keeping cpu cool with stock heatsink/fan setup

K

konsole

Member
I bought a computer case that has a roughly 3 inch long duct thats connected to the side panel and is aimed directly at the cpu assembly. I think the case is the Foxconn TS-001 or something like that. The problem though is that the duct stops about 2 inches shy of the cpu assembly so the cpu fan sucks in alot of heat from the video card below it. So what I did was mold some cardboard to the end of the duct so that it now almost touches the cpu fan. Well before I did this the cpu temp. was reading about 45 deg. celcius at idle but now reads about 36 deg. at idle. So a drop of almost 10 deg. celcius is rather large and thought you guys might like to know that running a duct from the side panel straight to the cpu fan will provide some great cooling even for the stock heatsink and fan setup.

Remember that I said was using the stock heatsink and fan assembly and its for the core2duo E8400. I'm sure others have gotten similar if not lower temperatures with the stock fan and heatsink but I thought the drop in temperature I experienced was worth sharing.
 
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For quite a few years, I ran a duct just like that to cool my Athlon XP 2700+ in my old eMachines case. Worked like a charm. But now that I'm using different parts in a bigger case, a duct didn't help at all. This seems to work best with smaller cases.
 
It probably comes into effect in cases with poorer airflow than the larger, well ventilated ones. Seeing as how not everyone wants/has/can afford one of these, this is a pretty good tip. For some reason, something of this nature has never really even crossed my mind. I'll keep it in a mental note should it ever require use in the future, thanks.
 
Cheap and effective mod...I like:D

Do you have any pics to go with the advice?

I saw on another forum where a guy took the stock fan off his graphics card and made a shroud from the side fan to the card. He was pushing with 120mm fan through his card...temps were sick! I think he was idle in the mid 30c range and full load in the high 40c range!
 
ScOuT said:
Cheap and effective mod...I like:D

Do you have any pics to go with the advice?

I saw on another forum where a guy took the stock fan off his graphics card and made a shroud from the side fan to the card. He was pushing with 120mm fan through his card...temps were sick! I think he was idle in the mid 30c range and full load in the high 40c range!
Click to expand...

well my case came with a 3 inch long duct anyway but there was a bit too much space between the end of the duct and the cpu assembly. This was allowing the left over heat from the video card to rise and get sucked into the cpu fan. That is how most setups are and it seems crazy to have the hottest item in the case to be just below the second hottest item in the case. Since the cpu assembly on most cases faces the side panel of the case what you can do is just cut a hole in the side panel and mold a duct from the panel to right up against the cpu assembly. This will cause the cpu fan to draw cool air directly from outside the case and the heat thats risen from the video card will mainly flow around the duct and out your exhaust fans.
 
ScOuT said:
Cheap and effective mod...I like:D

Do you have any pics to go with the advice?

I saw on another forum where a guy took the stock fan off his graphics card and made a shroud from the side fan to the card. He was pushing with 120mm fan through his card...temps were sick! I think he was idle in the mid 30c range and full load in the high 40c range!
Click to expand...

While a much more expensive way to go about it, my Ice Q4 4850 is idling as we speak at 35*c, I've never seen it get past 55*c and I have the fan at 55%. When I throttle out the fan, I get into high 20's idle, and high 30's load. Give or take. Under load it'll break into the 40's with 100% every now and again. But I thought that was ridiculous for a 4850. I have it Oc'd too, although performance there was lack luster.

I also second the pic request. Visual aid would be nice here, especially to see how "Ghetto mod" it looks.
 
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