My Antec ARIA case mod!

[GuyHersh]

Welp.

I didn't do much, but i tell ya what, it dropped it 15C on my CPU load temp!

We'll let the picture speak for itself..

Picture (32k JPG)

The fan is above the RAM and below the optical and HD bracket where there is about 83mm of height clearance, and to the left of the CPU. This is also the right side panel if you didn't notice.

I use a 3 inch hole saw to cut through the metal, 3/8" of plastic, and metal again.

I'll post more pictures at different angles upon request.


Guy

 

[Mik3y]

WOW! that is great! did you have any trouble fitting in a fan?

 

[GuyHersh]

welp.. there was about 83mm of clearance (in height).. so i had to be accurate with my measurements.. I just measured from the holes for the clips on the top and bottom of the case, and then measure the clips on the the side panal and it seems to work well. i taped the fan to my measurements just to make sure it i was right before i cut the hole.

But yup, very happy with my outcome..

Guy

 

[Gravity]

Notice any noise increase from the internal components?

Also, nice job! Great pic and the idea has been bouncing around in my head ever since my aria started puking from heat. I have a 9800 pro, a wifi card and the card cooler all jammed in there and the prescott isn't happy despite it's Zalman sister.

What did you use to cut the hole?

AGain, Nice job!

 

[jdogg707]

Nice mod, does that fan for intake or outake?

 

[GuyHersh]

I used a 3 inch hole saw (76mm) that i purchased from Lowe's (could get at any major hardware store).. then my dad had an arger to put on the holesaw so i could hook it up to a drill press.

Earlier i measured the case and side to place exactly where the fan would go, and then taped the fan to that spot and put the side on to make sure the fan would fit. it was a go, so i measured the diagonals and found the center of the hole, which is where the drill would start.

After all that, I put it on the drill press, drilled the hole, the filed out the rough edges.

I didn't drill holes yet cuz i still wasn't sure how well it would fit. Within the next couple days i'm going to drill 2 holes to mount the fan (dont really need 4).

Thats about it!

Also, its an intake fan, to keep blowing cool Air inside. that part of the case wouldn't expel much heat, so its better off blowing cool air in.

Guy

 

[Atrail]

Thats nice! I just got my Aria. Motherboard will be here tomorrow. All I need now is some RAM. So few good deals :disgust: Can't wait to get it all toghter...

 

[SneakyStuff]

more pics! that's cool, insides?

 

[GuyHersh]

i'll get more pics sooner or later.. kinda at a LAN right now tho

 

[Busithoth]

Aha. I just ordered this case and a mobo for it.
DigiDice isn't working out for me.

I didn't get a Prescott specifically because it burns so hot.
But this kind of mod is exactly what I saw in my future, if the case ran too warm.

nicely done!

 

[MikePanic]

nice mod! you should upload it here

 

[cheapgoose]

so I take it the fan is blowing into the case? worried about dust at all?

thanks for the idea, I'm gonna do something similar to my aria, probably gonna throw in a 92mm papst with filters.

 

[TroubledTimeLord]

Sweet! What size fan is that in the side panel?

Also, did you have any trouble with melted plastic in between the metal? I seriously need to go buy a Dremel and control the heat in my Aria!

 

[MichaelD]

Great job!! Looks like it came that way from Antec. That's the best compliment you can get for a case mod.

 

[RyanM]

How is that grill and fan staying on without screws? You got them double-sided taped or glued or something?

 

[RossMAN]

Originally posted by: GuyHersh
i'll get more pics sooner or later.. kinda at a LAN right now tho

Pics or ban!

 

[Gravity]

Getting my 3" hole saw today to install a panaflo l1a in my Aria. I'm wondering if there would be added benefit to having a blowhole in the top that forces air into the case?

I also wonder about the PSU's ability to keep up with my 9800 pro, my wife card and the cooler.

Just wondering.

 

[GuyHersh]

where would you put the fan in the top? therse no 80mm clearance anywhere if u put on in the top of the case...

Good idea on the 3" hole saw.. I dont think you could cut a good circle though this panal with a dremmel.. its too think and theres probably too much plastic in between the panal...

And yes its just taped on for now.. i didnt want to screw holes in yet cuz i has to be perfectly aligned as theres only 83mm clearance in the case..

But its a month and a half later and the fan and fan grill havent fallen off, so i might not even put screw holes in...

 

[Dman877]

I did the same mod a week ago, similar results too. Temps dropped accross the board 10 - 15C. GPU went from 85C at load to 72C .

EDIT: Gravity, the psu is fine. I have no trouble with a 6800GT OC. I also used a L1A, didn't increase noise at all (of course I need to replace the GT fan before I'll notice anyway).

 

[TroubledTimeLord]

Hmmm . . . how about cutting a hole right above the top vent to the PSU? It's kind of strange that there is one smack dab against the top panel. Real helpful! :laugh:

That PSU gets hot! Or how about taking a Dremel to the PSU for larger vents? (Be careful -- don't want to touch that microfarad capacitor!) Or how about cutting out the second fan guard for the 120mm fan?

Or cut a blowhole above the heatsink? Or . . . get another case! (J/K -- love the case)

 

[cheapgoose]

there's no room on the top for a fan. but plenty of room for a filtered intake opening. reverse the fan and you've got filtered flow.

 

[konakona]

i am wondering if there is a place you could get this mod done locally.... funny, i been pondering about doing the exct same thing alas i have neither tools nor skills to cut a hole like that...

 

[XRdirtHead]

I've been looking at this case for my next build. I think it might be the best little cube on the market....
I like the extra fan mod. Seems like the biggest disadvantage to these small cube cases is the lack of cooling.

 

[imported_ninex]

I bought one and did the same mod on mine. Currently I have a 2400+ mobile @ ~2.1ghz with a Speeze hsf and a PNY 6800. I also have the slot fan that came with the case, as well as like a Speeze 80mm fan. CPU idles around 32c and full load around 42 or so. Definitely a good idea to mod it.

 

[konakona]

Originally posted by: ninex
I bought one and did the same mod on mine. Currently I have a 2400+ mobile @ ~2.1ghz with a Speeze hsf and a PNY 6800. I also have the slot fan that came with the case, as well as like a Speeze 80mm fan. CPU idles around 32c and full load around 42 or so. Definitely a good idea to mod it.

how did you get yours modded? i would like to know if there is any local place that does it at a moderate cost... dont have any tools or skills to do the modding on my own