Crazy 1 fan cooling setup, and it works! [REV. 2]

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nici
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Crazy 1 fan cooling setup, and it works! [REV. 2]

Post by nici » Sat Jan 22, 2005 10:13 am

I say crazy because of no PSU fan on fanned PSU :shock: Wait, dont kill me yet :wink: The idea is simply to block all holes in the case except intake fan and psu, so the incoming air has nowhere to go but out thru the PSU. This stage is still pretty ghetto, but i wanted to test it first. And it works :D The GlacialTech silentblade 120mm fan is stuck in place between four different types of sound absorbers currently.. Anyway, i just want to say that the noise is now only a low frequency whoosh with no mechanical noise whatsoever. The HDD is steady at 31c, and the PSUs fan controller does not go over 6.20V and i have been folding for several hours straight. After making absolutely shure that the heatsinks are not live with the help of my multimeter, i tried them with my finger with the PSU on** and they were barely warm, still after hours of folding :) I believe the only reason why this works is the fact that there is not much heat being produced inside the case, because of the reserator. Dont tell me im nuts, i know that allready, but i still know what im doing as im studying electronics and electricity. So i think i can safely say this actually works, heres a couple pics. If someone wonders, the tape i used is aluminium tape from BILTEMA

REV. 2: Much tidyer, the acoustipacked side-panel now closes the intake "box". PSU fan controller voltage stable 6.20V after 3dMark.

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**DONT EVER, EVER, EVER, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, POKE INSIDE YOUR PSU WHEN ITS ON!
Last edited by nici on Sun Jan 23, 2005 2:29 am, edited 8 times in total.

Aleksi
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Post by Aleksi » Sat Jan 22, 2005 10:57 am

Hi Nici

Crazy, but seems effective... :shock:

Unless your computer burns down in a few days, I have to say you've done a good job. On the electronics issue, I'm graduating as an engineer in a month and I must say, that the more I deal with electronic devices, the more scared I get to modify them. :oops:

Anyway, because you mentioned Biltema, they have this new sound absorption sheets that I truly think you should try. The structure is: thin foam, hard "plastic" mat and 2cm of crated foam covered with a leather type of material. I have covered my own Sonata with Acoustipack Deluxe and I think that the Biltema sheets work excellently.

PS. Aika sissihenkinen kokeilu, mutta niinhän ne parhaat ideat saadaan ja toteutetaan!

nici
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Post by nici » Sat Jan 22, 2005 11:56 am

The greyish foam in the back is actually the biltema stuff you mentioned, i just decided to try it without the "leather" as i would think it works better without it, and that its only there to stop water from getting to the foam if you use it in a boat for example. Other parts of the case are covered with Acoustipack deluxe. Now that it seems stable and cool ill put it thru a few rounds of 3dMark and if it still is all good ill make it less ghetto 8)

Oh, its probably also worth mentioning that my CPU temp dropped from 55 to 46c under load with this setup compared to 120mm intake in normal place and 80mm fan sucking from the PSU on the outside of the case(hotglued on). I would measure case temps but my AKASA fan controller with temps monitoring went completely bonkers couple of weeks ago for no apparent reason..

Tephras
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Post by Tephras » Sat Jan 22, 2005 2:51 pm

Did you remove this "leather" material yourself? I don't find any model of the dampening sheets without it over at Biltema.

nici
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Post by nici » Sat Jan 22, 2005 3:11 pm

Yes i removed it myself, it comes off in one piece pretty easy :)

Updated: now much tidyer, acoustipacked side-panel closes the intake "box", more acoustipack on front panel(not visible in pictures), intake only at the bottom front wich is enlarged. Added picture of the back of the case. Feeling the PSU case with my hand it feel barely warm after hours of folding and some 3dMark05, and i have cold hands believe me.. PSU Fan Only connectors never go over 6.20V, 5.9V at start-up. The connectors run at the same voltage as the fans in the PSU did, so the PSU has adequate cooling as they dont ramp up. So it definately seems to work! No HDD noise to be heard. Will try 120mm NEXUS fan next week to further reduce noise. The system is now about the same volume as the Reserator, next thing to do is to remove the pump from the reserator and enclose it in a box to make the reserator completely silent. Just have to order the adapter to make the pump non-submerged compatible.

