How To: Properly Plan And Pick Parts For An Air-Cooled PC, Part 1

[Guest]

This is my ultra silent configuration: http://img813.imageshack.us/img813/1417/02ae.jpg It has NO airflow, because the fan on the CPU cooler runs at less than 800 rpm, and the PSU never goes faster than its lowest speed. The video has passive cooling. So the only noise from this cheap case is from the HDD, thats why i mounted it on rubber base, and plan to buy ssd and move all HDDs to my homemade athom based NAS over gigabit lan. The parts are 90W cpu and 90W video and there was no overheating all summer long.

 

[drecky]

This is my ultra silent configuration: http://img813.imageshack.us/img813/1417/02ae.jpg It has NO airflow, because the fan on the CPU cooler runs at less than 800 rpm, and the PSU never goes faster than its lowest speed. There are no other fans. The video has passive cooling. So the only noise from this cheap case is from the HDD, thats why i mounted it on rubber base, and plan to buy ssd and move all HDDs to my homemade athom based NAS over gigabit lan. The parts are 90W cpu and 90W video and there was no overheating all summer long.

 

[sterimar]

Silverstone Raven. For all your cooling needs.

 

[TeraMedia]

You described common tower and mini-tower configurations, but didn't even touch on the HTPC-typical "desktop" configuration, in which the motherboard lays flat and cooling goes more front-to-back than bottom-to-top. As an example, take the Silverstone LC16, LC17, etc. On these, the PSU is usually what you would call "on the bottom" if the case were rotated to match a typical tower config. But that just means it's on the left. Some such cases have a vent on the right that can be used either as intake to help the CPU get cool air, or as exhaust for the CPU if there is enough airflow from the front of the case.

What guidance would you give for such a configuration? Obviously a desktop orientation is not ideal for cooling, and wouldn't typically be considered for a top-performance enthusiast gaming rig. But such cases do have a much better chance of passing the "wife approved for living room" test for HTPCs.

 

[jamie_1318]

@ ramico, a computer PSU is usually rated 80% efficient meaning that out of the 100% it draws out of the wall, 80% is usable as power in the computer, the other 20% is converted to heat right there. The 80% put into the computer is 0% efficient. All Energy used by the computer is output in heat. A lightbulb can have an efficiency comparison because 25% or so is turned into radiation form, and 75% directly into heat energy.

 

[Guest]

I've never understood why the motherboard is not surface mounted. It seems to me putting anything in a box creates heat problems.

 

[mcd023]

Great article. Most mistakes are made from a failure in fundamentals! I'll probably be referencing this in the future to make sure that I have everything right. Thanks Toms!

 

[coldmast]

The fans blowing in opposite directions should be classified as 'epic' failures.
I use a paper test for figuring out correct air flow.
- Bottom mounted P/S
- Front 14 cm
- Rear 12 cm
- Top 14 cm
- Side 14 cm (blowing inward to keep the graphic card cool).
- Processor H/S+Fan 12 cm (Rear blowing)

 

[nforce4max]

[citation][nom]Mark Heath[/nom]Good timing as the Australian summer approaches. You guys in the US think you have it hot :S[/citation]

Those in Europe don't know what a real summer is till they go to the Mediterranean areas. As for the US come to my home state of Texas it is more than adequate for melting asphalt during the hot part of the day and the rear view mirror has melted off a few times in the past.

 

[beenthere]

As with most things in life appropriate, objective, scientific testing separates fact from opinion.

Most people will need to test different fan cooling configurations to see what works best for their hardware. As this article shows, you basically want cool air in the front and hot air out the back. There are many cooling configuration possibilities. In most cases a change of 1-2C isn't going to change anyone's life or the performance and reliability of their PC so don't get OCD over a couple degrees in temp.

 

[Mark Heath]

[citation][nom]MAGPC[/nom]LOL, you both in the US and Australia think that it is hot at your home.Come taste the hot weather + high humidity in the Gulf countries.[/citation]
Fair enough 😛 Australia isn't the hottest place around, but the variation that can happen between cold and raining one day to melting plastic the next is what makes it seem even hotter than it really is

 

[chronophayze]

I am also eagerly awaiting part two of this article. However like someone else also pointed out, I would like to see the effects of dust accumulating contributing to poor cooling and how to measurably prevent dust from building up too much.

