My Coolermaster Wave Case

falcon26 · Post by **falcon26** » Fri Jan 05, 2007 5:51 pm

I finally finished coolermaster case

Its dead silent on idle, but it does get a bit loud on load while playing BF2. I think this is due to the poor airflow of the case causing my psu fan to spin at full power. I also want to get a better quieter cpu heatsink to replace the zalman 9500, which also gets a bit loud while gaming. Any suggestions on a new cpu heatsink and fan

ultrachrome · Post by **ultrachrome** » Sat Jan 06, 2007 9:24 am

I think your diagnosis is correct but the cure isn't going to do much if anything.

If the airflow is poor changing the HSF isn't going to make a difference. It will still be dissipating the same amount of heat which will continue to be ingested by the PSU prompting its fan to speed up.

falcon26 · Post by **falcon26** » Sat Jan 06, 2007 9:31 am

I was thinking that putting a 120mm fan on the heatsink would help push more hot air out of the case and allowing the psu to stay cooler.

ultrachrome · Post by **ultrachrome** » Sat Jan 06, 2007 12:17 pm

Nope. The hole in that theory is that if you pushed more air through that 80mm fan, it would spin faster and make more noise.

The rate of airflow through the case is being governed by the case and PSU fans. What you do with the air inside the case will have no effect on the noise being made by those fans, especially the PSU.

What might be interesting is to use a heatsink like an XP-120 or SI-128 and duct it to the side of the case, through a hole large enough to mount a 120mm fan.

That single 120mm fan could cool your CPU as well as replace all or most of your case fans. It could largely solve your PSU problem.

It looks like you could purchase a windowed side panel for your case. The acrylic would be easier to cut and you can easily replace the acrylic if you mess up.

josephclemente · Post by **josephclemente** » Sun Jan 07, 2007 2:20 am

Here is the duct I made for my Wave Master a few years ago...
http://forums.silentpcreview.com/viewtopic.php?p=101392

s_xero · Post by **s_xero** » Sun Jan 07, 2007 6:09 am

Have you ever thought of a duct from exhaust to the Zalman heatsink?

Like a pipe which ends half-way IN the heatsink, I think with a 120mm exhaustfan you get better results while still having cooling for the MoBo

falcon26 · Post by **falcon26** » Sun Jan 07, 2007 3:45 pm

I went ahead and ordered a Noctua U12F heatsink and fan for it. After looking at reviews for it, it seems to kill the zalman 9500 in every aspect..

mentawl · Post by **mentawl** » Mon Jan 08, 2007 12:57 am

Egfeh. Falcon, the problem honestly isn't the heatsink/fan on the CPU. It's the very limited airflow through the case itself. Airflow through a Wavemaster is very limited (I believe they only have a very restricted 80mm intake and 2 80mm exhausts?), and the lack of case airflow is what's hurting temperatures and making your CPU fan and PSU fan spin up.

Remember, the fans don't spin up just cos they feel like it - the components are getting too warm, that's why they're spinning up =/.

falcon26 · Post by **falcon26** » Mon Jan 08, 2007 6:16 am

Oh I know I agree with you. Its just I wanted better idle temps and load temps as well. With my zalman my 6600E idles at 45C and loads at 65C that's stock! I think with this fan and heatsink it will be better I hope..

mentawl · Post by **mentawl** » Mon Jan 08, 2007 8:00 am

I'd be willing to bet you won't see a huge improvement in CPU temperatures, if any - there's still gonna be a lack of case airflow, and no heatsink will function well without at least a little fresh air and removal of the warmer air. But meh =/

TMM · Post by **TMM** » Wed Jan 10, 2007 9:25 am

falcon26 wrote:Oh I know I agree with you. Its just I wanted better idle temps and load temps as well. With my zalman my 6600E idles at 45C and loads at 65C that's stock! I think with this fan and heatsink it will be better I hope..

