I WILL silently cool a wavemaster, looking for feedback

breakspirit · Post by **breakspirit** » Wed May 02, 2007 10:34 pm

Hey guys, I recently bought my long-time dream case, the yellow Coolermaster Wavemaster. Now, as any regular SPCR member knows, this case suuuucks for airflow. But, to me it is the sexiest computer case I've ever seen and I am dedicated to making it cool and quiet enough for me.

I already tore it all apart, painted the inside black, cut out a window on the side panel, put a panaflo on top for a blow hole, and changed the rest of the case fans to Nexus 80mm's(2 front intake and 1 rear exhaust). I also swapped the CPU cooler for a far superior Apack ZeroTherm BTF90, which I got because the Thermalright Ultra-120 was too big to fit in my case and this one performs very well anyway. Here's what I've got right now:

http://www.breakspirit.com/misc/wavemaster01.jpg
http://www.breakspirit.com/misc/wavemaster02.jpg
http://www.breakspirit.com/misc/wavemaster03.jpg

My hardware is as follows:
AMD Athlon X2 6000+
Geforce 8800GTX moderately overclocked
500 gig Samsung HD
2 gigs ddr2 800
All the other crap that goes into a computer

Anyway, here's the deal. With the case side panel off, speedfan says I'm running well within acceptable temps, right around 42 degrees C idle. However, when I put the side panel on, things get ugly. The temps hit about 70 degrees C under load, which is just too freaking hot for my comfort.

The obvious solution is to put a fan on the side panel. Well, this case is not some newb quiet case. I'm going for quiet, fast, and sexy and a side blow hole would ruin the sexy part in my opinion. So, I've come up with some ideas for what I could change and I'm wondering what you guys think.

First, there is indeed room on the back panel to add a second 80mm fan. That's likely to help somewhat and I'm sure my temps would go down some, but I think you guys would agree that the real culprit here is the front intake system. It's almost completely blocked and basically useless. I've currently got 2 80mm nexuses there, but I'm wondering if a single 120mm nexus at the same rpm would move more air? I know it would be far quieter. By my calculations, a single 120mm fan has an area of 45,216mm whereas two 80mm fans have an area of 40,192mm. What do you guys think? I think I'm going to end this post here because I could write all day about this and I'm sure most of you have stopped reading by now. Thanks for looking =)

[F]bernZ · Post by **[F]bernZ** » Wed May 02, 2007 11:12 pm

Take off those grills on the front intake. They don't do anything and its seriously restricting your airflow.

Open up your front bezel if you can. Let it breathe easier!

A 120mm at the same RPM would definitely move as much air (if not more) than dual 80mm fans. It would also be quieter.

breakspirit · Post by **breakspirit** » Wed May 02, 2007 11:36 pm

You're saying that thin, barely there fan grill is seriously restricting airflow? Then you're going to hate the front of those fans:

http://www.breakspirit.com/misc/wavemaster04.jpg

Those are just filters because with a black case interior, dust shows pretty quick. I made sure to get light duty filters, though, and they don't really affect the airflow, at least not nearly as much as that freaking front panel, as you can see in that pic

btw, that white foam is there to block alternate air routes so that the air only comes from outside, not from within the case

airs · Post by **airs** » Wed May 02, 2007 11:52 pm

I've heard the 8800's dont get rid of heat very well through the stock rear vent. I've seen a few pics of people that mod them to a 3 slot total card (2 slots for cooling)...can't remember where I saw it though

What powersupply are you running?

breakspirit · Post by **breakspirit** » Thu May 03, 2007 12:07 am

airs wrote:I've heard the 8800's dont get rid of heat very well through the stock rear vent. I've seen a few pics of people that mod them to a 3 slot total card (2 slots for cooling)...can't remember where I saw it though

What powersupply are you running?

yeah, this card gets HOT, like easily hot enough that I can't keep my finger on it for more than an instant. I'd be very interested in seeing a mod for it that isn't one of those monster thermalright coolers. That thing is just too large to fit in my case with my other hardware. I was originally using a seasonic m12 500watt, but i was getting the feeling it might not have been enough, so yesterday I installed an m12 700 watt. I really like seasonic =)

Bluefront · Post by **Bluefront** » Thu May 03, 2007 2:28 am

You may be beating your head on the wall. Those filters on the intake fans are simply too restrictive because of their small surface area. Combine that with their cramped location with poor airflow even without a filter, and you end up with very little air getting into the computer. I doubt a 120mm fan under similar restriction would be any different. If you want to retain the over-all look of the case, I'd be temped to cut a big hole in the bottom of the case, and mount a big intake fan right there.......here's what I mean.

Other photos of this setup, including the filter arrangement, are in this album.

breakspirit · Post by **breakspirit** » Thu May 03, 2007 2:46 am

Bluefront wrote:You may be beating your head on the wall. Those filters on the intake fans are simply too restrictive because of their small surface area. Combine that with their cramped location with poor airflow even without a filter, and you end up with very little air getting into the computer. I doubt a 120mm fan under similar restriction would be any different. If you want to retain the over-all look of the case, I'd be temped to cut a big hole in the bottom of the case, and mount a big intake fan right there.......

That's really not a bad idea, but I have to question whether the cool air would ever reach the CPU. The video card is such a monster that it effectively cuts off that half of the case from any kind of airflow. I kind of made the hard drive and hard drive cage into a sort of duct for one of the front fans because the air goes straight through there to the bottom of the video card.

I've been considering the prospect of making a fan hole on my case window. I really can't decide if I think it would look too crappy. Also, I'm unsure where I'd put it.

http://www.breakspirit.com/misc/wavemasterside.jpg
Do you guys think I should put the fan to the right of the cpu cooler, which is blowing left and out the case? The flaw there is that the air would never touch the video card. Also, is it as ugly as I'm afraid it would be? Thanks again guys, you're great.

Bluefront · Post by **Bluefront** » Thu May 03, 2007 2:50 am

I just edited my last post. There are a number of methods to put a fan on the bottom. The method I showed will help cooling the card, as well as the cpu. The angle of the fan can be adjusted depending on your particular setup.

breakspirit · Post by **breakspirit** » Thu May 03, 2007 2:54 am

Holy crap, that's some serious modding right there! Is that your case?

Hah I just noticed you're from St.Louis too.

Bluefront · Post by **Bluefront** » Thu May 03, 2007 3:00 am

Yeah.....It's a std Gateway case modded to run quiet, cool, and clean. Third project back for me. It looks stock on the outside except for the modded top.

breakspirit · Post by **breakspirit** » Thu May 03, 2007 3:18 am

I don't know if the airflow would be so good like that. This case has kinda tiny feet and having to buy big ugly feet might eliminate the point of putting it on the bottom of the case anyway. The case really only sits 1cm off the desk. Would you say it would make any difference, in terms of cooling, if it was on the side or the bottom?

Bluefront · Post by **Bluefront** » Thu May 03, 2007 3:36 am

Well you would need to raise the case slightly, in order to get airflow to the filter. I raised mine about 1.5" with some wood feet. If you cut a hole in the window for a side fan, just how will you attach a filter? A flat filter the size of the fan, is terrible for airflow......much like what you have now. A big filter will spoil the look of the window. Off to work now...

breakspirit · Post by **breakspirit** » Thu May 03, 2007 3:58 am

Bluefront wrote:Well you would need to raise the case slightly, in order to get airflow to the filter. I raised mine about 1.5" with some wood feet. If you cut a hole in the window for a side fan, just how will you attach a filter? A flat filter the size of the fan, is terrible for airflow......much like what you have now. A big filter will spoil the look of the window. Off to work now...

Very true, thanks a lot for your help.

CyberDog · Post by **CyberDog** » Thu May 03, 2007 8:47 am

How about Scythe Kama Bay?

airs · Post by **airs** » Thu May 03, 2007 11:15 am

my vote is NO side panel fan! case is beautiful as is...

the bottom fan seems like a great idea...or at least removing the restrictions on your front fans and shrouding the GPU - cardboard and duct tape?

breakspirit · Post by **breakspirit** » Thu May 03, 2007 1:55 pm

I'm willing to attempt the bottom fan mod, but I'd need to find some decent looking taller case feet I think. I wish I knew of anyone else attempting this, but I guess that kinda adds to the fun because it's dangerous and I might ruin a case I've put so much work into.

Bluefront · Post by **Bluefront** » Thu May 03, 2007 3:49 pm

There are other ways to setup a bottom intake. Build a wood box that the computer will sit on. Cut the hole in the bottom of the case, and a matching hole in the top of the box. Leave the back panel of this lower box open. There's plenty of room for a filter. Put castors on the new box. This is an easy project that works great.....

breakspirit · Post by **breakspirit** » Thu May 03, 2007 8:04 pm

That's a good idea, but I'd never be able to make a box that would look good under this case, unfortunately. If I wasn't so hung up on looks, this project would be far easier. My last PC was one of the typical SPCR silent types where it was just a plain looking box with relatively standard hardware. That's far easier to silence than a performance machine where the aesthetics are at least as important as the silence, if not more so. I'm going to move into the planning stages of installing a bottom case fan, but I'd need to study how to make a fan enclosure like yours. I'm thinking I'd make one out of the metal from the hard drive cage, which I'll have to cut out since it's not removable. I know almost nothing about metal working, so I've got some homework to do if I'm going to go this route.

breakspirit · Post by **breakspirit** » Thu May 03, 2007 8:09 pm

CyberDog wrote:How about Scythe Kama Bay?

I'm not sure how I'd use that thing. It looks cool, but there aren't any places at which I could install it. My drive bays are covered by the case's door and mounting it internally wouldn't bring in any cool air, it would just move the hot air inside. Do you have any better ways to use it?

CyberDog · Post by **CyberDog** » Thu May 03, 2007 11:33 pm

Maybe you could cut your case a bit to provide fresh air to fans in front. Like from bottom of doors.

Ok. I took a better look of that case. Maybe a bottom fan is easier way to go. And you could also try to cut those fan slots for 12cm fans if they fit. It's best to do with hole saw.

breakspirit · Post by **breakspirit** » Fri May 04, 2007 12:27 am

Which fan slots? I wish I could get a 12cm fan on the back for exhaust, but I see no way to do so =/

I conducted some tests using a 12cm fan. I set it hovering about 1cm away from my desk, which is how it would be in my current case. The airflow lessened very dramatically and was not normal until it had been lifted a good few inches from the desk. I think you'll all understand that lifting this case 3 inches or so from the desk would not look right at all. I also replicated what it would be like mounted at the end of a duct, as shown in the photo gallery earlier. I used a cardboard box(the box from the heatsink actually, since it already had perfectly sized holes in the front and back for my test). So, I had the box, with the fan on top, hovering above the desk at about 1cm and raised it while feeling how much air it was pushing out. Obviously, with it so low to the desk, it was barely moving any air, at least not in any 1 direction. Again, once it was a good few inches from the desk, I was able to feel a good gust of air from it as usual. I think a normal man would have given up on this by now, but my girlfriend has always told me I'm very abnormal! I will never give up until this computer is perfect. Any thoughts on my findings?

Bluefront · Post by **Bluefront** » Fri May 04, 2007 1:53 am

Making a simple wood box on wheels is as easy as you can get. You can get everything at Home Depot......they can even cut the wood to size. You would only need to use a jig-saw to cut a hole in the top panel. The bottom and top of this box is not visible in use. The looks of the three visible sides are all you would have to deal with. An ebony stain like the picture would match your case very well. Or you could try a different approach.......Cut out another 80mm hole in the rear of your case. Add another fan to the rear but have both rear case fans blowing inward. The hole in your case top will work as a passive vent. Having four 80mm fans blowing inward will give you a nice positive pressure.....it will work. My last four computer projects are all positive pressure, with no exhaust fans.....only vents. Your case will look exactly like it is right now.

breakspirit · Post by **breakspirit** » Fri May 04, 2007 2:05 am

That's a good idea, bluefront, I'm going to try that right now. I like how you and I seem to be up at all the weird hours of the night