 

[snowysoul]

[citation][nom]beastlie[/nom]I've never understood why the motherboard is not surface mounted. It seems to me putting anything in a box creates heat problems.[/citation]


It would be great if we could not put all our computer components inside a small box. However do a search for Antec Skeleton case electromagnetic interference.

http://www.cydeweys.com/blog/2008/10/19/review-of-antec-skeleton-case-neglects-to-mention-rfi-issues/

Also there are other reasons. Such as Pets, children, and midgets with hammers.

 

[hyteck9]

I have done a great deal of research on this topic. Did you know the ATX case standard only anticipated accessory cards maxing out at 15 watts? LOL. The standard just doesn't make sense anymore. Instead of writing an article on how to make the best of a 20 year old case standard, you should be showcasing the case solutions that improve upon it.

 

[ChromeTusk]

The guid was great and so are a lot of the comments. However, I would like to see how the Raven and Fortress cases stack up in comparison. More so the Fortress as it mounts the PSU a bit differently than the Raven.

^ +1: Silverstone also has their Air Penetrator intake fans designed to provide better intake airflow.

 

[eyemaster]

I've always been concerned about the heat pipes on coolers. Would they not be more efficient if they were pointing upwards instead of downwards? Graphic cars are always upside down in a Tower design. When are they going to change the standards to flip them around and have the heat sinks pointing upwards to aid in cooling? Right now, the heat that is not dissipated by the heat sink is flowing upwards against the video card. Not the best flow. The heat pipes also contain a liquid that evaporates, then turns back to liquid and has to work against gravity and wick to where the heat source is. Again, gravity would help make those more efficient instead of working against it.

 

[joellim]

they should talk about the design of certain cases that uses the stack effect to great effect. cases that comes to mind are the silverstone ft02, rv02 and rv03. these cases really cool your parts and is silent as well.

 

[wasupmike]

Whoops... need to flip my PSU the other way..!

 

[newbie1992]

Dear Tom's Hardware,

Even though this is part 1 of the article, I can already tell the 2nd part will just be as fantastic. I love how you guys are taking the time to explain to us non-experts on how to get a good cooling solution for a PC.

I personally think myself as an enthusiast and would like to know more information about unique cooling solutions offered by companies like Silverstone with their cases featuring a vertical motherboard mount and a vertical cooling concept.

I would also like to know more about direct exhaust video cards versus 3rd party cooling solutions like the MSI Twin Frozr product line for multi GPU setups and as well as the effect of a side fan cooling these 2 different types of GPU cooling solutions.

 

[ctbaars]

What do you do to mitigate problems if you only have the "wrong" (gpu-03-EN.png) configuration available?

 

[ctbaars]

dual gpu on a mATX pcb, that is.

 

[ChromeTusk]

What do you do to mitigate problems if you only have the "wrong" (gpu-03-EN.png) configuration available?

dual gpu on a mATX pcb, that is.

Hope you have a fan strong enough to force air to both GPUs. A side fan or a front fan directly blowing towards the GPUs' intake fan might be your best bet.

 

[g-unit1111]

This was an interesting article. What I would like to know is that I have everything running on my X58 fine yet my system temps hover around 50'C and my CPU temps at IDLE are around 38'C - 42'C at full load with a dual heat-sink / fan operation I have (Silver Arrow).

Now my SB build - with a Cooler Master Hyper 212 puts out temps at 19'C idle for CPU, and 26'C with CPU at full use, system temps hover anywhere from 35'C - 45'C when in full use. What I don't get is that on my X58 system do I have something installed incorrectly? Is my fan pointing in the right direction? Am I using too much or not enough thermal paste? Am I using the wrong kind of thermal paste? What could be causing this?

 

[iamtheking123]

There is an element of common sense:

-Hot air rises, put fans at the top of your case.
-Run positive pressure in your case to avoid dust getting sucked in from every random hole.
-Push hot air out as soon as it's generated. Don't wait for it to sit around and eventually get drawn out by a fan 6" away.

And invest in a PCI slot cooler. Works great for drawing cool air towards a GPU fan or exhausting hot air from the top of your case, if the PCI slots are at the top.

 

[iamtheking123]

I use a paper test for figuring out correct air flow.

Every fan also has an arrow on the side of it embossed in the plastic that points out the direction of air flow and blade spin. A good rule of thumb though is airflow is away from the sticker that says 12V 1A etc.