hi all
For my new SLI gaming rig I plan on buying a Cooler Master Stacker 830 (yea that new one)
This beast can support up to 9 120 mm fans I think.
What I am wondering is what would be adequate cooling for this case. I mean how many 120 mm fans would u really need. To give u an idea of my set up its gunna be that DFI mobo (the SLI Dr Expert) with 2 7800 GT in SLI, seasonic s12 500 psu, 3 hdds, 1 DVD/CD Burner, 2 gigs of ram, sound card. Im also pretty sure that im gunna have a fan on my cpu HS (x2 3800+) and not go passive.
also, I think im going to the get the cross flow fan for it. I definetly would have the 1 intake in the front, 1 exhaust in the back, and the 1 exhaust on top. In regards to the side panel, if i did use the cross flow fan i could have that and 2 additional 120 mm fans.
What would be the best configuration, the cross flow and 2 120mm or 4 120mm or just 2 120mm or none at all.
i guess overall im having a hard time figuring out how much cooling i really need.
Here is a link to it
Best cooling config for a CM Stacker 830
Moderators: NeilBlanchard, Ralf Hutter, sthayashi, Lawrence Lee
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TiredOldMan
- Posts: 22
- Joined: Wed Nov 02, 2005 1:52 am
Wow, something I can actually contribute to! Thanks.
I got the original stacker a year ago, and while it is an older box, it has many similarities to yours I'm specifically thinking about the back-panel configuration: It has given up the space for two 12-cm fans at the top back that they tried with the second rendition of the case.
Anyway, in my case, I am running two 6600gts in sli on an asus a8n sli deluxe, an amd64 3500 and two sticks of 1 gig memory. So, while my setup will be cooler than yours, it is a fair place to begin.
Cooling:
I've got NV Silencers on my gpus--a recent purchase, and highly recommended, both for silence and coolness: I dropped several degrees and can no longer hear my gpus. The best thing about them is the way that they pull the air straight out of the case, unlike other setups, that just disperse the heat into the case.
On the CPU, I've got a zalman 7700al-cu. I like it, but am thinking of changing to something that blows air in one direction, so that I can direct it toward the 12cm exhaust fan on the back. It blows air in all directions, and could be quieter.
Other than that, I've only got a 12-cm exhaust fan and my psu fan.
Now, in the past two months, I've gotten rid of 5 fans. Yet, my temperatures have dropped dramatically. Of course, the thing is much, much quieter.
So, the question is why. And the answer is something that you will find all over this forum: good airflow. The stacker is a pretty damned good case, but if you use all the fans you can with it, it is going to be loud. And some of the fans are just plain counterproductive. I am specifically referring to the cross-flow fan. It is a good idea, in theory, but there were two things wrong with it. 1) most of its airflow is blocked by the CD/Floppy/HD/Power plugs on the edge of the board. 2) in my case, the air that does get in as far as the components on the mobo does not do anything but transfer heat from one component to another. My GPUs were 2 degrees (celcius) higher with it on. When I turned it off, those two degrees were absorbed by the chipset. Since the GPUs were hotter anyway, I lost the x-flow and sealed off its inlet. The 8cms on the top of the case and at the back bottom were also casualties in my cooling war. They did add a bit of noise, but mostly they just interfered with the airflow path that I wanted. I turned them off and blocked the holes. Temperatures fell again. Then, I sealed all holes but two: the 12cm outlet in the top back and the inlet in the front bottom. I sealed any bit of the front mesh that I was not using. I even sealed the big mesh opening in the side of the case. This provided enough suction on the front hole that I was able to suspend 2 HDs in front of it, get rid of the 12cm fan blowing on them, and still have enough air blowing in to hold a piece of A4 paper against the grille. Actually, it seemed that the 12cm that had been blowing on the drives was hindering airflow, by giving it an unwanted boost into the dead space at the back-bottom of the case. Just letting my exhaust fan pull the air through made for a very natural, efficient setup. I actually reduced temperatures by getting rid of the front inlet fan.
