Thermaltake Case and 9 Fans, but 50-57C?

[Hawkens85]

Hey all, I've been reading some different articles and seeing how you mates got some nice, cool temperatures on even overclocked PCs. Here's my rig.

- Thermaltake Xaser III case (http://thermaltake.com/xaserCase/xaser3/v2000a.htm) with 2 front fans sucking in, 2 side fans blowing on my sound card/video card/LAN card, etc, two rear fans pulling out, and one top fan pulling trapped air on the top out.

- Nvidia GeForce FX5200 (I know, I know) with built-in heatsink

- SB Audigy 2 ZS Platinum Pro

- AMD Athlon XP 2400+ (included AMD CPU fan attached)

- (2) 40GB HDs on FastTrack Type2 RAID controller (the IDE cables going to the RAID card partially prevent airflow onto the PCI cards)

- 512 MB DRR

- Starlogic 350W power supply

- Thermaltake 4 knob fan bus, but I'm not sure the guy who wired it for me did it right, because the fan speed doesn't seem to change with the knobs. How can I check if there's a voltage regulator or if it's wired right?

So basically, on idle, I'm running this thing at about 50C (50.8 right now). During games or high-intense programs (which I run alot of), I could be up to 57C, which stinks for me. Should I look at a better heatsink or fan on my CPU, or maybe new fans for the whole case? What about switching more fans to pulling air out? Input is greatly appreciated!

[metallicat666]

its the heatsink+fan thats the problem.
the stock AMD cooler sucks and barely cools the processor even at stock speeds

[Hawkens85]

So if it's the CPU cooler (as I had suspected), should I look at getting something that funnels the air directly out of the case, thus cooling everything down, such as a water-cooled deal? If that's not necessary, what's the best CPU cooler in effectiveness, noise, and money?

[metallicat666]

get a new cooler.
look at the volcano 7+ from thermaltake

[Hawkens85]

What about the 12? And that still doesn't explain the 50C temperature I'm reading. I need to cool down everything in there without perpetually leaving the side door off.

PS - I just switched the two intake fans on the side to exhaust. The idle temperature is now 47-48. High use temperature is around 54.

[metallicat666]

leave the side fans as intakes.
i think the V12 is a good cooler im not sure though although anything would be better than the crappy stock cooler

[maximus7001]

I would go with the thermaltake volcano 7+ and some arctic silver ceramique. The reason for the ceramique is it performs as well as as3, is half the price, cleans up much easier, and does not conduct electricity. Also apply the asc between the gfx core and hs. As fond as I am of tt products, the lower side fan grille on those cases is pathetic and almost useless(but modification would kill the look of the case). Also the rear stamped fan grilles could use a dremel trimming(like most cases) and would greatly improve airflow without killing the expensive looks.
thermaltake volcano 7+

arctic silver application instructions

Oh, one other thing, the filters also kill airflow.

[Hawkens85]

I removed all the filters throughout the case, even though those things caught a TON of dust. I guess that means I'll have the clean the case out more regularly, then. I switched the side grille fans back around like you said, then my idle temperature went back up to 44-45. Like I said, the two IDE cables going to the RAID card block the bottom fan from blowing on the PCI cards (the original purpose).

You say to get the Volcano 7+ - but from looking at it, the 12 outdoes much better. Sure, there's more sound involved, but a variable speed controller (I'd have to use the rear one since the case door couldn't close with the front bad controller). Only thing is, with that kind of fan pulling so much air, I would assume that there would be alot more hot air inside the case. So hypothetically, I should get some different (or exchange a few) of the TT fans that came with the case for some more high-powerful fans that could pull air stronger. Suggestions/want to smash my theory to pieces?

[maximus7001]

The whole idea of a hsf is to get the heat from the cpu away from the cpu into the case. A stock amd cooler with it's peanut butter pad is not very efficient at doing this. Some properly applied asc would probably lower your temps 2-4c after the breakin period. From experience, you will get better results with a stock pIII teulatin cooler than any type of stock amd xp cooler(both using asc). Once the heat is away from the cpu and hsf, then the casefans can do their job(you can't get blood from a stone). I use a thermatake dragonorb3 1135a @7100rpm and average 33c idle/37c load (when it's not idleing, it's running seti) and without it, my rig would not function at all(even at idle). This thing throws crazy amounts of heat away from it in all directions. I have 1 left for my basement xp2500 rig (if I ever finish it). If I needed to replace them(very hard to find), my second choice would be a volcano 7+.

Another thing, there is no point in getting a better cooler and not running it at full speed. That would defeat the purpose of a cooler.

Below is my sig that is suposed to be there with every post...

1200 cel(a)256L2@1596mhz/133fsb/33pci(basically a pIII 1.6ghz)
tt dragonorb3 @7100rpm/ a.s. ceramique
gigabyte GA-6VTXE-A f9/nb tt blorb
80gb WD 7200rpm/ 20gb Quantum fireball
asus ti4800se 128mb vivo @ 305/605
hp dvd400i 8x dvd+rw/ mitsumi 480ate 32x cdrw
768mb cas2 133/ windows xp pro sp1
logitech iFeel/ nec accusync 75f
sb audigy ls/ altec lansing 251-5.1
tt purepower 420