[SOLVED] My PC is running TOO warm! (Pics and temp screenshot comparisons open/close cased)

[coreydmorton]

I've recently bought a new RTX 2080 super amp edition and have been having a blast with the card, but things are getting a little hot! Here are some pics with FF XV running at 4k max settings to show you good comparisons of how hot it gets compared to when i take the side panel off my PC. Before those pictures ill post 2 pics of my setup first!

I have 2 fans on top of pc and 2 in front, both connected to tower properly so they spin at "fast" settings using the 2 switches near my power button and the fan on my cpu heat-sync is facing up, so blowing air upwards towards the case fans above which are also blowing air upward out of the case. Yes im also aware im missing 1 fan in the back of the PC case because it broke a while back BUT with that being said (and until my new one comes in) i can't imagine it will help my situation in the significant way that i need.

Now here are the comparison pics for temps, first up are the closed case temps, followed by open case, as you can see the difference is night and day. (Running FF XV at 4k max settings)

Closed case:

Then open case: (as you can see the temp drops are significant)

So basically im looking for suggestions as to what to do now while i wait on my new fan (which i can't imagine will fix my problem the way i like.
My big question is, is it alright to leave my pc open case for the time being? I understand it can cause dust build up but i have no problem de-dusting every now and then, im very thorough and my temps are so amazing with the case open at the moment. How dangerous is this? Will there be any damage caused by this? I feel there is more chance of damage leaving it closed and running at those temps but i dont know much about cooling! Here is also a full HW Monitor info pic as well with the case still open!

So last bit of info is that im running no overclocks (My zotac rtx 2080 super amp comes pre OC though) and i understand my AMD fx 8350 is a bottleneck at the moment as well (and i should note that the heat sync compound was applied this year, good t7 compound and applied carefully and before my 2080 arrived i extremely thoroughly cleaned all my fans and every inch of my tower so absolutely no dust anywhere at the moment). I also find my new 2080 runs around 85c both open/close cased on average playing this game. Seems a bit too warm! Turning fan curve up doesn't change anything just gets loud and temps still remain the same around 85c.

Anyways so besides general cooling tips my burning question is will it be alright if i just leave the side panel off my pc so that i can run games at temps that won't constantly make me nervous. Not going to lie im sorting of fishing for yes answers to this (at least for a month or 2 while i get better cooling ordered/figured out). But not afraid of cold hard truth, thanks in advance for any advice guys!

(update: well i guess my card is running around 75 with open case not 85, ill keep an eye on this and update here if it gets hot as 85 again, but when case closed its always running 85-87)

Update 2: thanks everyone for the help, the best advice ive seen so far is to get better more powerful fans on the top/front of my pc tower (as even when i place my hand over them they feel very weak) as well to of course get a rear fan. I want to clarify too that the cpu heat sync can't be rotated because of the mount doesn't match up properly with my motherboard when i rotate it 90 degrees and the fan above the cpu heat sync is in FACT blowing air upwards for those wondering. I tested with my hand if if you look the fan only clamps onto the heat sync in 1 direction only so you can't accidentally clamp it in the wrong direction, airflow is always going to be blowing out of the heat sync

 

[kerberos_20]

well your airflow is non existent
you could start first with your cable management, try to put them on other side of your pc case, as it can block your airflow
next step would be checking your dust filters if they are clean enough so they can still push air through

front fans as intake and top fans as exhaust?
i also desnt like your cpu fan, as far as i can tell it pushes air down, which is wrong, move fan below heatsink to push air up or rotate heatsink so that fan will be on right side blowing air through fins on left direction

 

[rubix_1011]

Interesting:

1. No rear exhaust fan
2. Are there any top exhaust fans? Difficult to even tell
3. Your CPU cooler is oriented 90 degrees off from what I would expect (normally left-to-right airflow). Also depends which direction that fan is moving air...either pushing CPU load air down onto your GPU, or pulling it through to the top...which would be OK if you had top and rear exhaust fans, but still drawing hot air from the rear of the GPU PCB.

Leaving the case side open is only 'dangerous' if you spill liquids into the side or have pets or small children that might get into the PC.

