3000B/3800B owner advice please. Keep or blank off the CAG?

[Firetech]

It seems I have two choices with my case:
1. Keep the CAG, install a HS such as the XP-120 with quiet fan and let it suck in cool air through the CAGOR
2. Remove the CAG, blank off the hole, install a tower HS such as Ninja (with fan) and rely on the front to rear airflow.

Option 1 should work fine as i've noticed that removing the case side or blanking the CAG vent actually increases the stock HSF's speed. So I assume the CAG does actually work.
But will the escaping fan noise still be excessive

Option 2 may reduce noise output and the airflow route should suit a tower HS but will this be at the expense of increased internal temperatures

There is a side issue of Mosfet cooling with the Ninja but that's on another thread...

So, over to you guys. What should I do

[quikkie]

I noticed that with the standard tricool fan on low (and no other case fans) it was sucking air in through the CAG holes.

I've taped the holes shut (both CPU and GPU) and haven't noticed a difference in noise level - although it did motivate me to enhance the air flow through the case (I have no front fan).

In my case it seems that there is plenty of front-rear airflow as DTemp is showing my suspended drive is very cool (the finger test also confirms this) and mainboard temps seem within tolerances.

-Quikkie

[diver]

I am using the CAG on a SLK2650-BQE and it really works. The case has no intake fans and only an exhaust and power supply fan.

The Ninja looks nice when used with a power supply that has a 12cm fan on the bottom. Just look at the SPCR review of the P180 and the comparison between the SLK3000 and P180 used with two different power supplies.

[Firetech]

I noticed that with the standard tricool fan on low (and no other case fans) it was sucking air in through the CAG holes.

I noticed the GPU vent blew out too after installing the front fan but the CPU vent is definitely sucking. I was hoping that blanking and adding foam would reduce noise but I agree, blanking with my hand doesn't quiet it down much.

In my case it seems that there is plenty of front-rear airflow as DTemp is showing my suspended drive is very cool (the finger test also confirms this) and mainboard temps seem within tolerances.-Quikkie

Unfortunately I can't tell as my MB crashes with HDD sensing software and other temp monitoring is useless too

I am using the CAG on a SLK2650-BQE and it really works. The case has no intake fans and only an exhaust and power supply fan.

I only added the front fan as a precaution to aid HDD & NB cooling

The Ninja looks nice when used with a power supply that has a 12cm fan on the bottom. Just look at the SPCR review of the P180 and the comparison between the SLK3000 and P180 used with two different power supplies.

I know, I have a 120mm PSU fan which is why I considered it but if you look at the thread I linked to in my first post you'll see why I have questions on that option. Ralf doesn't seem to keen on it.

[snowman59]

the CAG hole for the CPU definitely lowers case temps but I'm not exactly convinced that it lowers CPU temps more than 1º C on my machine anyway. It does however keep case temps down about 2º C. With the CPU overclocked to 2.6Ghz I noticed a drop on the CPU of about 2-3º C.

With regards to your NB and HDDs I doubt that getting rid of that front fan will seriously raise either temperature. I decided to get rid of the fron fan and just increase my rear fan by 100rpm to increase airflow through my case. I also have the added negative pressure created by the AC silencer for my GPU exhausting air out the rear. With enough positive pressure you may find that the HDDs and the NB are just fine without an intake fan.

I went the route of closing off the GPU grill and retaining the CPU grill but I removed the plastic adapter pieces for the CAG. I am currently in the process of installing acoustic 'stuff' and we'll see what kind of difference that makes.

~best of luck ot you!

[Firetech]

the CAG hole for the CPU definitely lowers case temps but I'm not exactly convinced that it lowers CPU temps more than 1º C on my machine anyway. It does however keep case temps down about 2º C.

I notice a rise of 2deg at idle (27deg ambient) when I blank off the CAG. I haven't done a load test.

I decided to get rid of the fron fan and just increase my rear fan by 100rpm to increase airflow through my case.

I was going to move the Glacialtech onto whatever HS i get and see what happened

I went the route of closing off the GPU grill and retaining the CPU grill but I removed the plastic adapter pieces for the CAG. I am currently in the process of installing acoustic 'stuff' and we'll see what kind of difference that makes.
~best of luck ot you!

Did the tube not fit/line up anymore? Is the noise from the Thermalright out of the vent obtrusive?
Thanks!

[quikkie]

Unfortunately I can't tell as my MB crashes with HDD sensing software and other temp monitoring is useless too

I have the same mainboard - try the utils that come with the mainboard (superstep?) that will give temps and fan speeds. DTemp/speedfan and the atitool like functionality that comes with the omega drivers all work on my build...