So I guess the thing with the stacker is 1) there is enough room for easy heat dispersal. 2) you need to study your setup to give it the most efficient airflow possible. 3) It has lots of holes and room for experimenting, but you need to seal every hole that is not used. 4) unless your mobo is radically different from mine, avoid the x-flow. You'll probably end up taking it out after you've experimented with it.
TiredOldMan
I got the original stacker a year ago, and while it is an older box, it has many similarities to yours I'm specifically thinking about the back-panel configuration: It has given up the space for two 12-cm fans at the top back that they tried with the second rendition of the case.
Anyway, in my case, I am running two 6600gts in sli on an asus a8n sli deluxe, an amd64 3500 and two sticks of 1 gig memory. So, while my setup will be cooler than yours, it is a fair place to begin.
Cooling:
I've got NV Silencers on my gpus--a recent purchase, and highly recommended, both for silence and coolness: I dropped several degrees and can no longer hear my gpus. The best thing about them is the way that they pull the air straight out of the case, unlike other setups, that just disperse the heat into the case.
On the CPU, I've got a zalman 7700al-cu. I like it, but am thinking of changing to something that blows air in one direction, so that I can direct it toward the 12cm exhaust fan on the back. It blows air in all directions, and could be quieter.
Other than that, I've only got a 12-cm exhaust fan and my psu fan.
Now, in the past two months, I've gotten rid of 5 fans. Yet, my temperatures have dropped dramatically. Of course, the thing is much, much quieter.
So, the question is why. And the answer is something that you will find all over this forum: good airflow. The stacker is a pretty damned good case, but if you use all the fans you can with it, it is going to be loud. And some of the fans are just plain counterproductive. I am specifically referring to the cross-flow fan. It is a good idea, in theory, but there were two things wrong with it. 1) most of its airflow is blocked by the CD/Floppy/HD/Power plugs on the edge of the board. 2) in my case, the air that does get in as far as the components on the mobo does not do anything but transfer heat from one component to another. My GPUs were 2 degrees (celcius) higher with it on. When I turned it off, those two degrees were absorbed by the chipset. Since the GPUs were hotter anyway, I lost the x-flow and sealed off its inlet. The 8cms on the top of the case and at the back bottom were also casualties in my cooling war. They did add a bit of noise, but mostly they just interfered with the airflow path that I wanted. I turned them off and blocked the holes. Temperatures fell again. Then, I sealed all holes but two: the 12cm outlet in the top back and the inlet in the front bottom. I sealed any bit of the front mesh that I was not using. I even sealed the big mesh opening in the side of the case. This provided enough suction on the front hole that I was able to suspend 2 HDs in front of it, get rid of the 12cm fan blowing on them, and still have enough air blowing in to hold a piece of A4 paper against the grille. Actually, it seemed that the 12cm that had been blowing on the drives was hindering airflow, by giving it an unwanted boost into the dead space at the back-bottom of the case. Just letting my exhaust fan pull the air through made for a very natural, efficient setup. I actually reduced temperatures by getting rid of the front inlet fan.
So I guess the thing with the stacker is 1) there is enough room for easy heat dispersal. 2) you need to study your setup to give it the most efficient airflow possible. 3) It has lots of holes and room for experimenting, but you need to seal every hole that is not used. 4) unless your mobo is radically different from mine, avoid the x-flow. You'll probably end up taking it out after you've experimented with it.
TiredOldMan
wow! thanks for the lengthly comment, it really helped
so as i understand it you only have 2 case fans, 1 front intake and 1 rear exhaust. I would be amazed if i could do that well.
i have a feeling that for the most part you are right in saying that the cross flow fan is a bad idea.
i think im going to try a setup with 5 fans. 1 front intake, 1 rear exhaust, 1 top exhaust, and 2 intake on that side panel blowing outside air onto my hot components.
so as i understand it you only have 2 case fans, 1 front intake and 1 rear exhaust. I would be amazed if i could do that well.
i have a feeling that for the most part you are right in saying that the cross flow fan is a bad idea.
i think im going to try a setup with 5 fans. 1 front intake, 1 rear exhaust, 1 top exhaust, and 2 intake on that side panel blowing outside air onto my hot components.