I keep going back and looking at the CPU cooler facing in that direction...which is possible to do, but one of the least effective ways to mount a CPU cooler.

 

[LORDPrometheus]

Everything Kerberos_20 said plus consider getting more capable case fans. I've seen that case before and the fans it comes with are one step above those little handheld foam fans from the 90s. Install 2 new front intake and top intake fans install a rear exhaust fan and rotate your CPU cooler 90 degrees so that it draws air from the front of the case to the back

 

[kerberos_20]

Interesting:

1. No rear exhaust fan
2. Are there any top exhaust fans? Difficult to even tell
3. Your CPU cooler is oriented 90 degrees off from what I would expect (normally left-to-right airflow). Also depends which direction that fan is moving air...either pushing CPU load air down onto your GPU, or pulling it through to the top...which would be OK if you had top and rear exhaust fans, but still drawing hot air from the rear of the GPU PCB.

Leaving the case side open is only 'dangerous' if you spill liquids into the side or have pets or small children that might get into the PC.

I keep going back and looking at the CPU cooler facing in that direction...which is possible to do, but one of the least effective ways to mount a CPU cooler.

cpu fan cable is at bottom, which means fan fins are at top...air for sure blows down

 

[coreydmorton]

I did the best could with my wires, there are a pile of them already on the other side of my case. Im going to try to rewire a bit but i still don't believe that will magically help my case

Everything Kerberos_20 said plus consider getting more capable case fans. I've seen that case before and the fans it comes with are one step above those little handheld foam fans from the 90s. Install 2 new front intake and top intake fans install a rear exhaust fan and rotate your CPU cooler 90 degrees so that it draws air from the front of the case to the back

Yeah thats good advice, i need better case fans! I had a feeling, this and of course installing a good fan on the back of the case too.

 

[LORDPrometheus]

cpu fan cable is at bottom, which means fins are at top...air for sure blows down

Down and directly into your overheating graphics card...

 

[LORDPrometheus]

Cable management is important but far less important than planning the airflow. I have a full drive cage between my front fans and GPU and CPU but get great temps because of the quality and quantity of airflow

 

[coreydmorton]

Interesting:

1. No rear exhaust fan
2. Are there any top exhaust fans? Difficult to even tell
3. Your CPU cooler is oriented 90 degrees off from what I would expect (normally left-to-right airflow). Also depends which direction that fan is moving air...either pushing CPU load air down onto your GPU, or pulling it through to the top...which would be OK if you had top and rear exhaust fans, but still drawing hot air from the rear of the GPU PCB.

Leaving the case side open is only 'dangerous' if you spill liquids into the side or have pets or small children that might get into the PC.

I keep going back and looking at the CPU cooler facing in that direction...which is possible to do, but one of the least effective ways to mount a CPU cooler.

Like i said in my post i have to fans on the top of my case and in the front , they blow air outwards and also my CPU fan is blowing air upwards as well so out of the case, having no rear exhaust fan definitely doesn't help and like someone else mentioned i should get more powerful fans for my computer case, would improve things a lot for sure i see now.

 

[coreydmorton]

well your airflow is non existent
you could start first with your cable management, try to put them on other side of your pc case, as it can block your airflow
next step would be checking your dust filters if they are clean enough so they can still push air through

front fans as intake and top fans as exhaust?
i also desnt like your cpu fan, as far as i can tell it pushes air down, which is wrong, move fan below heatsink to push air up or rotate heatsink so that fan will be on right side blowing air through fins on left direction

yup dust filters are extremely clean, and my cpu fan like i said in my post is blowing air upwards not downards just to

cpu fan cable is at bottom, which means fan fins are at top...air for sure blows down

Nope air is blowing up, look at the way my fan clips onto the heat sync, there is no way to possibly attach it incorrectly anyway, i can feel the air blowing UP when i place my hand over it too, its installed correctly.

 

[kerberos_20]

Like i said in my post i have to fans on the top of my case and in the front , they blow air outwards and also my CPU fan is blowing air upwards as well so out of the case, having no rear exhaust fan definitely doesn't help and like someone else mentioned i should get more powerful fans for my computer case, would improve things a lot for sure i see now.

are you sure with cpu fan airflow blowing up?

