# Air Flow Question....Brainstorming...??



## derek_jones_36 (Nov 9, 2008)

Ok well this is as best a section as I can pose this question. Today While at work on my Midnight Shift I used the Extra Time to My Advantage and brought in My Rig from Home and cleaned it out.....almost three hours later and she's nice and shiny...only problem is she's still messy.....wires all over the place. Thing is (and you can see from the pics) that there's a lot of clutter. I have some solutions which basically eliminates some of the clutter but also some of the convenience which isn't a bad trade because if ir results in less clutter=better air flow then so be it. 

I bought the Ultra four channel fan controller from TD....not a bad buy but the thing is a mess on the interior of my system and there's really no way around the wiring mess that's now inside my case as a result...but it's more convenient because I can take the four TT fan's (120mm front intake; 80mm rear top exhaust; 80mm top exhausst and 120mm side intake) and hook them up so I can control the rpm's from the front. If anyone has had these fans in your rig then you can only be all too familiar with the high brrrrr sound that comes from these fans when cranked up albeit noisy they are pretty efficient. 

Now I removed the controllers from the rear of my case and hooked them up to the Ultra Controller but I have a wire mess from hell on my hands. Is the convenience really worth the extra mess and reduced airflow? I would guess that by the end of this thread post I will probably remove the fan controller and reinstall the rear dial controllers...I do have the space so i may as well. 

Any thoughts out there from forum members out there with regards to this comparison? I would like to get the best balance of internal wiring clutter reduction resulting on better visual appeal and maximum cooling benefits. 

Now onto the second question. My Lian Li Case is great...all aluminum and places for all sorts of stuff to go and with the material being aluminum it's like a great big heatsink...:grin:

I have a hard drive cage that came with my case in the bottom and my two drives are installed with two Vantec HDD cooling units. When I was looking below My Optical Drive I noticed that there appears to be mounts for the Cage in the space wheere the three 5.25' bays at the top of the case are. Has anyone or does anyone own a Lian Li PC case with a hard drive cage? And if so can the cage be moved to the top because I think I can drastically cool my system if I move this cage to the open bays above and then remove the obstruction infront of the front bottom intake fan. It's really loud so I think I'll get a Noctua fan and leave it on full all the time. 

I think this remodelling will result in better performance due to this system cooling innovation and will free up some of the internal space. I'm not using the three bays anyway and I have no plans to get another Optical Drive and If I remove the fan controller it's a little reach into the rear to adjust the fan speed. 

Thoughts....comments...concerns.....diagnosis of the mind....:laugh:

Jones


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## derek_jones_36 (Nov 9, 2008)

I think this system here is ideal for installing the HDD into the 5.25' bay and it goes through the front and doesn't screw in at all....wheels man....wheels:laugh:

http://www.performance-pcs.com/cata...e=product_info&cPath=71_215&products_id=24068



Jones


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## derek_jones_36 (Nov 9, 2008)

I have some pics to view of the interior of my case.


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## derek_jones_36 (Nov 9, 2008)

Pics...


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## derek_jones_36 (Nov 9, 2008)

pics...


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## deleted21120102 (Nov 21, 2009)

you need a better cable management system you can buy it at Microcenter.


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## derek_jones_36 (Nov 9, 2008)

Yeah no kidding. I think if I route the cables back behind the hard drive cage it should look better. Also I really have to move my HDD's to the upper 5.25 bays to relieve some of the space used. Also I have really been contemplating getting another case....something that will give me the space and cable management I need. I still have pretty good temps (high 30-low 40's) so I think having the bigger case might help. I'm thinking one of the new CM cases might do the trick.

Thanks

Jones


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

yep coolermaster and antec (1200 imo) are good for cable management.

Good cable management can reduce top end temps by about 30-40%. A couple of SATA cables in front of the intake fan can reduce air flow by about 20% therefore meaning that full load temps will be higher.

With a case like the antec 1200 you can put the cables through holes and the cables run along the side of the case (the side that hardley ever gets opened). In my system there are no cables in the way of any fans and the cpu.

With CM cases you can do similar but you can run the cables under the motherboard tray.

The only issues with CM and Antec is that they can be quite noisey although the Atc 1200 isn't as noisey as you would think. It has 3 intakes, a top exhaust and 2 exhaust fans. Plus you need to clean them. The antec has filters to stop loads of dust getting in. The CM cosmos has a couple but mainly you have to remove them to clean properly

The CM cosmos S has 4 side fans, a couple of intakes and a couple of exhausts I personally prefer the antec due to its good management and noise.


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## derek_jones_36 (Nov 9, 2008)

Yeah I have been thinking about this CM case below...pretty sweet with large fans and the second one has been a thought as well...Sweet.


http://www.performance-pcs.com/cata...=product_info&cPath=103_125&products_id=25721


http://www.performance-pcs.com/cata...=product_info&cPath=103_125&products_id=25722

Jones


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

I prefer the first one. I actually used one in a system I built a few eeks ago. The air flow was great it allowed me to overclock a Q6600 to 3.2


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## derek_jones_36 (Nov 9, 2008)

Yeah I really like that one as well. Actually I had a marvell idea to increase some airflow without changing the case. I'm going to add fans to the desk!!

All I need is a hole saw for the fans and basicallly I can install them with grills and position them on either side of the case facing outwards to blow out the warm air. I would really prefer the new case because it's really not that much but I would need a whole new desk for that.

Jones


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

adding fans to the desk might cause an air pocket and cause disruption to the air flow.

you could get a lazer cutter and put some holes in the case and add some mounts for fans but it'll start costing coinage then so probably best to buy a better case.


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## derek_jones_36 (Nov 9, 2008)

Yeah I had been thinking about that possibility when I was contemplating the reno. I think the best thing will be for a wait until after the x-mas season until the boxing day deals are in and I can capitalize on getting a nice new shiny case. I can reduce the fans I will use since the system will already have enough fans in it already. Now the question is which fans would you say are more ciritical to keeping a rig nice and heat-free? intake fans in the front and side or outtake fans top rear and top. Now of course I would have to say a combination of the four is ideal but the case I saw had some very nice fan placement especially the top two fans which were 140mm I think they were....very nice for exhaust. I wouldn't mind changing the fans but keeping them the same size. I think the thing with alot of cases is that the fans included are not always premuim fans but are either low rpm units or are high rpm but run very loud. Where's the balance.

Jones


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

Both are critical, I would say you need at least two intakes and two exhaust which have good cfm Antec Tri cools are good.


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## derek_jones_36 (Nov 9, 2008)

Thought I might try the Noctua units see how they work out. I read good things.

Jones


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

yes they are good their heatsinks are better though.


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## derek_jones_36 (Nov 9, 2008)

Ok then perhaps the antec units might be one to go for. I have the TT smart fans in my rig right now. I have them all going off the four channel controller in the front. They are very good fans although they are very noisy. I don't mind the noise but I want to leave them on high all the time because the space that my case is in is pretty snug for space. I have plans to get another comp. desk after the new year so i can always get one that will fit better to that CM case I want. I really love the fans on the CM case though and am wondering if I will even need anything else.

With regards to the Noctua Units...got me thinking about the CPU Fan/HS combo as well which I need to get as well in the new year and the reviews of fans at Frosty Tech which is always a good read. We'll see what happens but either way I will be getting a new case.

Jones


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

well I have the antec 1200 with 6 Antec tri cool 120mm fans going and one 200mm antec tri cool fan + and extra 120 mm antec tri cool fan inside the case and a tuniq tower.

I keep them on high all the time (apart from the tuniq tower) and I find th noise acceptable although having a tv on when the pc on requires the volume turned up a bit. But I do not find the noise intrusive or annoying.


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## derek_jones_36 (Nov 9, 2008)

Sounds Good with the Fans. Can't get Antec Fans off the shelves down here....at least I can't find them anywhere. I was thinking about adding a fan controller to the new case when I decide to get it. If the fans are quiet enough at full speed I wouldn't mind keeping them running at full or at least close to full in order to keep the cooling benefit at all times. I don't think I can handle a fan that cools and sounds like a helecopter in my living room. The fans in this case I want to get (CM Storm Scout) are 140mm in the front and a 140mm at the top in addition to a 120mm at the rear but you can add two 120 mm fans to the side so that will give some major cooling. I may not even have to really have the fans at full at all times since there will be a good quantity of them pushing half decent air.

Jones


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## derek_jones_36 (Nov 9, 2008)

Yeah no kidding....:laugh: I find it very difficult with the current set-up regarding my fan controller with the way that all the wiring from the fans to the PSU and then from there to the controller I have everything stretched everywhere. What I don't have with my Lian Li case and something that was not addressed with this case was any sort of cable management system. Other than that the wires from the fans to the controller actually are not long enough so I can route them out of the way. Longer wires would allow for the cable management system to work better. I do have the cable ties and all the asssorted tools to use to make it neater but without longer wires there's no way I can move it out of the way. I'm gonna be getting the new case in the new year where I can move the wires behind the motherboard and also ther's more interior case room.

Jones


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## derek_jones_36 (Nov 9, 2008)

So I'm thinking about the case I want to pick up and I think it's between the CM Storm Scout or the HAF 922. The HAF 922 will probably come out on top because of the thumbscrews in the PCI slots. I have read reviews of the Scout case and have noticed that for a full size card the plastic tool free pci slot design doesn't do the best job at keeping those really long heavy cards secure and even broke on one reviewer. I also really like the fan mount for the bottom of the case which will help redirect the incoming air from the front up to the top carrying with it the hot air from the chipset and memory modules. It seems to be a really sweet case. The only thing that might be missing of course is a dust filter for thos fans that don't have any and perhaps more efficient highrpm/low noise fans with higher airflow.

Jones


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

The HAF is ok but might be a bit of a **** to clean without filters in it.


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## derek_jones_36 (Nov 9, 2008)

Yeah I have been reading some of the reviews on the HAF 922 and there are definite positives and negatives between that and the Storm Scout Unit. I have read that the tool-less PCI slot connectors on the storm are crap and you often have to use screws to connecte the card under the tool-less clamp. 

I saw a mod that a guy was doing on You Tube and he was showing how the clamp was pretty useless and he was right....I saw this thing and it seemed very flimsy. I've also been looking at the Antec Nine Hundred Two which seems very nice....I really do want the nice thermal effect as well as the wire management features the seem to be prevalent in the newer high end cases as well as the nice motherboard tray hole for accessing the heatsink connectors...nice touch. So I think I may just go for the HAF 932 or 922 and where there are no dust filters available getting some from the nearby comp. store to compensate.

Jones


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## tk_icepick (Dec 31, 2009)

I've been using the HAF 932 for 4 months now, and I like it pretty well. It's quiet, since the fans are large, and fairly intuitive. Really easy to take the side panals off as well. Not having filters for the high volume of air is a bit of a concern, but I open it up once in a while and use compressed air/vacuum to clean it. 
All in all, I can vouch for the case. It's got enough room for anything you want, and it looks cool.


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## derek_jones_36 (Nov 9, 2008)

Thanks for recomending the case. Yeah I figure I can always pick up some filters to put behind the fans if I want. I have seen some screens out there that might help with that problem. I have always found that if you have a system with dust filters sometimes peolpe go way too long between spring cleaning which can sometimes hurt the performance of your rig.

Jones


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