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Weldingheart
- Posts: 192
- Joined: Wed Dec 07, 2005 6:04 am
I don't have the original stacker,but you'll never really need that amount of fan. Those side fans should be not efficient at all in silent POV.
Like TiredOldMan , I also start with 10(!) fans (92mm CPU, 4x80mm case,2x80mm in PSU, the rest are 40mm for GPU,chipset,(stupid)hdd cooler fan,etc, I modded case front for better airflow,change to 120mm PSU, then what left now are 2 low speed 80mm fans as exhaust,let the fanless cooler on CPU,GPU,and chipset,putting the rest of fans in the glass cage.well my setup is not so hot and OCed with stock voltage.
I suppose for 830 the rear fan(and maybe 1 fan at the front hdd cage) would be sufficient if you go with dual AC silencer like TiredOldMan did.
For the CPU,I've seen the SPCR member use Ninja on X2 4000+ fanless, if you plan OC,then maybe just add the Nexus to Ninja.
If you plan WC then you may place twin dual 240x120mm rad at the left side with 4x5v papst
Like TiredOldMan , I also start with 10(!) fans (92mm CPU, 4x80mm case,2x80mm in PSU, the rest are 40mm for GPU,chipset,(stupid)hdd cooler fan,etc, I modded case front for better airflow,change to 120mm PSU, then what left now are 2 low speed 80mm fans as exhaust,let the fanless cooler on CPU,GPU,and chipset,putting the rest of fans in the glass cage.well my setup is not so hot and OCed with stock voltage.
I suppose for 830 the rear fan(and maybe 1 fan at the front hdd cage) would be sufficient if you go with dual AC silencer like TiredOldMan did.
For the CPU,I've seen the SPCR member use Ninja on X2 4000+ fanless, if you plan OC,then maybe just add the Nexus to Ninja.
If you plan WC then you may place twin dual 240x120mm rad at the left side with 4x5v papst
I basically agree with all the above, plus, it is even more flexible. I wouldn't be surprised if just the psu fan would keep the case cool (+ cpu etc)
Ive always used the standard 3 fans it comes with through many rebuilds, and dropped any extra fans I've added. You can move the drive cage wherever you want to spot cool, and with all the openings open the ambiant (measured with probes) have never gone more than 2C over room temp.
I always overclock as hard as I can so I am constantly changing things around but temps have never been a problem. I currently watercool and have the rad air blowing into the case. This gives me an extra 120mm (moved from cpu) with the factory front 120 blowing through the drive cage onto the memory. Temps are still very low. No probes anymore but the seasonic s12 600 never goes over 1000rpm.
F@H 24/7 [email protected] GTO2 unlocked, game at XT clocks, [email protected]. San Diego and nF4 water cooled.
Reviews of the crossflow have shown it is noisy, and ineffective as noted, save your money.
Ive always used the standard 3 fans it comes with through many rebuilds, and dropped any extra fans I've added. You can move the drive cage wherever you want to spot cool, and with all the openings open the ambiant (measured with probes) have never gone more than 2C over room temp.
I always overclock as hard as I can so I am constantly changing things around but temps have never been a problem. I currently watercool and have the rad air blowing into the case. This gives me an extra 120mm (moved from cpu) with the factory front 120 blowing through the drive cage onto the memory. Temps are still very low. No probes anymore but the seasonic s12 600 never goes over 1000rpm.
F@H 24/7 [email protected] GTO2 unlocked, game at XT clocks, [email protected]. San Diego and nF4 water cooled.
Reviews of the crossflow have shown it is noisy, and ineffective as noted, save your money.