Re: Making a CPU duct to draw outside air onto CPU!
 

Ah that makes sense. Although my E6600 is clocked, and runs 24/7 at 100% due to Distributed computing stuff, I haven't noted excessive noise with the Arctic Freezer. Still I'll bear in mind the Noctura when I get a quad core :D

Re: Making a CPU duct to draw outside air onto CPU!
 

Just my 2p on this,
The cpu cooler will be your limiting factor. Most highend air coolers these days are side draft coolers because there is less air resistnace blowing across the heatsink than down it where ultimatly it hits a solid wall. That and heat pipes have mostly fixed the issues with side draft coolers. Its best to have these setup so that they the hot air to the back of the case where it is then sucked out by your rear fans. The only downside is loss of cooling air to the motherboard itself around the cpu.

One thing you can do is make use of spare 5 1/4" drive bays. I did see the other day that mapplins do centrifugal fans which sit in the place of a rom drive. you could use some of these to pull in air at the front of the case and duct it directly into the path of your cpu cooler as height wise they should be fairly close and so the flow should be mostly horizontal.

However i have no experience with these things as im entirely water cooled these days :D

Edit - http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?...48839&doy=19m7
This is what i saw but as i said i've no experience with them and centrifugual fans can be quite noisey (FX5800 anyone :))

Re: Making a CPU duct to draw outside air onto CPU!
 

Some of those coolers look pretty expensive, not to mention HEAVY, and maybe too noisy :disturbd: I want to reduce fan noise!

A mates bought a Zalman CNPS9500:
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Produ...oductID=256319

he asked me to fit it for him and it's HUGE and HEAVY!!! It's heavier than the weight recommended for the socket, that's a concern! It has a fan controller and it's quiet, but it can get noisy if you want to get the temps down more.

The recommended weight for socket AM2 is 450g, the Zalman weighs 530g and Zing, that bloody Noctua NH-U12F weighs 790g :Yikes: I've just built this system and it's gotta last a few years, don't want some fancy cooler doing some unseen damage due to it's weight! :dunce:

My PSU doesn't have a fan underneath so all hot air must be exhausted at the rear, that's why I have 3 x 80mm fans exhausting air. The CPU Fan has a 4 pin header as AM2 supports PWM fan control, so I think that's why the CPU Fan speed gets louder as the temp goes up.

And as I understand the ducting, it's best to have a gap between the end of the duct and CPU heatsink so the cooler air has a clear path down and air won't get obstructed if it hits the heatsink directly if the duct is touching it.

So I have 2 scenarios: Better HSF or Ducting!

Ducting sounds plausible due to having a bigger fan than on the CPU pushing more CFM's down the duct to the heatsink, so the cooler outside air hitting the heatsink will also mean less heat coming off the heatsink and being blown into the case. The combination of the 80mm fans exhausting and 120mm fans directing the hot air to the rear of the case should keep it cool. I also have an 80mm intake fan at the front blowing cool air onto the 120mm fan under the HDD bay, so in theory (famous last words) it sounds 'cool' :)

On the other hand, a f00king big heatsink and fan the size of a breeze block hanging off you CPU socket looks a bit worrying! Yes, some have a bracket on the back of the motherboard they clamp onto, but it's still heavy! They probabaly do work but some can't have the fan moved so air is either blown straight down or sideways, something that needs to be considered when orienting fans.

In all honesty, I've spent way too much already to splash out on a £30-£40 HSF, hence the ducting query, i'm not made of money unfortunately so I just can't afford that option yet!

If people still feel ducting is a waste of time then I'll just have to wait until I can afford a HSF, but I'd still like to try just for curiosity sake :angel:

Re: Making a CPU duct to draw outside air onto CPU!
 

Dude the noctua does not fit the same as the stock fan it has its own assembly and is heavy but will be fine. It will also be a lot less noisy than stock cuz its a bigger fan shifting more air and spinning slower

Re: Making a CPU duct to draw outside air onto CPU!
 

Ducting can help, and well old cerial boxes and some tape will do a very ad-hoc and cheap solution!
I did it many years ago when the side panel of my case had a fan on it slightly out of line with the cpu, i ducted the two together and dropped cpu temps by 5c ish.

And yeah as Zing has said all the heavy heatsinks will have there own mounting bracket which does away with the normal weight limit

Re: Making a CPU duct to draw outside air onto CPU!
 

But I can't afford a new HSF at the moment :(

Anyone want to donate one :angel:, LOL!!!

The CPU Fan is definitely adjusting it's speed to the CPU temp, just did a 3DMark06 and you can hear the CPU fan get louder the longer the tests run.

Only thing I can do is mess about with a duct and see what happens until I can afford a new HSF, it seems most people think that's a better option!

Re: Making a CPU duct to draw outside air onto CPU!
 

I dont think it is ;)

Re: Making a CPU duct to draw outside air onto CPU!
 

tbh - new processor + mobo (possibly) after you have cooked both, will outweigh the cost of a bit of copper and a fan for £30 :tu:

Re: Making a CPU duct to draw outside air onto CPU!
 

What? Worth messing about with ducting or the CPU FAN?

If you mean the CPU Fan, it definitely is as ANUS Probe, sorry, ASUS Probe shows the CPU Fan at 3,300 RPM, after 3DMark06 it was 5,600 RPM and noticeably louder! Also, the pinout for the CPU Fan connector has one pin labelled RPM Adjustment.

From the manual:
It also wasn't the PSU either as I put my ear to that and it was all quiet :)

@cmatt: Big badda BOOM! I'll try not to make too loud a bang then :erm:

Re: Making a CPU duct to draw outside air onto CPU!
 

my fan is keeping my overclocked cpu with raised vcore cool and is spinning @ 1300 rpm point extended made proven job done ;)

Re: Making a CPU duct to draw outside air onto CPU!
 

OK, OK I'll consider the Noctua! :)

But I still want to try ducting :D

Re: Making a CPU duct to draw outside air onto CPU!
 

Cool hope it goes well for ya ;)

Bare in mind I dont think anyone who offers IT advice on this forum recommends using the stock cooler

Re: Making a CPU duct to draw outside air onto CPU!
 

I know zing, stock = n00b :) What, you just call me a n00b :D

Re: Making a CPU duct to draw outside air onto CPU!
 

I hope it works for you mate the ducting that is although I cant really see it as the fans spinning quite quick and ducting around it could create a bass effect on it making the sound frequency lower but deeper . I could be talking poop but I dont believe I am. Let us know how your bodge errrrr ducting works ;)

Re: Making a CPU duct to draw outside air onto CPU!
 

qft - although im strapped for cash so er will be using the stock cooler till i can afford that turniq that i posted earlier :p: