[MexGT]

Hey guys, well first of all I have to say I'm satisfied with my case as it is now, but obviously everything can be improoved and I dont feel that my fan combo is near 100% done, so I'm here for advice.

Also as a note, even though I have an Advance version of the 912 I made a 100% clear plexi side panel since the original vented plexi just sucks for eye candy.

VS

My fan combo right now is:

3 Front Intake Enermax Magma 120mm 69 Cfm @18 Dba
1 Rear Exhaust Enermax Magma 120mm
1 Top Exhaust 200mm Megaflow

Info for Magmas: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835214001&Tpk=enermax%20magma

IMO this magma fans are great, you can tell they push a decent amount of air and almost -0- noise.

BUT ... My cards exhaust hot air into my case, I know they're VERY cool working cards, but since I have a CPU air cooler it sucks part of that hot air and therefore CPU temps are hotter than if I used Prime95 only and no GPU usage.

The fan in the 5.25 bays does a great job pushing air directly into the intake fan of the V6-GT, but as mentioned before the result of having this videocards have their downside and without the 5.25 bay fan I would get worse CPU temps while intense gaming.

So my options I've been thinking so far are:

1.-Put back the original plexi and use a 120mm intake fan + Filter
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811999217&cm_re=fan_filter-_-11-999-217-_-Product
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103083

For this option I will have to cut part of the plexi in the 120mm fan diameter because the filter wont fit and even if it does, theres a lot of obstruction and no use at all of the original plexi.

2.- Mod the plexi to fit a Silverstone Air Penetrator 180mm + Filter
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835220039&Tpk=ap181
http://www.frozencpu.com/products/9998/ffi-46/Silverstone_180mm_Fan_Grill_and_Filter.html#blank

Though with this fan, I dont know if it will hit the CPU cooler and untill next weekend i;ll be able to use my desktop and do some measurements, but looking at the first pic I'm pretty sure it will fit.

3.- Use a 120mm fan in the original plexi as exhaust and hope the fan sucks out hot air directly from the GPUs since they're just beside the fan and I can forget about moding for airfilter and the airfilter itself, but I'm afraid to produce negative pressure and have dust buildup in no filtered places.

4.- Use more powerfull 120mm intake fans? Though If I use more powerfull fans that will mean more noise, something I really dont like at all.

I'm leaning towards option #2 since the big air penetrator can push 130 CFM's and most important is that the air is pushing directly to the GPU's and not to the sides like conventional fan designs that even though if they're rated for example 80 CFM's less than half is directed to where I want to, and I dont have space for a duct. Watch the next vide of the Airpenetrator.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8m8fC809TK0[/ame]

Advices and suggestions are needed please !

 

[MexGT]

Anyone..... lol ?

 

[ehume]

Remove all of your unused backplane slot covers.

Then put together a box that will enclose the backplane. On the back or side of this box mount an exhaust fan. You can see this on a CM ATCS 840.

 

[SkullTrail]

Reverse the 200mm so that it pushes air into the case, thus push cool air into the range of the CPU cooler and pushing back the hot air from the cards. That repelled air would then be sucked out through the 120mm side-panel exhaust.

Also, very nice rig. I was planning on making my rig somewhat like yours: dual 560s, megaflow, 3x120mm LED front and side door exhaust. Plus I'm really looking toward buying the V6GT, I really don't care about noise (as long as it doesn't sound like a jet @80-100 DBs, I'm fine).

 

[MexGT]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ehume;14173848
Remove all of your unused backplane slot covers.

Then put together a box that will enclose the backplane. On the back or side of this box mount an exhaust fan. You can see this on a CM ATCS 840.

Weird solution lol, dont remember looking at it before
Quote:

Originally Posted by SkullTrail;14173910
Reverse the 200mm so that it pushes air into the case, thus push cool air into the range of the CPU cooler and pushing back the hot air from the cards. That repelled air would then be sucked out through the 120mm side-panel exhaust.

Also, very nice rig. I was planning on making my rig somewhat like yours: dual 560s, megaflow, 3x120mm LED front and side door exhaust. Plus I'm really looking toward buying the V6GT, I really don't care about noise (as long as it doesn't sound like a jet @80-100 DBs, I'm fine).

