Advice needed on Mini Ninja's fan positioning & Centurio

[ddlooping]

Hi guys.

My new (and first) build:

- Coolermaster Centurion 5 case + Coolermaster 550w eXtreme PSU.
- Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-S2H motherboard.
- Athlon 5000+ Black Edition that I intend to overclock to 3.10gHz (~75W).
- Case fan: Scythe Splistream 1200 that I'll probably undervolt (couldn't get a 800).
- Passively cooled Sapphire Radeon HD3450.
- 2GB Crucial Ballistix PC2-6400.
- Pioneer DVR-112D DVD-RW (IDE master).
- Samsung SD-616E DVD-ROM (IDE slave).
- Scythe Kama Reader.
- Hitachi Desktar 7K160 160GB SATAII 7200rpm 8MB: OS & Program Files.
- Maxtor 6Y080M0 Diamondmax+9 80GB 7200RPM 8MB SATA150: TIF, temporary files, scratch disk, paged file(?).
- External USB2 HD for file storage (to be replaced by eSATA HD).
- External USB2 HD for backups.

Here come the questions...

- As I will be overclocking the 5000+ BE I guess I'll need to use the Mini Ninja's fan.
Considering my case and motherboard, where would it be best to position it?

- Any advice on how to mod the Centurion 5 for maximum airflow and quietness?

- What is the most controllable/efficient way to plug the two fans (case & CPU)?

Thanks in advance.

[ddlooping]

Another question if you don't mind.

If I was to use this Dual USB 2.0 10pin Backplate, could I still connect the Kama Card Reader?

The motherboard has "up to 12 USB 2.0/1.1 ports (4 on the back panel, 8 via the USB brackets connected to the internal USB headers)".
So if I understand correctly it has 4 free USB headers, and I'd only need 3, 2 for the backplate and 1 for the reader.
Correct?

[ddlooping]

Anyone?

[ddlooping]

I would really appreciate some advice.

Is it best to mount the fan on the side of the Mini Ninja, blowing towards the rear of the case and the 120mm exhaust fan?

Is it safe to block the holes in the Coolermaster Centurion 5 side to make it quieter, after having removed the CPU duct?

I've already cut out the finger guard(?) for the 120mm exhaust fan.
Any other tweaks to increase airflow/decrease noise for that case?

TIA.

[xan_user]

I'll try.....

1st post:

1. Start with HS on the right side- then experiment- thats the fun of modding.

2.Remove hdd tray and suspend drive. tips here viewtopic.php?t=19147

3. Auto or manual speed control? Speedfan is best IMO for auto if mobo supports it. I have seen card readers with fan control too, i think....

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2nd post:
1. I think everyone is still looking for their spoons.

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3rd post:
1. Essentially, yes

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4th post:
1. Good place to start.

2. Yes, should be...

3. Always more to do....after the fans and hdd(s) are quiet.

[ddlooping]

Thank you for your numerous replies, xan_user.

[bonestonne]

- As I will be overclocking the 5000+ BE I guess I'll need to use the Mini Ninja's fan.
Considering my case and motherboard, where would it be best to position it?

- Any advice on how to mod the Centurion 5 for maximum airflow and quietness?

- What is the most controllable/efficient way to plug the two fans (case & CPU)?

generally, everyone likes to position the CPU fan so that it blows towards the exhaust fan, when using a tower style heatsink. it helps bring air over the VRMs, which generally get very hot.

Modding the Centurion will be 80% easy, 20% hell. Cooler Master makes great cases, and I have the Centurion's little brother, the Elite 330. When you get the case, you'll first want to take off the front panel, its easily removable, but don't pull too hard. You'll see metal plates over the 5.25" bays, and you should remove all of them, regardless of what you'll actually be using. Even though these plates are drilled, they only allow ~60% of the airflow through. The side panel of the case that is removable has vents on it. My suggestion is to put tape over the grill. This will force airflow in a front to rear direction. At first it will seem as though temps have risen, but give it time, and temps will lower.

The USB bracket should go in with no problems. There should be 4 additional USB jumpers on the motherboards, each supporting two USB ports. You should have no problem connecting the bracket, the case and the Card reader at the same time.

As xan_user said, you should suspend the hard drive(s). I just recently suspended the drives in my Elite 330, and it makes a world of a difference.

A somewhat old, but very credible review of the Centurion 5:
http://www.silentpcreview.com/article200-page1.html

I almost got myself a Centurion 5 at a computer expo for dirt cheap..and now i regret it a little, it's a great case, and would be a great home for my server. You should search the forums for Centurion 5, there have been other people who've used the case and you might get some good ideas from their builds.

[ddlooping]

Thanks for the advice, bonestonne, I appreciate it.