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Modding a dell dimension 4700 for better airflow (56k: get faster internet, bro)

17K views 39 replies 14 participants last post by  Spritanium 
#1 ·
I have an old dell dimension 4700 laying around in the corner of my room. As it sat there day by day, I started feeling sorry for it. I decided to celebrate its outdated-ness by giving it some good airflow.

PROJECT BUDGET $0.00

Yes, I'm doing this without spending anything. I already have the fans I'll be using, and I'm getting some new TIM for free from a relative. The reason I'm not willing to spend any money is that I still need $300 to finish my personal rig. If you'd like to donate, feel free to do so via paypal. I'm not telling you to donate money...I'm just letting you know


I won't really be using this computer, just fixing it up out of boredom and interest. I felt like I needed a challenge. Plus, I might be able to get a good $200-$250 off of this computer on craigslist, especially with the improved temps I'll likely be seeing.

Here's what we started with (this picture was found on google images, but it's exactly how mine looked at first):



Mounting the cpu fan on dell's itty bitty heatsink with zipties



Adding a 92mm tricool to the back for rear exhaust





After mounting the tricool and doing some cable management, we have this:



I still have to replace the stock TIM, then we're good to go.
 
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#4 ·
Put a 120mm fan blowing outside air in from the side panel you have off in the picture. Maybe duct it with a fan adapter to blow directly on the heatsink. Remove the green shroud and reverse the rear fan (I see you've already done this). Upgrade the thermal paste on the CPU and call it a day.

If you could mod the rear fan to a 120mm that would help, too but if not I wouldn't worry about it.
 
#5 ·
LOL I have one of those cases sitting next to me on the floor. My father in law fried the MB so I threw an AMD rig in it. Needless to say the dell cases really suck for ventilation so when I upgraded I bought a new case and gave him my old one. I think the best thing you could do would be mod the side panel for a 120mm or bigger fan.
 
#6 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by WarlordOne View Post
Put a 120mm fan blowing outside air in from the side panel you have off in the picture. Maybe duct it with a fan adapter to blow directly on the heatsink. Remove the green shroud and reverse the rear fan (I see you've already done this). Upgrade the thermal paste on the CPU and call it a day.

If you could mod the rear fan to a 120mm that would help, too but if not I wouldn't worry about it.
Again, it's not my picture, it's just a picture of the computer I'm talking about.

I'm not quite sure what you're saying, but I don't really want to have a duct on the side panel. The side panel couldn't be removed without the cpu overheating.
 
#9 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by dM@n View Post
Make a shroud connecting the rear fan with the heatsink.
That's how it usually is. The rear fan sucks air onto the heatsink, then releases hot air into the case where it stays.

Quote:

Originally Posted by boie View Post
Stock cooling is fine for that system.
I beg to differ.
 
#15 ·
Quote:


Originally Posted by Space Pope
View Post

I would try to get a 60mm fan instead. I remember trubitar on youtube mounted a little 5 dollar 60mm fan on the classified's nb heatsink, and it dropped the temps about 25 degrees.

The 80mm will probably move more air.
 
#17 ·
Quote:


Originally Posted by dM@n
View Post

Make a shroud connecting the rear fan with the heatsink.

this


Quote:


Originally Posted by Spritanium
View Post

That's how it usually is. The rear fan sucks air onto the heatsink, then releases hot air into the case where it stays.

then its doing something wrong, the shroud should allow the back fan to pull air through the heatsink and push it out of the case
 
#18 ·
Quote:


Originally Posted by Spxprovost
View Post

then its doing something wrong, the shroud should allow the back fan to pull air through the heatsink and push it out of the case

Nope, that's how every other dimension was, but the 4700 was purposely designed this way.

Anyway, here's a mockup of what it will look like once it's done. I still have to improve the cable management, replace the cpu's thermal paste, and find a different way to mount the hdd.

 
#19 ·
Meh... Leave the cooling stock. Why everyone seems to think Dell's cooling sucks is beyond me. Dell's cooling is plenty when running things at stock.

Also, if the fan is pulling air in the back (which I have never seen in the many Dell's I have worked with) then just.... flip the fan around.
 
#20 ·
Quote:


Originally Posted by Dylan
View Post

Meh... Leave the cooling stock. Why everyone seems to think Dell's cooling sucks is beyond me. Dell's cooling is plenty when running things at stock.

Also, if the fan is pulling air in the back (which I have never seen in the many Dell's I have worked with) then just.... flip the fan around.

The shroud idea is a bad one, no matter which way the fan is facing. Either you have hot air being blown into the case, or you have hot air being blown over the cpu.

I see no reason to leave the cooling stock when I'm already pretty much done. I'll try multiple methods and test which provides the best temps.

Will there be any drawbacks to a molex-powered cpu fan, other than the fact that it'll be running at full speed all the time? Would the pc just shut off if the fan failed and the cpu overheated?
 
#23 ·
The pc will not sound any alarms or shut off if the fan fails. But if the processor overheats, it will shut down. Using the stock Dell cooling is the best bet because the cooling fan will speed up if the processor begins to heat up. With a molex fan, you won't know it's overheating until it shuts down. Shutdown temps for most Dell's is 90c.
 
#24 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by Dylan View Post
The pc will not sound any alarms or shut off if the fan fails. But if the processor overheats, it will shut down. Using the stock Dell cooling is the best bet because the cooling fan will speed up if the processor begins to heat up. With a molex fan, you won't know it's overheating until it shuts down. Shutdown temps for most Dell's is 90c.
I could mount the 92mm cpu fan directly onto the heatsink and use the molex fan as an exhaust.
 
#25 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by Spritanium View Post
I could mount the 92mm cpu fan directly onto the heatsink and use the molex fan as an exhaust.
That would work. But still use the cover so the hot air is aimed to the back fan, which you would switch to exhaust.
 
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