10" box fan cut into the side of me case.

digitalwanderer · Nov 19, 2002, 03:01 PM

I finally got tired of messing around with all those little black 80 & 120cm fans and just chopped up a 10" box fan (not really that one, but it looks the same) I found in my basement and cut a BIG hole in the side of my case and attached the sucker. It's on a seperate power supply, has three speeds, and replaces 4-80cm & 2-120cm fans. It's quieter, my temps are looking quite a bit better (my cpu only went up 1C on a 3dm2k1se run and my mobo temp is down 7F

), and I'm feeling quietly pleased.

One small problem, it IS a bit butt-ugly..even by my standards.

I'm working on trying to fix that now, but I'm gonna have to pull an inside straight to pull it off.

JCLW · Nov 19, 2002, 03:08 PM

Nice.

Is that for Bubbles?

- JW

digitalwanderer · Nov 19, 2002, 03:39 PM

Yup, Bubbles is the latest victim of me squirrliness again.

I just powered her down to pull the last of the fans out of her and re-arrange the wires all proper.

I STILL haven't figured out how to make it look a bit nicer yet short of fabricating an entire enclosure to throw on top of it.

***Zardon*** · Nov 19, 2002, 03:54 PM

any pics to show us?

digitalwanderer · Nov 19, 2002, 04:16 PM

...they're the old fashioned 35mm kind so I'll have to get them developed tomorrow.

I'm gonna hook up me viddy cam to the VCR and do a few budge screengrabs quick though so you can get an idea.

reno · Nov 19, 2002, 08:23 PM

Was it very hard custom fitting that beast to your case?

Is it filtered?

Nov 19, 2002, 08:25 PM

Dont do it bro !!!
Unless you plan to install a built in vacum cleaner in the case.
The dust alone is gonna be terrible.

Even as an exhaust its gonna suck bad stuff in through the other holes.

And have you considered the fact that that thing probably isnt magneticly shielded ???

Dont you love Bubbles anymore......huh ??

digitalwanderer · Nov 19, 2002, 09:02 PM

Hey, this is me other baby we're talking about! I've had it going now for about 8 hours and it's kicking just fine thanks.

digitalwanderer · Nov 20, 2002, 12:06 PM

Hee-hee-hee! Bubbles looped 3dm2k1se all night at 1.75Ghz! I haven't even increased her core voltage yet, I think she just has a tad more juice with all the fans gone.

SWEET! I might be able to squeeze a few more Mhz out of the old girl yet!

digitalwanderer · Nov 20, 2002, 12:34 PM

The good picts are coming, these are just from a jury-rigged camcorder I hooked up in the computer room for fun this morning. (Maddy LOVES it! Methinks me has a new "Digi-cam"

)

Darksider · Nov 20, 2002, 01:01 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by GREEKRAGE
Dont do it bro !!!
Unless you plan to install a built in vacum cleaner in the case.
The dust alone is gonna be terrible.

Even as an exhaust its gonna suck bad stuff in through the other holes.

And have you considered the fact that that thing probably isnt magneticly shielded ???

Dont you love Bubbles anymore......huh ??

He's right...

The dust and dirt in that thing is going to be TERRIBLE! Take that fan out and put it next to your monitor. I'd be willing to bet that it wavers like crazy. All that is going to be bad situated right over the guts of your computer.

Plus, I'll say it again, the dust is going to be terrible! You'll be cleaning out that thing all the time. :P

digitalwanderer · Nov 20, 2002, 02:51 PM

I thought about that a bit half-way thru chopping, but decided if'n it was a problem then I'd just stick screening in the big hole and put it on the side facing the wall.

Besides, if it did damage anything on me precious I've got a pretty good back-up system (Blue) until the replacement bits for Bubbles arrived.

I'm on a zero IT budget for NEW UPGRADES....repair and mainenance expenses are an entirely different story....

skastel · Nov 20, 2002, 03:24 PM

I'm considering a similar mod to one of my children. But it's no 10" box fan, it's a 12" "Air Circulator" not sure why it's different other than the fact that it could probably move enough CFM's to cool a nuclear reaction

lol
Not sure if I'm going to yet though I already have 5 case fans setup on it and it's damn cool most of the time, so no big rush, plus i like the quiet mode with only the CPU fan on. A 12" monster of a fan isn't going to help keep things quiet.

digitalwanderer · Nov 20, 2002, 03:40 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by skastel
A 12" monster of a fan isn't going to help keep things quiet.