In a case with better flow you'd get way lower temps with the same HSF. A better HSF will only make matters worse since it'll be dumping the heat more effeciently cause more heat buildup, in turn speeding up your PSU fan.

What you need is an XP-120 or similar HSF that you can duct to the side panel - sucking air off the HSF and exhausting it out the side. This eliminates the hot air from the CPU ever getting to your PSU and making it spin up.

enlarging the rear exhaust to 120mm would do alot of good too

falcon26 · Post by **falcon26** » Wed Jan 10, 2007 6:54 pm

Ok then here's a question, what case looks almost the same as the coolermaster with the same glossy paint job yet has good airflow

ultrachrome · Post by **ultrachrome** » Wed Jan 10, 2007 7:58 pm

None that I cant think of.

I'm telling you, punch a 120mm hole in the side of it. The downside is that you need a different heatsink.

nici · Post by **nici** » Thu Jan 11, 2007 2:07 am

The SilverStone TJ05 looks kind of similar.

TMM · Post by **TMM** » Thu Jan 11, 2007 1:45 pm

As said, 120mm blowhole in the side, and 120mm in the back if it fits, and all your problems are solved

SebRad · Post by **SebRad** » Thu Jan 11, 2007 2:36 pm

Hi falcon26, I have what is basically the same chassis but in an earlier format with a different front and it has the same dual front 80mm intake fans but they are behind a mesh panel so intake isn't restricted. Looking at a few pictures it's not clear to me where the front intake on the Wave Master is, or is there just not really any? I would test your PC with the side panel off to get a feel for temps / behaviour when air flow through the case isn't a limiting factor. If it works fine with the side panel off then is it possible to mod the front intake area to let more air in? Or maybe get 1" feet and make hole(s) in the bottom front floor of the case for intake that doesn't affect the looks.

If the dimensions are the same as my case, I suspect identical, then the case will NOT take 120mm rear fan, just not wide enough, nor is it wide enough for the Noctua or ANY other 120mm fan tower heatsink. I estimate there is 130mm of height to play with, just maybe 140mm but the Noctua is 155mm. Iâ€™ve been doing some research as to what heatsink Iâ€™m going to use when I upgrade and had pretty much settled on Zalman 9500! The Noctua NH-U9 will fit as will the â€œButterflyâ€

falcon26 · Post by **falcon26** » Fri Jan 12, 2007 10:39 pm

I was curious so I took the side panel off. My temps dropped at least 10 degrees in less than 10 minutes. I haven't gamed yet with it off to see if the psu kick on but we'll see tommorrow. If that work then I'll take out the window part of the side panel and put it back on and just have a cut out side panel

My case is neat anyway so I don't mind...

falcon26 · Post by **falcon26** » Sat Jan 13, 2007 2:45 pm

Tried the Noctua U12 and you were right its too tall

It sticks outside the case. So I'll keep the zalman and return the noctua. Also what I did was take that piece of plex glass on the side panel and remove it, so its just the side panel with no window just a big opening. Now I just finished playing BF2 for about an hour and my psu fan never went into high mode. Computer is dead silent with the opening on the side now. Temps were about 38C load which is about 12 degrees cooler with the side window thing on.....

SebRad · Post by **SebRad** » Sun Jan 14, 2007 7:34 am

Hi falcon26, guess that means for sure that the problem is insufficient airflow through the case. 38Â°C load temp, really

Iâ€™m planning on upgrading to E6600 with Zalman 9500 to cool it, guess that means plenty of headroom for over-clocking

As has been said before it would appear that there's a lack of intake, as I see it there are 4 options:
1) live with the noise, but this is SPCR so probably not!
2) Change the case, there are lots out there, but costs money and can you find one you like the look of that has good airflow.
3) Leave the side window off permanently. Will be fine if you don't have any free-range animals or children

