Ugly? yes !, loud? no!, cool mofsets? yes !

***Zardon*** · Apr 10, 2005, 06:10 AM

ugly aint it?

well it may well be, but its lowered the FX-55 CPU temps by 4c, motherboard temps by 5C and the XFX 6800 ultras temps by 3-5c.

I simply modded a (if you dont have one shame on you), a zalman swinging arm, bent out the fan catches, and modded a bolt with closing screw so it could take two 120mm fans. (it still needs filed).

Extreme fan cooling with very little noise, the joy of a good 120mm fan! (or 4

)

The_Neon_Cowboy · Apr 10, 2005, 06:16 AM

I'm still waiting on them to come out with a case that the entire side is one big quiet fan....

TJ- · Apr 10, 2005, 06:27 AM

over crowded a bit?

***Zardon*** · Apr 10, 2005, 06:32 AM

the machine is never the same, always altered for testing. its a tiny lil tsuami but i run it with the case panel off anyway.

BWX · Apr 10, 2005, 06:37 AM

I have been running my case side off for a while- it's always cooler that way. More dusting is needed, and it doesn't look as good, but who cares- function over form.

bake15 · Apr 10, 2005, 06:54 AM

you should get a cm stacker, much easyer to work with

***Zardon*** · Apr 10, 2005, 07:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bake15

you should get a cm stacker, much easyer to work with

Yeah ive been looking at one of those for a while, but try running a full time job and this site and ordering hardware - aint easy getting time (unless its free)

A case is quite a minor part of my system to be honest, the thing isnt sitting "built", its in a constant state of flux, so it doesnt really matter what it is.

bake15 · Apr 10, 2005, 07:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zardon

Yeah ive been looking at one of those for a while, but try running a full time job and this site and ordering hardware - aint easy getting time (unless its free)

A case is quite a minor part of my system to be honest, the thing isnt sitting "built", its in a constant state of flux, so it doesnt really matter what it is.

maybe you should try and get one to review(and dont send it back

)

drakesteakn · Apr 10, 2005, 11:21 AM

as long as it cools, it doesnt have to be pretty

Sandok · Apr 10, 2005, 11:29 AM

Well I need quite and good looks

Gonna do the same sorta mod as Zardon as soon as my pieces arrive!

jasonbourne · Apr 10, 2005, 11:51 AM

zaron what do u do for a living ?

CDsDontBurn · Apr 10, 2005, 12:13 PM

i couldn't live with that wire nest in my system. But as you said, if it's always changing, it doesn't matter what the wiring looks like

***Zardon*** · Apr 10, 2005, 12:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jasonbourne

zaron what do u do for a living ?

graphics.

mike2h · Apr 10, 2005, 12:24 PM

i would want a larger case just to have more room to work in.
might have to try your little mod on my arm. i have one 80mm on it right now.
thx for the tip!

***Zardon*** · Apr 10, 2005, 12:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mike2h

i would want a larger case just to have more room to work in.
might have to try your little mod on my arm. i have one 80mm on it right now.
thx for the tip!

yes a larger case might be an option for ease of use, its one of those things ive always meant to get around to but im normally too busy testing to really worry about that.

the Zalman arms are one of the most useful and versatile little pieces of hardware for a system, I swear by them and normally have a few laying around. If im building a system for someone I always budget the £15 into the system price and put a high quality, low noise 120mm or 92mm fan on it, this really does cool the whole system down and if you pick a good fan will not add anything (or very little) to the overall system noise.

What quite a few people fail to understand is that, even though most well built systems have a fan on the front sucking in cool air, by the time it gets past the hard drives it has warmed up a little. using a zalman arm you are forcing air onto the motherboard, mofsets, and if you use a larger 120mm this can get quite some coverage indeed. Once the air hits the motherboard, it then spreads out over a much wider section cooling a great area. Its a basic principal ive been using for years, and it amused me to see the newer Intel coolers and some coolers from gigabyte using a similar principal of blowing air out sideways over the mofsets. Its also a great idea for those with passive northbridge cooling or those with loud northbridge fans (the poor quality Abit NB fans spring to mind), simply remove it, buy a high quality zalman passive cooler and a zalman arm and you are then set with better cooling, low noise and the added benefit of greater cooling coverage.