Comments please, let me know what you think! Good or bad, all is welcome, i am open to suggestions of improvement :D

Lubb
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Post by Lubb » Sat Jan 22, 2005 5:12 pm

I don't get it? You say you did it, then you tell everyone else not to do it???
BTW, I'll go you one further: I had already planned on doing the same thing, but without the water-cooling. Stand clear!!!
<:D
My justification is because there is no way the PS fan can be quieted well-it is positioned too near to the case opening.
And anyway---
the PS normally only gets air that has already been heated by the CPU/videocard anyway. The only problem here is ensuring that the case has good airflow--which I am convinced that conventional tower cases are simply not made for having. Soon, soon,,,,
~

nici
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Post by nici » Sun Jan 23, 2005 2:12 am

What i meant was that you should not poke inside the PSU with your finger when its on :wink: i don´t want to be accused of causing somones death, Ill refrase the text..

So i can recommend doing this, but you need good airflow, and you need to make shure all holes, even very small ones, are sealed. I also recommend testing the PSU temperature with a temperature probe, not your finger like i did. I will experiment with lowering the fan voltage a bit, if it doesnt work for some reason i will build a separate PSU compartment, either of wood or fiberglass. But then i would still need a case fan, so i would need two fans.. To most people i would think this setup would be inaudible, but where i live there is near zero background noise so i can hear everything.. Image

OVI
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Post by OVI » Mon Jan 24, 2005 1:31 am

Whats the price for these Biltema sound absorption sheets, and what size sheets are they. Maybe I'll drive down to my local Biltema to get some.

nici
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Post by nici » Mon Jan 24, 2005 7:41 am

24,90€ for 100x50cm and 11,90€ for 40x50cm.

Lubb
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Post by Lubb » Tue Jan 25, 2005 9:54 am

Well you could just poke the PS sink with a voltmeter if you wanted to know if it was not. For that matter, you could poke it with a temp probe. But then, if you didn't have a reference temp to judge it by, it's kinda pointless.... as long as the PS doesn't start smoking or smell funny....
~

nici
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Post by nici » Tue Jan 25, 2005 10:26 am

I said i tested the heatsinks with a multimeter prior to touching them to make shure they are not live.

And i dont have a temperature probe, i did also mention i used the akasa fan controller before but the display went nuts so thats useless for anything but adjusting fan speed now, and theres not many fans to adjust now.. :roll:

I did measure the temp before the mod though, the heatsinks, or the air in very close proximity to them, was 38c or 48c i cant remember wich. The exhaust temp was the same within one degree. That was when folding. The manufacturer rates the PSU temperature range up to 50c, and the PSU enclosure feels much cooler to the touch now than what it did before with the two 80mm fans it had as standard(rear and bottom).

So i say again, i think its safe to conclude that this actually works. And honestly, why shouldnt it? I mean the air the 120mm fan is blowing into the case cant just disappear, right? So in theory this should work as good as a 120mm fan in the PSU as the only fan, but with less turbulence because the air can flow more freely so this might actually work better.

The next version of this will include two 120mm nexus fans, or maybe just one, ducted so the fans are under the case, vertically or at a slight angle, sucking from the back and blowing the air in from the front or front bottom. I plan to make the duct of styrofoam, acrylic and fiberglass with sound barriers at least on the suck side of the fan(s). While im at it i might as well make a new front panel..

About your idea, Lubb, you just have to make a separate exhaust for the graphics card and CPU, and to adjust it so that all components get adequate airflow. Size of exhausts would probably be the easiest way of adjusting where the air exits. Building a wooden case from scratch would be my first choice.

Im still interested in more comments..

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