 

[coreydmorton]

are you sure with cpu fan airflow blowing up?

Yes, im absolutely positive the fan is facing upwards and air is being fanned UP, i can feel a very strong gust upwards when i place my hand over it, and like i said you can't physically isntall the fan the other direction as well hehe

 

[rubix_1011]

So, why do you have your CPU fan mounted in pull orientation, exactly?

And why exactly would you want to pull air from the hottest component (GPU) through your CPU cooler that is trying to cool the CPU?

 

[kerberos_20]

Yes, im absolutely positive the fan is facing upwards and air is being fanned UP, i can feel a very strong gust upwards when i place my hand over it, and like i said you can't physically isntall the fan the other direction as well hehe

well u cant physicaly install it incorrectly...maybe true..but oyour heatsink is rotated

see on this picture how it should looks like...compare with your PC
to not get lost, see where ram is

 

[coreydmorton]

So, why do you have your CPU fan mounted in pull orientation, exactly?

And why exactly would you want to pull air from the hottest component (GPU) through your CPU cooler that is trying to cool the CPU?

By the way i have to orient the heat sync in that direction, i can't rotate 90 degrees (so that the air is being blown out the back) because the way the heat sync clamps down on the motherboard the holes do not line up what so ever to screw in when i face the heat sync that way, which is something i tried in my initial installation of that heatsync!

 

[coreydmorton]

well u cant physicaly install it incorrectly...maybe true..but oyour heatsink is rotated

see on this picture how it should looks like...compare with your PC
to not get lost, see where ram is

Yeah someone else just said that too and i WISH i could install it that way, but the clamps on the heatsync that screw into the motherboard don't line up at all when i try to install in that direction (this is how i tired to install it initially and it was impossible)

 

[kerberos_20]

Yeah someone else just said that too and i WISH i could install it that way, but the clamps on the heatsync that screw into the motherboard don't line up at all when i try to install in that direction (this is how i tired to install it initially and it was impossible)

guess we could help with that..which cooler u got? hyper 212?

 

[coreydmorton]

guess we could help with that..which cooler u got? hyper 212?

exactly yes

 

[kerberos_20]

okay
https://images-eu.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/B1uA83UAF0S.pdf
here is manual for hyper 212
as u can see on pages 8-11 u can rotate it

 

[coreydmorton]

okay
https://images-eu.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/B1uA83UAF0S.pdf
here is manual for hyper 212
as u can see on pages 8-11 u can rotate it

I definitely need to try rotating again ty! Thats very helpful, as well as everyone elses advice to get the back fan and more powerful case fans! i think all these things will help my problem significantly (ooo i can even attach another fan to the heat sync, derp... that'd be super usefull too!)

 

[Gam3r01]

Adding a second fan to the 212 EVO likely wont impact temps much if at all.
Before you try buying new fans you should: Rotate your EVO, remove the front most top fan and mount it as rear exhaust, and tidy up cables just a bit.
See where that gets you first.

 

[kerberos_20]

I definitely need to try rotating again ty! Thats very helpful, as well as everyone elses advice to get the back fan and more powerful case fans! i think all these things will help my problem significantly (ooo i can even attach another fan to the heat sync, derp... that'd be super usefull too!)

well tbh, your system doesnt need 2nd cpu fan, even when its overheating due to no airflow, cpu still runs at around 60degrees which is ok
it wont help reducing your case temperature by much

 

[coreydmorton]

Adding a second fan to the 212 EVO likely wont impact temps much if at all.
Before you try buying new fans you should: Rotate your EVO, remove the front most top fan and mount it as rear exhaust, and tidy up cables just a bit.
See where that gets you first.

Very good answer yessss definitely exactly what ill do, so better cable management, im gonna rotate that darn heat sync in the right direction, take the top fan closest to the front of the cast and mount it in the back... Neeever would have thought of that, awesome advice thanks.

 

[rubix_1011]

For future reference, here is a handy chart so we can clarify which is actually taking place: