Pics of my computer cabinet with acoustic foam.

ThaArtist · Post by **ThaArtist** » Sun Nov 29, 2009 11:53 am

Hmmm coulda swore I posted this last night but its no where to be found.

Its really very quiet after all my mods. Now just awaiting a replacement rear 120mm fan to replace the stock rosewill case fan and then troubleshoot more from there.

I used Auralex 2" Designer foam.

RoGuE · Post by **RoGuE** » Sun Nov 29, 2009 1:24 pm

Nice mod on the front fan. Thats good stuff...but is there an air filter?! U better, mister.

And is that a hard mounted HDD i see in there?

R2_ · Post by **R2_** » Sun Nov 29, 2009 5:09 pm

just cutting the grill that way wont make it easier to get rusted?
I mean, you exposure the steel without painting to the air...

RoGuE · Post by **RoGuE** » Sun Nov 29, 2009 7:44 pm

R2_ wrote:just cutting the grill that way wont make it easier to get rusted?
I mean, you exposure the steel without painting to the air...

The steel in computer cases is cold rolled. It oxidizes extremely slowly, and there is no worry of rust anytime soon. Also, being a computer, it most likely wont get wet, so that just makes it even more rust-proof. You're in the clear artist.

ThaArtist · Post by **ThaArtist** » Mon Nov 30, 2009 12:52 pm

RoGuE wrote:Nice mod on the front fan. Thats good stuff...but is there an air filter?! U better, mister.

And is that a hard mounted HDD i see in there?

Yeah no air filter. Not even sure how to get one. Haven't found any and have read different reviews on filters pros and cons.

Also hard mounted HHD yep. The only way I can guess to suspend the HDD is to cut away the existing brackets as i think Ive seen others do... but this case is so cheap I feel that would make is super flimsy?

Any suggestions on what I can do without placing an order online... maybe something at a local home depot or menards or lowes...

ThaArtist · Post by **ThaArtist** » Mon Nov 30, 2009 1:02 pm

Frustrating... Better then my case and comes with a filter.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... -_-Product

or

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... -_-Product

JamieG · Post by **JamieG** » Mon Nov 30, 2009 2:54 pm

ThaArtist wrote:Also hard mounted HHD yep. The only way I can guess to suspend the HDD is to cut away the existing brackets as i think Ive seen others do... but this case is so cheap I feel that would make is super flimsy?

You could try suspending your HDD vertically. Get some clothing elastic and some P-clips to hold the HDD between two sets of elastic. You'll also need some zip ties to hold the P-clips in place

Forgive the crude ASCII diagram but it would look something like this from the front of your case (HDD is *, - is elastic, Z is a zip tie just going around the elastic and P is a p clip)

Code: Select all

-----------ZPZ-------------
          *****
          *****
          *****
          *****
          *****
          *****
-----------ZPZ-------------

Hopefully that makes some sense. You will need to have two elastic cords going above the HDD for it to hang from and two elastic cords going under the HDD to support it. The 4 x P clips should be threaded onto the elastic and then secured to the HDD with HDD mounting screws into the normal HDD mounting holes. Then put zip ties around the elastic on either side of each P clip so that they cannot move on the elastic.

There are probably some actual pics somewhere in the HDD suspension thread of someone's rig where they have done something similar (I stole the idea from somewhere) in the Storage sub-forum, so check it out.

RoGuE · Post by **RoGuE** » Mon Nov 30, 2009 5:58 pm

ThaArtist wrote: Also hard mounted HHD yep. The only way I can guess to suspend the HDD is to cut away the existing brackets as i think Ive seen others do... but this case is so cheap I feel that would make is super flimsy?

Any suggestions on what I can do without placing an order online... maybe something at a local home depot or menards or lowes...

Yep. You have plenty of room under your optical drive to do a "classic" suspension mount of your hdd. The drive will get less fresh air, but heat really wont be an issue...a lot of people on just these forums have done so without any damaging thermal consequences. It would probably raise the temp of the drive 5-7C but not much more than that.

As for the lack of filter, I have the perfect Solution! The steel of your case attracts the magnetic boarder of these filters. The are super easy to clean, and shouldn't interfere with your front bezel.

You NEED a filter on your computer. Not filtering the air can cause a lot of problems in the form of dust. Dust is a heatsink's worst nightmare, because it is a natural insulator. It can effectively clog all heatsinks, and even gum up your PSU internal heat dissipation. To an SPCR enthusiast, this directly equates to louder fans (they have to spin faster to make up for the lack of proper convection over heatsink fins).

In summary, replace your case, or slap a filter on there.

RoGuE · Post by **RoGuE** » Mon Nov 30, 2009 5:59 pm

ThaArtist wrote: Also hard mounted HHD yep. The only way I can guess to suspend the HDD is to cut away the existing brackets as i think Ive seen others do... but this case is so cheap I feel that would make is super flimsy?

Any suggestions on what I can do without placing an order online... maybe something at a local home depot or menards or lowes...

Yep. You have plenty of room under your optical drive to do a "classic" suspension mount of your hdd.

The drive will get less fresh air, but heat really wont be an issue...a lot of people on just these forums have done so without any damaging thermal consequences. It would probably raise the temp of the drive 5-7C but not much more than that.

As for the lack of filter, I have the perfect Solution! The steel of your case attracts the magnetic boarder of these filters. The are super easy to clean, and shouldn't interfere with your front bezel.

You NEED a filter on your computer. Not filtering the air can cause a lot of problems in the form of dust. Dust is a heatsink's worst nightmare, because it is a natural insulator. It can effectively clog all heatsinks, and even gum up your PSU internal heat dissipation. To an SPCR enthusiast, this directly equates to louder fans (they have to spin faster to make up for the lack of proper convection over heatsink fins).

There is a more annoying solution, and that is cleaning out your case every month. A properly filtered computer case can go much longer before needing internal dusting.

ThaArtist · Post by **ThaArtist** » Mon Nov 30, 2009 7:34 pm

Thanks Rogue and Jamie G those are great ideas! Jamie, Mounting the HDD vertically won't cause performance issues?

ThaArtist · Post by **ThaArtist** » Mon Nov 30, 2009 7:37 pm

Rogue them are cool filters. I think I will invest in a new case in the future. One that has easily removable filters. My front cover is so difficult to get off it would deter me from cleaning the filter ever. Until then It's easier for me to just pop off the side cover and load it down with a can of air to remove dust I think.

JamieG · Post by **JamieG** » Mon Nov 30, 2009 8:38 pm

ThaArtist wrote:Jamie, Mounting the HDD vertically won't cause performance issues?

I am not aware of any performance issues from vertical mounting. Just make sure to use the zip ties if you do go with that idea so that the hard drive doesn't slip to a diagonal mounting angle, which might be bad for the HDD.

ThaArtist · Post by **ThaArtist** » Tue Dec 01, 2009 1:16 pm

Yeah I guess cause on some systems they are mounted on a side panel I think I've seen. Should be ok. Yeah I'll make sure it stays vertical.

Thanks!

RoGuE · Post by **RoGuE** » Sat Dec 05, 2009 6:59 pm

Im actually pretty sure that orientation doesn't affect the drive at all. they rely on fluid dynamic bearings, which aren't affected by orientation.

I would still recommend suspending in the 5.25 bays though..its an easier job, and well proven to work

ThaArtist · Post by **ThaArtist** » Tue Dec 08, 2009 2:25 pm

Hey rogue or anyone. I suspended the hard drive like the ascii diagram and kept it the same way front to back.

I'm wondering if I can mount it so instead of the SATA plugins on the back of the hard drive facing the MOBO so that it faces up. This would make the hard drive fit in my case better.

To say the least the hard drive would be pointing down with sata plugs pointing up. Think this would cause performance issues?

RoGuE · Post by **RoGuE** » Tue Dec 08, 2009 3:22 pm

I'm finding it really hard to picture what you're trying to do, but maybe this will help...

As long as the drive is secure in your suspension, the orientation will not affect drive performance. The bearing inside it is very robust, and simply isn't affected by gravitational forces to my knowledge. You might wanna try a quick google research session to double check that - I am very pressed for time.

Just make sure that you don't have the blunt side of the drive facing your fan...in other words, you want the air to be able to pass around the drive's thickness...not blowing onto the top or bottom of the drive. This is for case airflow reasons.

IMO, the best, and simplest orientation for suspension can be seen in my signature. How you actually suspend them (and with what materials) is up to you, but I prefer my "classic" orientation

ThaArtist · Post by **ThaArtist** » Tue Dec 08, 2009 4:09 pm

K Thanks. Got it.