[Devman]

ey guys,

I've got a rather large dilemma on my hands right now, and it goes a little something like this:

My case, an Asus Vento http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811173002 , lacks the room to mount a 120mm radiator to the external exhaust, lest of course I mount it externally. This is not the goal, as my fiance was rather fed up with the amount of noise my previous system made (Thernaltake Venus 12 HS for a skt.754 3700+ OC'd), and has made a request that this build, which she has graciously financed, be as silent as possible.
Now, what I believe I DO have room for is an 80mm radiator in the front of the case where the ducting is. Bluesteel, another member of this forum, said that it was possible to mount an 120mm rad. in the front of the case, but I'm still leery of the ability of the radiator to disperse the heat in what looks to me to be too small an exhaust port for a 120. Furthermore, the fans listed as being for a 120mm radiator are all 30-40dBA; not exactly quiet.

And then we come to the second issue- my CPU temps are currently at 28-31 deg. C at Idle and sub-40C load with a ThermalTake Big Typhoon cooling it (Toledo core'd X2 4800+). Does my CPU really warrant WC at those temps? There's not a question in my mind that my vid card does, at 87 deg C under load non-OC'd (x1900xtx), but I would normally, to maintain the quietness of the system, use an Arctic Cooling Silencer, save for their new silencers exhaust to the INTERIOR of the case instead of using the card's exhaust port. Thus it needs WC'd, but not my CPU. This is most confusing to me.

Anywho, ANY help would be appreciated. Advice, offers to mod my case to get it to accept a 120mm rad... all of these things would be most appreciated.

Thanks,
Devman

P.S. As an addendum; I've thought about mounting the radiator externally. That is to say, on the exterior of the case, behind the 120mm fanslot on the rear. Is the amount of extra tubing necessary going to eat up any gains I'll recieve from being able to properly mount a 120mm due to flowrate issues?

Thanks in advance,
Devman

 

[cyrixMII300]

i think you should read this...

http://www.overclock.net/faqs/70838-...how-can-i.html

the mounting of the rad as mentioned here is behind the casing which is for me the best position. outside the casing

 

[DrDeville]

Hey Devman,

You said you'd appreciate *any* help, so here goes.

(The rep button is on the lower left hand side of this message. Go ahead, give it a click.

)

To answer your overall question, it seems that in your case (har) WC won't offer a big performance improvement--a good WC system will certainly lower your temps, but they seem adequate already. What good WC will do is offer performance that is at least equivalent, with much more silence.

Your preferences seem similar to mine (quiet, simplicity, compactness), so here's what I'd suggest:

Buy a Dremel tool, and hack off the brackets above your rear 120mm fan, so that you can mount a 120mm radiator/fan internally. (Protect your eyes and ears, and its pretty hard to mess up yourself or your case with a Dremel tool.) That will probably be the quietest solution, though it looks like your case is ideal for mounting a radiator externally at that position, which would only be marginally noisier, if at all. Get waterblocks for both your CPU and GPU, and heatsinks for your VGA memory--this way you eliminate the noise of both CPU and VGA fans. Get some super quiet fans--say Nexus, and a fan controller--I have the ThermalTake Hardcano 13, which includes temp sensors and closed-loop fan speed control to maintain temps.

Personally, I'm big on setups that exhaust heated air *out* of the case rather than inside. And plumbing to an external radiator should not hurt performance, and might even help it (the tubing radiates heat too).

Hope this helps.

 

[Devman]

I read the FAQ Link, thanks!

Unfortunately, I missed where he was talking about the rear exhaust fan port being a good spot for the radiator. In fact, he seems to mention it specifically as a bad spot:

Quote:

First off dont install the radiator on the back of the case where its the hottest. The best position for the radiator would be the top of the case with free air flow path on the front and the back of radiator. If this is not possible then install the radiator on the side panel (too much hassle).

Have I simply read it wrong? In taking his advice, I apparently have significant trouble with mounting to each of his mentioned places, as the side panel is an 80mm slot and the front side vents are 80 or 92mm accessible, not 120mm.

As for modding the case to accept a 120mm; I've thought seriously about doing so, and will take a look at it this weekend in a much more thorough fashion. This, hopefully, is a viable solution, though I am wont to start modding a case that is literally brand-new. If it is how it has to happen, then so be it, but I'll look at other alternatives right now, as well.

What about mounting a shroud to the case interior and then the radiator on top of that, using the shroud as a standoff?

Devman

 

[cyrixMII300]

ok..i get ur drift...let me explain...the best position would be on top of the casing..if you cannot do that then i would suggest you install the radiator at the back in your case since even the side panel is not possible...but make sure when u install it at the back ur psu fan is sucking the air out of the casing and not blowing it inside into the suction of the radiator...

anyhow, i must have made a serious mistake in that guide because the back of the casing is the next best option after the other two with the only rule being not to have the psu fan blowing into its suction path...i need to check that FAQ again... thanks though.

 

[Devman]

Err, no problem?

Thank you very much for the information and the help- I truly appreciate it. I will do my best to follow instructions and things as I can.

If anyone has part reccomendations, please don't hesitate, either.

Devman

 

[DrDeville]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cyrixMII300 anyhow, i must have made a serious mistake in that guide because the back of the casing is the next best option after the other two with the only rule being not to have the psu fan blowing into its suction path...i need to check that FAQ again... thanks though.

Thanks for the clarification Cyrix--I agree.

Another factor to keep in mind that if you use CPU and GPU waterblocks, and maintain at least minimal air flow, the air inside that case should stay pretty cool.

Loathe to mod a new case? Come on man! Where's your spirit of adventure?

:withstupi That case looks rip for modding--that plastic shell will allow you to mess around with the metal chassis without screwing up the cosmetics. I'd suggest a fan and a radiator, both exhausting, one at the rear stock fan position, and the other at the top rear. The shell would hide the hole in the top, and you could have the top fan/radiator vent hot air through the shell at the top back--sweet!

As for components, there are as many recs are there are individuals. You have to decide your priorities (performance, $, compactness, noise, etc.) and go from there. I went with a BigWater SE which fits internally and is cheap and quiet, though relatively low performance--adequate for mild overclocking, but not for extreme processor fun. A custom setup will be more work, and less compact, but higher performance.

Uhm, Snerp?

Hope this helps.