You might just be surprised. This thing is a 3-speed and in low it's whisper quiet, at high it's a muted roar. (Pretty cool sounding actually, especially the way it winds itself up from low to high.

)

One big fan might just be quieter than 5 little fans. I'm thinking if'n I kill off my top fan and figure out a way to fit the powersupply back in her case she might actually be on the kind of quiet side after I add the additional filter screen to the big fan.

~~DriveEuro~~ · Nov 20, 2002, 05:13 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by digitalwanderer
I thought about that a bit half-way thru chopping, but decided if'n it was a problem then I'd just stick screening in the big hole and put it on the side facing the wall.

I did that on my case...two pieces of window screen on each fan, one piece layed at a 45 degree angle of the other....I ran the comp for 1 week, the screen was TOTALLY covered in duston all the intake fans...and my house isn't really all that dusty. I just have to remember to clean them every week. I just take a piece of scotch tape and move it over the dirt to pick it up ... works very well.

Nov 20, 2002, 05:26 PM

Why not just move to KANSAS and always leave the windows open...

Kelsenellenelvian · Nov 20, 2002, 05:28 PM

God i idea cheers to you just try and keep buubles clean and tell us how high you can push 'er..

reno · Nov 21, 2002, 10:30 AM

I want to route a duct in from outside (live in wisconsin, temps around 40 fahrenheit right now) and blow it straight into my case...it's really dry too, so hopefully it wouldn't hurt anything....I may just end up leaving my stuff just the way it is though

I hate being limited by my mobo...I can boot up at 2.1ghz (17x124) now, but have to have my ram set at 1:1 instead of 3:4 (200mhz instead of 266mhz ram) for an effective ram speed of 248mhz...but then my harddrive starts making corrupt transfers and my videocard goes wonkers...considering the AGP is running at 81mhz (instead of 66) and my PCI bus is running at a dangerous 41mhz (instead of 33)...hehe. I need a lockable AGP/PCI divider mobo...I mean, a 400 mhz overclock on air on a willy P4 isn't bad at all. I think at least.

digitalwanderer · Nov 21, 2002, 10:47 AM

Me and Maddy spent the morning having some fun with a 79 cent furnace filter, my old CUSL2-C mobo box, some scissors, and some duct & electrical tape to come up with a tasteful slip-on dustcover that actually improves it's appearance too.

Pictures later when she quits playing with the darned camera.

digitalwanderer · Nov 21, 2002, 12:56 PM

***Zardon*** · Nov 21, 2002, 01:41 PM

you certainly come up with some interesting case mods Digi !!!

Renegade[CSR] · Nov 21, 2002, 03:08 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by reno
I want to route a duct in from outside (live in wisconsin, temps around 40 fahrenheit right now) and blow it straight into my case...it's really dry too, so hopefully it wouldn't hurt anything....I may just end up leaving my stuff just the way it is though

Yes I would consider that too, living in...uh..my undisclosed renegade location (

) considering how cold it gets in winter here, but I like keeping the snow outside of my case.

Zarathustra · Nov 25, 2002, 01:47 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Renegade[CSR]
Yes I would consider that too, living in...uh..my undisclosed renegade location ()

Anyway Dig, I don't see the signs of the 10lbs of duct tape. Got a wee bit clever with it didn't you? When do the cold cathodes go in?

digitalwanderer · Nov 25, 2002, 03:42 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Zarathustra
Anyway Dig, I don't see the signs of the 10lbs of duct tape. Got a wee bit clever with it didn't you? When do the cold cathodes go in?

The duct tape has cleverly been hidden by the electrical tape. (GADS am I vain or what?!?) I'm thinking of making a new dust cover using a paper-style hepa-furnace filter & a whole lot less tape. Aside from probably working a bit better, I could also have me wife's artist friend do a big picture of my avatar on it in watercolor without screwing up it's breathability.

(Now THAT is vain.

)

Zarathustra · Nov 26, 2002, 01:16 AM

Actually a mural would be rather cool, assuming you take plenty of pics of it

reno · Nov 26, 2002, 10:19 AM

Now...I think since you've done this you should mount one