# Huge Case door Fan? or Case door Fan Mod?



## Pankie (Dec 13, 2006)

I have a coolermaster 1000 setup very nicely with several 120mm case fans. Wired properly to maximize air space and everything runs cool except for my cards.

I have 2 evga 8800gtx's, they're so big and bulky that when they're on top of each other the fans conflict and they get so hot ><.

Right now, i leave the case door open and shoot a desktop fan into them to keep them around 60-70 when playing games.

Everything else is mine, cpu / mobo fluctuate around 25-32 most of the time.

What I'm wondering is. Do they make case doors that have fan mounts or something of the sort, just to remove my dependency on this stupid desktop fan.


If all else fails, is liquid cooling that bad of a decision, I really just don't think its worth it.


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## drew16387 (Oct 3, 2008)

not sure if you could get one for your case model but you could modify yours to hols a 120mm fan which should cool the cards nicely either that or buy a new case with the big fan on the side


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## Pankie (Dec 13, 2006)

I was going to phsically mod mine last week but ran into some problems, I need to rent / borrow the proper precision cutting tool. I have seen videos on youtube where people have case doors that actually swing open and closed with 6 fans mounted on the frame. I'm not sure if they made the frame themselves or were able to buy them.


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## magnethead (Mar 18, 2006)

its a real case...i mforget which. i think one of forcifers projects used one..the silverstone i think.


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## Pankie (Dec 13, 2006)

Ah . Do you think it would be safe to cut 6 holes with a dremel tool into my coolermaster 1000 case door and mount fans? Doesn't seem that difficult. And my PSU can handle it


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## stressfreesoul (Mar 17, 2008)

I think the trick would be to remove the dead air spot between the cards. Fair enough the EVGA 8800GTX back vents (I think), but you are still going to get a dead spot between them if there is no open PCI slot cover open on your case.
Try removing the panel between the slots your graphics cards are in and point a 120+mm fan at the void between the cards (if its the Coolermaster case I have a pic of here, you have a HDD cage with a grille thats a prime position for mounting a fan, with zip ties if screws wont).
It might help, it might not. But it wont cost you anything to try it before butchering your case door :wink:


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## magnethead (Mar 18, 2006)

stressfreesoul said:


> I think the trick would be to remove the dead air spot between the cards. Fair enough the EVGA 8800GTX back vents (I think), but you are still going to get a dead spot between them if there is no open PCI slot cover open on your case.
> Try removing the panel between the slots your graphics cards are in and point a 120+mm fan at the void between the cards (if its the Coolermaster case I have a pic of here, you have a HDD cage with a grille thats a prime position for mounting a fan, with zip ties if screws wont).
> It might help, it might not. But it wont cost you anything to try it before butchering your case door :wink:


agreed. And there's a dedicated VGA air bus too it shows.


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## Pankie (Dec 13, 2006)

I took another look. I totally forgot that I put my Sound card in between the two 8800gtx's, they otherwise would not fit directly beside each other.

The entire reason I started using a desktop fan to shoot into the case was to cool them down specifically, without the fan playing games (CSS / WC3 / Cod4, case door open) 

Gpu 1 : 78
Gpu 2 : 62
Cpu : 28-32
System : 35

It's obvious one of the cards is just getting a beating. Are those temps semi "healthy"?

Ill take a pic of my internals today when I get a hold of my cam if you guys wouldn't mind lending me a hand with figuring this out


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## Pankie (Dec 13, 2006)

With the fan running (desktop fan shooting into the open door). 
Playing the same games

GPU 1: 64-68
GPU 2: 56 Constant
CPU : 25-32
System : 31 Constant

It's a desktop fan from walmart that I've set on a stool to just shoot cool air in all the time. It's just annoying to keep it running when I could solve the problem with something inside my pc.

Im seriously considering water cooling. How much of a temp decrease would liquid cooling produce?

And what about products like this
http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4348101&CatId=4027

Can these make a significant difference?


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## stressfreesoul (Mar 17, 2008)

Those are RAM and MOSFET coolers only. You'd need a dedicated GPU Heatsink/Fan to add to that.
Water cooling will help a lot, if its set up correctly.
But it will cost you a lot.
The first option is to see if you can drop those temps for free (obviously).
I bet the higher temp card is the one in the first slot. This is because the heat from the second card is rising and heating the first one up more.
Providing adequate extraction for between the cards will help drop the temps of both cards.


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## Pankie (Dec 13, 2006)

Those temps are stable though correct? Nothing to worry about, 8800gtx's are known to run hot, they're an older card.

