air to flow in the front and side-panel vents and out the rear via the power supply, you should close the rear vent holes with tape or something. This is not a good case for a hot-running system IMHO.

As for the CPU temperature, is it being measured from the CPU's onboard thermistor, or is it a surface-mounted motherboard thermistor? This might explain why you're not seeing temperature variations when using the ducted setup.

 

[MrThompson]

I built a 1 gig Athlon for my niece in an A500. I sealed the holes next to the expansion cards with aluminum duct tape and put an 86 CFM 120 mm Panaflow L1A in the front. I also used the "Holes in the Face Plate" from Benchtest.. This provides plenty of cooling.

 

[maxcom99]

Thanks for the help guys.
Just last night I figured out I can put a 120mm in the front if I take the plastic cage off. Where can i get a panaflow?
Thanks -max

 

[mechBgon]

One place to get it is 2Cooltek: http://2cooltek.safeshopper.com/25/cat25.htm?568 CaseEtc.com offers them but is out of stock right now, but I think they have 3-pin available if that's what you want. The L1A doesn't draw too much power, it's safe to plug into a fan header.

It'll be worth your while to cut out a CD-sized hole in the case metal and port out your bezel so the fan isn't being choked off by a restricted airway. On the A500, one good bezel modification is to cut out the plastic bottom panel of the bezel, and maybe add 1/2" rubber feet to the case to raise it off the floor a little, so the bottom of the bezel can let a whole bunch of air in. It looks completely stock too. I put up a picture here to illustrate... slow-loading page, sorry.

edit: doh, I misspelled my URL the first time fixed now

 

[maxcom99]

Dont really have any tools other than a screwdriver What would you suggest I cut the "honeycomb" out with? I don't think I can make the hole a lot bigger but would it be worth it to cut out the area with the holes in it and just make it a hole?

-max

 

[mechBgon]

Hmmm... for the S500 in the picture, I used a good pair of diagonal cutters (typical wire-cutting pliers) to nip out the honeycomb. If you can't expand the hole, I don't think a 120mm fan is going to do any good trying to move air through an 80mm hole. Might as well get a medium-output 80mm fan such as a Panaflo M1A. edit: I just remembered something about the A-series... they have a larger section of honeycombed metal than the S-series do, and so a 120mm fan should be OK. You can still nip out the honeycomb to really boost the airflow and cut down on noise. Don't forget to pick up at least two fan screws to fasten the fan to the case if you go that route.

If you have any friends who own an electric jigsaw, you can cut the hole bigger using a fine-toothed metal-cutting blade (wear saftey glasses). Since the hole won't be visible, it doesn't have to be perfect to get the job done.

Or if you're tempted, you can pick up an Antec SX600 case with no power supply for $56 shipped from TechStore. The Antec/Chieftech/Chenming/Enermax clones have very good airflow characteristics. http://www.antec-inc.com/product/cases/minitower.html I think even the bare case comes with an 80mm fan, and has two additional 80mm mounts in the front... one of which blows right through the hard-drive cage. Add your 30CFM fan in front and there you go.

Compare that against the price of your 120mm Panaflo plus shipping, and remember you'd have a leftover A500 you could sell, too.

 

[maxcom99]

Thanks for the tips. I'll be buying another case in a couple weeks. Obsessed with the air flow and all that stuff now. So now im looking for a case that could have perfect air flow around 30-35db. Money is no object (in a couple of weeks anyways). Any suggestions?

 

[MrThompson]

The Lite-On FS020 has superb ventilation, outstanding quality and plenty of room for drives. You can even get a watercooled version of the case from Swiftech.

 

[mechBgon]

The FS020 is also available from newegg.com.

 

[Auric]

For a long time I regretted buying an A500 because of the U cover but I have found the removable tray to be a great convenience as well as the top access and the side mounted Sparkle PSU ideal. It has thermal variable circuitry on board and a 92mm fan on the inside (quieter) which serves to cool both itself and the CPU. If you have not replaced the case yet, you should definitely flip the fan to blow out. You may want to replace it with a Papst or something while you are at it. I have considered enlarging the holw and using a 120mm but it seems to be fine as it is. I should really spend the time putting a hinge on the case cover.

 

[Quad]

ahh mechBgon the InWin expert is on the case (no pun intended)

i have the s500...and couldn't have done my mods without mech's suggestions
i also reccomend cutting off the bottom of the bezel, and putting some taller feet on the case

 

[Jhhnn]

If your only tool is a screwdriver, then you need a new case. With a shop full of tools, I'd consider an A500 almost a lost cause, like making a silk purse out of a sow's ear. The design is from the Pentium 233mmx era, it barely kept one of those cool.

The recommendation for the sx-antecs and their cousins is right on the money- excellent cooling even with wimpy fans, they practically cool themselves..... stout, easy to use, and relatively inexpensive.

 

[maxcom99]

Hehe, i don't really know where the screwdriver is.... lol. I'm looking at the inwin.
-max

 

[dunkster]

My first case was an A500. Two features I liked about that case were the removable tray and the 'dimples' on the tray that were great for direct-bolting the mobo to the tray with no need for standoffs.

The worst feature was poor airflow.

Current case is Antech 1030 with Panaflo L1As replacing case fans and PS fan. Worst feature of the 1030 was the noisy fans. With plenty of room inside the 1030, I don't really miss the removable tray.

My cpu-idle temp went up 1C and cpu-loaded went up 2C with the Panaflos. This is not a bother with an alpha 8045U heatsink.

Hope this helps!

 

[Auric]

I have been tempted many times by new-fangled fancy pants silk-purse cases; the latest being the new improved Antec's -but this ol' sow's ear has done me right from C300 to P1232 with just the PSU fan.