-Quikkie

[Firetech]

Yeah quikkie, I know they should work but Superstep(V2), MBM etc don't work right with my set-up for some reason.
CPU temp is a constant 70#C (I'm assuming it's picking up the shut-down temp sensor).
System temp is fine but it's actually reading from a sensor down below the NF chipset but not on or too near it.
Fanspeed is fine but various HDD SMART temp utilities cause my PC to hang on Windows start-up (seemingly an NForce issue according to Speedfan's FAQ)

Soooo, that's why I'm so reliant on the advice of others with decent temp sensing. I can't experiment and see warning signs, instead my rig will just overheat and go Bang!!!!

[=assassin=]

Have you tried EVEREST for getting temperatures? Not sure if it's still available for download though....

[Firetech]

Have you tried EVEREST for getting temperatures? Not sure if it's still available for download though....

Can't remember if I have tried it before but it's installed on my other PC so I can give it a try. I'm sure it's some sort of Windows problem as BIOS will show correct CPU temp

EDIT
Ahhhhhhh, I've made a breakthrough. It's all MBM's fault it seems!
Being awake at 4 AM for my wife feeding our baby anyway, I thought I'd use the low ambient noise to stop fans etc and find what's noisiest (NB fan!!)

I've had MBM linking to Samurize for desktop monitoring of fan speeds etc for ages.
I re-started the PC from BIOS without loading MBM and it seemed quieter!
So now i find if I don't allow MBM to load at PC start-up Superstep will show the correct CPU temp and also allow the CPU fan to run at reduced speed. When I do load MBM the temp goes screwy and the fan DOUBLES in speed.
Looks like MBM is getting erased....

[snowman59]

Firetech-

Quote:
I went the route of closing off the GPU grill and retaining the CPU grill but I removed the plastic adapter pieces for the CAG. I am currently in the process of installing acoustic 'stuff' and we'll see what kind of difference that makes.
~best of luck ot you!

Did the tube not fit/line up anymore? Is the noise from the Thermalright out of the vent obtrusive?

the tube is almost aligned perfectly....if i were to put my heatsink on 180º turned it would be perfectly aligned. The noise from the thermalright is not too bad...its not the loudest thing in my system anyway. That title goes to either my exhaust Antec fan or to the fan on my AC silencer on my GPU. The reason I removed the plastic tubing was in preparation to install acoustic material on the side panel.

~HTH- Best of luck to you![/quote]

[Firetech]

I think RalfHutter and yourselves have convinced me to go down the Thermalright route. Ralf reckons the XP or SI will be best for my particular situation. It'll probably be an SI-120 to allow a slower/quieter 12cm fan and with the large high wingspan it should also blow down over the Mosfets.
I'll try to keep the CAG in place for the moment and see how it goes.

Even if this thread dies please PM me with the results of your case damping work snowman59.

Thanks for your input quickkie and diver

EDIT due to change of mind

Errrm, please see my other post here

[Ralf Hutter]

So now i find if I don't allow MBM to load at PC start-up Superstep will show the correct CPU temp and also allow the CPU fan to run at reduced speed. When I do load MBM the temp goes screwy and the fan DOUBLES in speed.
Looks like MBM is getting erased....

Assuming that "Superstep" is some sort of monitoring app, it's not MBM's fault at all. You should never, ever have two monitoring apps running at the same time. They generally use the same board sensors and end up fighting each other. At best this causes incorrect readings, at worst it can make your system unstable and cause crashes/freezing/BSODs, etc.

[Firetech]

Assuming that "Superstep" is some sort of monitoring app, it's not MBM's fault at all. You should never, ever have two monitoring apps running at the same time. They generally use the same board sensors and end up fighting each other. At best this causes incorrect readings, at worst it can make your system unstable and cause crashes/freezing/BSODs, etc.

Hi Ralf , the problem occured when I had only MBM5 running in isolation.

With MBM5 removed from the system, I can have Superstep (Foxconn's monitoring utility) or the nVidia version running alongside Samurize no problem. nVidia won't sense the graphics card temp (a Foxconn MB issue, possibly, it doesn't support VGA monitoring I read somewhere)
I still can't use Speedfan, Everest or any other app that has S.M.A.R.T. HDD sensing as it causes the PC to hang but that's mentioned in the Speedfan FAQ as an NF4 issue.
These other issues may be something to do with my particular set of components too, I don't know for sure on that one.
I'm just happy to be able to monitor my CPU temp in Windows instead of BIOS