About providing adequate extraction.. I don't have another slot to put my Sound Card in if i remove it from in between the 2 gtx's. The wiring is nice there are no clutters, just 2 psu cables close by which I might by extensions for and wire them down.

Ill post a pic today. May not be absolutely HD but it will do.

About water cooling, 300 Ish do you think? For a good pump / unit + installation ?


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## magnethead (Mar 18, 2006)

Pankie said:


> Those temps are stable though correct? Nothing to worry about, 8800gtx's are known to run hot, they're an older card.
> 
> About providing adequate extraction.. I don't have another slot to put my Sound Card in if i remove it from in between the 2 gtx's. The wiring is nice there are no clutters, just 2 psu cables close by which I might by extensions for and wire them down.
> 
> ...


for SLI try bout 400-450 maybe...if you do everything. If you only do the 2 cards and not the NB and CPU, might save a little bit.

The centrifugal fans suck in from the bottom, then push out the back. You'd want a forced induction (panel fan) offset so the core of the fan would be in line with the bottom GPU. That way lower blade swath services lower GPU, upper blade swath services upper GPU, and the dead zone of the core doesn't matter.


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## Pankie (Dec 13, 2006)

If I would get a Liquid Cooling system. Would it be neccesary to keep all of my case fans going or can they be removed, noise reduction is also a huge perk to this process for me.


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## magnethead (Mar 18, 2006)

Pankie said:


> If I would get a Liquid Cooling system. Would it be neccesary to keep all of my case fans going or can they be removed, noise reduction is also a huge perk to this process for me.


if you water cool NB, CPU, and both cards, there would effectively be no need for cooling other than maybe the hard drive and south bridge. but those are both non issues unless you're doing like a 1.5 Terabyte file transfer or something.


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## Pankie (Dec 13, 2006)

What about keeping my Zalman Cpu Cooler?

Also.. Would it be best to probably pay someone to get a professional job done or read a guide / tutorial.

Look at this
http://www.trustedreviews.com/images/article/inline/2528-1300s.jpg


Cooler-Master 830 case, comes with a plastic door that you can mount fans on.. Do they make those for other case models do you know..

Thats pretty much exactly what I've been looking for.


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## magnethead (Mar 18, 2006)

very few have that. I knew that's what you spoke of, i knew they existed. But very few have them. mfgr's dont think they're needed.


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## Pankie (Dec 13, 2006)

I think that I've decided to either use a jig saw to cut four 120mm holes in my side door and then mount four fans.

I've emailed a local pc shop and am asking for an estimate. Water cooling would be preferable and would allow me to overclock my cpu / cards and then gradually upgrade parts.

If i were to mount four on the side, would intake or exhaust be better? I was thinking because they're right beside the cards that exhaust would suck out all of the unwanted heat.


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## magnethead (Mar 18, 2006)

Pankie said:


> I think that I've decided to either use a jig saw to cut four 120mm holes in my side door and then mount four fans.
> 
> I've emailed a local pc shop and am asking for an estimate. Water cooling would be preferable and would allow me to overclock my cpu / cards and then gradually upgrade parts.
> 
> If i were to mount four on the side, would intake or exhaust be better? I was thinking because they're right beside the cards that exhaust would suck out all of the unwanted heat.


technically for side panel they shold be intake. 

BE wary of what i said though. There is a large air pressure void /vacuum across the motor core, where there's no blade. You want the top third and bottom third aimed at the effective locations. So you'd be better off having a single or maybe 2 120mm fans with the motor cores lined up with the body of the lower card. So there is forced induction to both gpu fans. The stock fans intake up, then centrifugally push the air out the PCI slots in back. So there's a vacuum around and below the fan on both cards. There is a water cooling forum if you look here in the hardware section, where more educated water coolers can help you in that aspect. I personally have no desire to mix fluid and electronics.


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## stressfreesoul (Mar 17, 2008)

> I personally have no desire to mix fluid and electronics.


:laugh::laugh: Wheres your sense of adventure gone? :wink:


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## derek_jones_36 (Nov 9, 2008)

If I were to Mod your side door on your case I would Personally take the door off and then do this. Cut a 1-2 inch border around the door and then get a peice of Lexan from Home Depot in whatever thickness you want and cut the four holes that your talking about using a hole attachment for a drill if you can find one that will cut the 120 mm hole. Then attach the fans with the plastic screws or even use some zip ties. You can try and find some screens in a kit if they have any and use those to cover the fans once they are in the door. You can always use hinges as well to reattach the side door to create a nice swing out effect.

Jones


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