Ok yeah instead of installing a second rear fan, I replaced it with a far faster, louder fan to simulate the airspeed of 2 fans. I then set it to blow inward and ran some stress testing to see how hot I could get it. Here's the data I've collected:

2 intake fans, 1 exhaust fan, case open = 50C under load
2 intake fans, 1 exhaust fan, case closed = 70C under load
3 intake fans, case closed = 60C under load

So, the temps are indeed better using your idea, bluefront, but they're not as good as they could be =/ I don't think it would be wise to let it run at 60C too much. Currently, it's idling at 52C with 3 intakes.

breakspirit · Post by **breakspirit** » Fri May 04, 2007 7:47 am

Alright, I've been up all night, again, working on this and I think I've got a plan. I'm going to cut a bigger hole on the top to fit a 120mm exhaust fan up there and also cut a 120mm intake fan on the bottom of the case. In addition, I'll be ordering some modder's mesh, the thin honeycomb kind, and I will put that on the front panel, where the horrible ventilation currently is. So I will then have 2 120mm fans and 3 80mm fans. I'm thinking that NO computer would run hot under those conditions. It might even be too much, in which case I'd just undervolt them to get it both quieter and decently cool. Thoughts?

Bluefront · Post by **Bluefront** » Fri May 04, 2007 4:18 pm

Well with no clearance to the floor on the bottom of the case, how will the bottom fan get any air? I don't think that bottom fan is going to help any as you describe. I'd add the second rear 80mm, mounting both rear 80s on the outside of the case, blowing in. If your upper case vent hole is not at least 120mm, enlarge it to that size, using your mesh covering. You really don't need a fan up there, because the positive pressure will blow right out. With proper tweaking, IMHO four 80mm intake fans are plenty.

breakspirit · Post by **breakspirit** » Fri May 04, 2007 4:48 pm

You're right that the bottom fan likely wouldn't get enough air, so I've been hunting for some taller case feet that won't ruin the look.
I came across these:
http://www.frozencpu.com/products/1318/ ... 43c241s614
But I tihnk they might be TOO tall and also I think they may be too wide, causing them to stick out the sides of the bottom of the case, which wouldn't be cool at all. Does anyone know of any place to get some nice looking, tall case feet? All my usual sources of computer parts are letting me down

e_Q · Post by **e_Q** » Sat May 05, 2007 1:38 am

Suggestion:

Flip your motherboardtray (see Coolermaster website) and add a bottom intake for some direct airflow toward the heatsink.

The problem is your window, it will be on the wrong side. But if you mod the back of your motherboardtray (maybe with some fake carbon?) and add a window on the other sidepanel this still could be a seriously sexy case.

breakspirit · Post by **breakspirit** » Sat May 05, 2007 1:43 am

Flip the motherboard tray, eh? I looked around the CM site and couldn't find what you're talking about. Got a link? I'm willing to try wacky ideas like this sounds like.

Bluefront · Post by **Bluefront** » Sat May 05, 2007 2:13 am

Look....if you are unwilling to attempt a simple rolling box/stand to raise your case, a flip-your-board project would be a nightmare. I've been giving you ideas that are relatively easy, known to work, allowing an effective filtration system, and above all will retain the exact look of your existing case. I too always liked the look of that case. But I knew from the first time I saw one that cooling would be a problem. If you don't want to attempt a box.....how about a rolling platform? Get a pine board the size of the bottom of your case. Cut the hole in the case, and the board.......add four castors. You could attach a filter on the bottom. Only the edges of the board will be visible...paint or stain them black. With this method you could easily design a lower intake fan system. The whole thing won't cost more than $25.

Let me say one thing about bottom intakes.....they need at least 1" clearance between the lowest point of the opening or the lower filter, and the floor. Less clearance than that, and airflow is reduced, and the intake noise starts to rise. Whatever you do, don't use this lower hole as an exhaust. The back-pressure would kill airflow.

e_Q · Post by **e_Q** » Sat May 05, 2007 2:16 am

I admit having no experience with this case. This thread really rekindled my interest in this case. Searching for information about it I found this picture:

From:
http://www.coolermaster-europe.com/inde ... e%20Master

Hope it helps.