Thanks, I'll do some temp tests with side fan as exhaust first, then side fan as exhaust + top reversed and see the results.

The V6GT is not THAT noisy, its noticeable at full speed but imo its nothing that could bother me.

 

[windfire]

Let us separate the problem into two parts: CPU and GPU. Each will be dealt with separately below.

A) CPU
Currently, it is sucking hot exhaust from both graphics cards big time. There are several solutions that I can think of but let me just show one which might be the easiest to implement.

You may install an air duct to connect the push fan of the V6GT to the front intake fan located in the 5.25 bays. See pic 1 below for an illustration. This duct will serve two purposes:-
a. prevent hot exhaust from cards to enter the CPU cooler
b. ensure front fresh ambient air be fed directly to the cooler

So, this duct will not only eliminate the bad but also bring in the good.
This duct can be made with paper or plastic air duct as described in the link below.

http://www.overclock.net/air-cooling/1028622-thermal-management-outside-case.html

This move alone will improve CPU temp but your GPUs will likely to see a (little) temp rise because their hot exhaust will not be sucked by the CPU cooler and so will likely to get stuck in that region more longer and be recirculated back into their fan.

B) MSI GTX560 Ti Twin Frozr SLI
This type of card exhausts its air via its top, bottom and the rear. Because of the fins layout and orientation, the majority of the exhaust go via the rear. See those red arrows in pic 2.

The main headache is that its intake airflow direction and this multi directional exhaust airflow cross-path easily! And when two are put together, IMHO, unless extreme measures are taken, it is inevitable that some of the exhaust will be recirculated either by itself and/or by its neighbour.

I will not recommend doing any internal improvement to the 2 cards. Rather, as mentioned by ehume, I would suggest doing external enhancements.
See my thread here for the main idea first:-
http://www.overclock.net/air-cooling/1053718-thermal-management-outside-case-part-ii.html

I expect such an external air 'pull' fan system is deployed, your 2 cards should see about 4-7C drop.
See pic 3 for an illustration.

 

[MexGT]

Damn thanks guys, def a lot of Food for thought !

even if I design with cardboard a separation of GPU area to CPU area and keep both "problems" apart like you said ... uhmmmm need to give a good thinking about it.

Sucks coolermaster doesnt sell that rear exhaust thing in their website.

Ill do some mods with my current config. and will have considerations if I need to swap something for better temps/performance.

 

[windfire]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MexGT;14178915
Damn thanks guys, def a lot of Food for thought !

even if I design with cardboard a separation of GPU area to CPU area and keep both "problems" apart like you said ... uhmmmm need to give a good thinking about it.

Sucks coolermaster doesnt sell that rear exhaust thing in their website.

Ill do some mods with my current config. and will have considerations if I need to swap something for better temps/performance.

There are online stores that sells that rear air duct for only US$6.

Here are 2 such stores:-
http://www.avadirect.com/product_details_parts.asp?PRID=17668
http://www.mgepconline.com/product.asp?PRID=17668

2 more tips:-
1. If you are good with modding, mod the Coolermaster fan duct so that its fan faces directly to the rear exhaust of the cards (vs at a 90-degree)
2. If this mod is used, make sure there is ample space behind the duct fan so that exhausted air will be dispersed away easily (vs being accumulated)

 

[MexGT]

uhmmm kinda hard to atach the duct without the little retention things the ATCS has for the duct ..

 

[windfire]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MexGT;14183087
uhmmm kinda hard to atach the duct without the little retention things the ATCS has for the duct ..

Pics 1 and 2 below show how to attach the air duct onto a ATCS 840. The left side has 2 little slots while the right side uses 2 screws.

I think it is easy to drill 2 holes for the 2 screws. Or, better yet, just use strong double sided adhesive tapes all around and call it a day.

(Frankly, I think just 4 little pieces of double sided tape will be adhesive enough. Then, use some weather insulation foam to seal up that tiny gap due to the thickness of the tape)