4) Mod the case you have. You could look at putting a hole in the window that feeds air straight to the CPU/PSU area. You could see if the front of case can be modified to improve the intake with out spoiling the looks or there's my previous suggestion of giving the case taller feet and putting holes in the floor so air gets under the case and up through the bottom, shouldn't affect the looks. I don't know whether it's better to put lots of small holes or a large one. (possibly with grill and/or filter) There's also the option to cut the rear to take two exhaust fans, but need to address getting air in before worry about getting it out.
If you think the modding route would work for you but youâ€™re not confidant to do it yourself you maybe able to find a fellow SPCR member or someone in your local area that would help you with it
Seb

falcon26 · Post by **falcon26** » Sun Jan 14, 2007 9:01 am

I'll probably take the side window thing, the plexiglass and goto work and have one of the guys cut a hole in it around where the cpu would be right under it. As type this right now my temps are 32C

Taking out the side window plexiglass makes a huge difference on temps...thanks for the help guys...

mentawl · Post by **mentawl** » Sun Jan 14, 2007 11:56 am

For what it's worth, I believe you can also purchase spare side panels for the Wave Master cases. Just in case anything goes wrong with the modding =).

falcon26 · Post by **falcon26** » Sun Jan 14, 2007 12:09 pm

Yeah and my luck I will certainly need a new side panel after the mod

s_xero · Post by **s_xero** » Sun Jan 14, 2007 2:29 pm

can't you make a rounded duct from the exhaust to let's say 1/4 of the heatsink and just remove the Zalman-fan?

ultrachrome · Post by **ultrachrome** » Sun Jan 14, 2007 6:35 pm

The rear fan is the weak link. If it was a 120mm rear fan, it would be different story.

He'd likely have better luck removing the rear fan and ducting the heatsink fan to the rear fan opening.

AMDforlife · Post by **AMDforlife** » Thu Jan 18, 2007 2:30 pm

Yeah that single rear case fan is the killer. It's gonna be a hassle to drill a hole in the back and add another 80mm exhaust fan. Not to mention it's a dangerous idea if he doesn't remove all his components.

Would it be wise to add just a side 120mm fan. That's way more intake than exhaust. hhmmm what if he installs a side 120 and sets it up as an exhaust fan????

The only thing about adding a side panel fan is it ruins the clean, professional look of his Wave Master.

nici · Post by **nici** » Thu Jan 18, 2007 2:51 pm

I would just do what was suggested earlier, add a 120mm fan to the side(or maybe the top?) as an exhaust, and just use the rear 80mm as an intake. It might work. You would get the best results with driliing the hole with a hole saw thingie.

It might be worth trying one of those 80->120mm adapters first though, they are cheap so why not give it a try?

Zebo · Post by **Zebo** » Sat Jan 27, 2007 10:59 pm

Wave master is the my all time favorite case too bad it's loud as hell stock and without major mods and suspension it's impossible to silent.

Here's my "Stinger" which should give you air flow ideas (look at bottom of case): it's water cooled with two 5V Yate Loons 120mm on radiator and Seasonic 500W not making any noise whatsoever, even on 3D Gaming!!

The rear 80mm fan is disabled and blocked off with a peice of black ABS - 80's are too loud so I have none in front either that came with case.

Air flow in this case is a problem even stock and taking out the three 80's that came with system makes it worse - so I drilled about 300 holes in the bottom for good flow.

For panel noise I coated case with this thick roofing material.. weighs a ton now. Each panel is over 5 lbs for good barrier loading.

I wish mine was clean like yours..good job.

X2 3800+@3Ghz (47C Load)
7900GT @ 710/700 (44C Load)
DFI LP NF4 mobo, passive HS custom (38C load)
SEAGATE 160MB Suspended (27C)
SEAGATE 160MB (Grommeted and too loud so I disconnected it)

cyberspyder · Post by **cyberspyder** » Sun Jan 28, 2007 1:13 pm

Is that 3/8 tubing!?

Zebo · Post by **Zebo** » Mon Jan 29, 2007 10:35 pm