The way I ducted the Zalman 7000A CU isn't done before, I think.
The System:
- Ahanix "Black Knight" case (only in silver this time)
- MSI K8T Neo-FIS2R Mobo
- AMD Athlon 64 3000+ with ducted Zalman CPNS 7000A CU, 2 Panaflo L1A fans in tandem @ 6 volts
- 2 x 512 MB Corsair PC4000 TwinX CMX512-4000PT (2.5-3-3-6)
- ASUS V9520 Magic (NVidia 5200)
- AOpen 350 Watts PSU (AO350-12APFN 28A~3.3V/30A~5V/18A~12V) modded with 'Nexus real silent' 120mm fan (1000 RPM max)
- 1 Samsung 1614N (160 Gig IDE)
- 2x Samsung 1614C (160 Gig SATA) on VIA controller
- 1 Samsung CD-ROM SC-140A
- 1 NEC DVD RW ND2500A
- 1 Samsung floppydrive
- 1 'Nexus real silent' 120mm casefan (front) @ 6 volts (1000 RPM max)
First I build a duct in foam, which contains a Panaflo L1A. Part of the duct fits inside the 7000A.
Then I covered the outside of the 7000A with the cuff of a dishwashing glove.
Assembled it looks like this:
Here I tried to use the counter-flow principle.
The air is forced to travel from the coldest point of the heatsink fins to the hottest parts, absorbing heat all the way.
A foam insert was mounted against the back of the case. Note the sensor for reading the temperature of the CPU-exhaust.
Also, on the outside you see a chimney with another Panaflo L1A on top.
As it takes some suction-power to pull enough air through this ducted heatsink, I found an undervolted L1A couldn't provide enough. I preferred 2 fans working in tandem to a more powerful fan.
This is another extremely "low airflow" rig.
Again I tried to capture hot air, and prevent it from spreading through the case.
4 fans
- Front case fan 'Nexus real silent' 120mm @ 6 volts
- PSU fan 'Nexus real silent' 120mm, probably @ 5 volts.
- 2 Panaflo L1A fans, working in tandem, @ 6 volts to suck air through the Zalman cooler.
This CPU runs @ 1.3 Volts while it normally is supposed to run @ 1.5 Volts.
Fully loaded (Folding@Home) the CPU runs 26 degrees Celsius over ambient.
The air in the case, measured @ PSU intake, is 6 degrees over ambient.
The boards case-temp sensor is talking rubbish
Have Fun !
Edit may 18th 2004
Later on an extended version of this tale was published as an article on this site. The article is here