Look into a couple of 120mm Vantec stealth fans mike, they are real quiet but push out ample CFM for great internal airflow. Then just bend out the little metal holding sections on the arm and you can easily rotate and add two 120mm fans. Mounting options are varied from case holes in the chassis to hard drive screw holes. All work great.

CDsDontBurn · Apr 10, 2005, 12:55 PM

The principle of you having the zalman arm w/case fans would be nearly the same as having a side panel fan right? The only downfall of having a side panel fan is that you cannot move it, and you are limited to just the one fan (usually an 80mm fan). My side panel fan sits right over my 6800 and definately helps keep it cool. But one can mod their case to put an extra fan on their side panel and keep a fan blowing over their mosfets and anywhere else they want and keep the side panel on the case.

mike2h · Apr 10, 2005, 01:11 PM

zardon, you are 100% right. i cringe when i see people trying to get good oc's with no real airflow, aspecially in the areas you mentioned. & my fears are always supported by their reported temps & stability issues.
the problem i have right now is case room(after i make a comment to you about lg case size

). as much as i like the 2x120 concept not sure if i can make it fit. look here - Offical Show Your Rig Off.
i do have a swiftech active cooler on my chipset so am not to concerned there.
however my wifes comp is a full tower & i know i can oc it higher with better cooling. she has put a limit in as far as noise is concerned, this would be a good workaround.

cdsdonotburn take a look at above link. got it covered.

***Zardon*** · Apr 10, 2005, 01:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CDsDontBurn

The principle of you having the zalman arm w/case fans would be nearly the same as having a side panel fan right? The only downfall of having a side panel fan is that you cannot move it, and you are limited to just the one fan (usually an 80mm fan). My side panel fan sits right over my 6800 and definately helps keep it cool. But one can mod their case to put an extra fan on their side panel and keep a fan blowing over their mosfets and anywhere else they want and keep the side panel on the case.

The principal is the same yes, but you are limited with a case fan to the position its set, also not many sides can take 1 120mm fan never mind 2. Its also much more convenient to just simply remove the arm therefore the fans and move from rig to rig

Incidentally you CAN put the side panel on with the zalman arm in the position i showed you - I just dont have it on because im always poking about with cards etc.

CDsDontBurn · Apr 10, 2005, 01:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mike2h

zardon, you are 100% right. i cringe when i see people trying to get good oc's with no real airflow, aspecially in the areas you mentioned. & my fears are always supported by their reported temps & stability issues.
the problem i have right now is case room(after i make a comment to you about lg case size

). as much as i like the 2x120 concept not sure if i can make it fit. look here - Offical Show Your Rig Off.
i do have a swiftech active cooler on my chipset so am not to concerned there.
however my wifes comp is a full tower & i know i can oc it higher with better cooling. she has put a limit in as far as noise is concerned, this would be a good workaround.

cdsdonotburn take a look at above link. got it covered.

Yea, i have seen your case before. There is a side panel there right? Or is it just being hung up by something that i can't see, because if you do have a side panel there, it's really clean

. If there is a side panel there, did it come like that, or did you mod the second airway there for another fan?

***Zardon*** · Apr 10, 2005, 01:59 PM

I just ordered a stacker case to play with, I just found out with the side case on, temps rose by 5c, obviously two 6800 ultras and an FX55 put out too much heat for such a confined area.

bake15 · Apr 10, 2005, 02:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zardon

I just ordered a stacker case to play with, I just found out with the side case on, temps rose by 5c, obviously two 6800 ultras and an FX55 put out too much heat for such a confined area.

hehehe i knew you would

are you getting the case blower with it? just got one and it makes a hell of a difference, droped my case temps by over 5c.