# Help with Case Cooling



## Domer_und (Apr 11, 2005)

My current case (Antec P160) seems to get hotter than the room temp than I would expect (Bios shows MB Temp at 36-40 C).

I was wondering if anyone had some advice on how to provide better case airflow and cooling.

Currently I have an intake fan on the front (120mm) and a fan blowing out the back (120mm). I am using the stock CPU heatsink and Fan for my P4 630. 

My problem seems to be airflow and I have not done a very good job of organizing my cables...I would like suggestions on how to clean up these cables as well as I think that will help provide better airflow and help recycle the air more efficently into my case. Thanks for the help.

Domer


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## Guest (Apr 13, 2005)

Hi,

Your temps as reported are fine. Most of these units run 38 to 44C and some even up to 50 at rest and somewhere between 55 to 63C under stress. Unless you are seeing temps above that range, I would not worry about it. Those 120mm fans are great and do a nice job of cooling without the noise.

Oh, in my opinion, it is always worth the money on these units to buy the round cables to replace those wide ribbon cables. They are easier to route, take up less space, allow better ventilation, and the better ones just do a wonderful job.


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## blackduck30 (Sep 7, 2004)

I am also a great fan of the 120mm units , The round ide cables Mark mentioned are a great idea, I recently sleeved most of my cables and bundled as many as I could into the one sleeve, this let me tidy up things. If you have a window it is great as you can get UV reactive sleeving or you can get just plain black which looks good also. It is not a job for the faint hearted though it took me about 8hrs to do mine and it can be tedious but the end result is great


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## Domer_und (Apr 11, 2005)

I think I'll go look at the round cables for my drives. The ribbon cables are the biggest problem and that seems to be an easy fix. I'll also need to organize my Power supply lines much better. Maybe the wrapings will help hold all them together. I'll need to look into it a bit more. Finally I have all these wires coming from the top of my case to the MB (PWR, USB, etc) I'l need to look at how to route this lines better. If I do this in 8 hours I'll be happy! I think I'll take it a little at a time. Just doing a few lines each weekend. 

Thanks for the advice and help.

Domer


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## Sarkast (Sep 12, 2004)

Easy fix usually is:
Take all cables not used and bundle them and tuck them either behind the optical drives or under them. Round cables are good - just make sure not to get ripped off. I see companies sell them for 6-10$ plus shipping - when you can buy them for 1-2$.
And a few cable ties in the right places can work wonders...


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## 2ply (Jan 11, 2005)

Personally, I'm a BIG fan of mounting a 120mm fan on top of the case. Everytime I set up a case, I put one intake on the front, then one exhaust on the top of the case(which normally requires dremmel work), and if needed, sometimes a 120mm fan mounted on the back as high as I can mount it.

In my experiences, this has GREATLY improved cooling in most of the cases I've worked with. Also, wire wrap I find is great, the stuff that isn't one solid wrap I am a huge fan of. This stuff, in my experiences, is just easier to work with and if you have the money for alot of it, can wrap larger bundles into it.


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## Domer_und (Apr 11, 2005)

I switched out the IDE cables for round ones and ran into an interesting problem...

My CDRW starting acting funny. The light blinks all during bootup, the first time I booted my system it hung after the Windows XP boot screen. Any ideas whay a simple switch of a cable would cause such issues?

Domer


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## Sarkast (Sep 12, 2004)

Maybe you got a bad cable ?


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## Domer_und (Apr 11, 2005)

All is good now. my CPU temp and case temp has dropped all drives work! Thanks for al the advice...


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