controlling the computer case 'output' air.
 

My case with lots of goodies inside, like an AMD 1800+ and two 100+ gig harddrives and ram, and v-card, runs very smoothly. After about 12 hours of operation, my computer's fans output very hot air, and becomes very unstable, and loses video output "vga signal not detected"- says my monitor. Should i get another case with more case fans? Is this characteristic of an 'overheating' problem???
snuffleupagusnbigbird0@hotmail.com
Thanks.

my comp gets very hot too and my room is some 10-20 degrees warmer than the rest of the house at all times it seems. Sounds like your video card is overclocked too high perhaps, or your case is cooling ineffectively.

more case fans are not necessarily the answer. You need to make sure you are creating an effective flow of air through your case. There are two basic ways to design your airflow. One is a positive pressure system where you pump lots of cool air in to the case, to cool it down. The other is a negative pressure system, where the emphasis is on removing the hot air. Most individuals build positive pressure systems, but cases professionally designed tend to use a negative pressure system. That's not to say that one is better than the other per se, but the latter is certainly cheaper in non-critical situations. Make sure when you design your airflow, to make it so that air is consistently replaced throughout the case, especially in critical areas (CPU, GPU, HD's).

however, it's not obvious that heat is your problem. Case/CPU temperatures tend to even themselves out long before 12 hours of consistent use. Not to say heat isn't your problem, but you might want to look for loose connections that might be corrupting data slowly over time or other small things like that. good luck.

well said, but might i add that i've heard that ideally, an equal mix of positive and negative (cool input and warm output) fans are the best way to go, I have a rear input and a pci output, not the best, but it's enough for me, because the cool air goes right over the cpu :nod:

i have new information for all of you. thanks for your help
 

I have managed to have my computer run for over 48 hours without a problem. My video card is working well, I can continue to play games, and write e-mails, surf, and a lot of other things (simultaneously). I seem to have figured out a temporary solution: I took one of the case sides off and am using a regular fan to blow air into it. I think this will accelerate the dust accumulation process but as long as my computer is running, it is all good. Even thought it works, I still do not know the cause. I think that it is the CPU: 1800+, because the cpu fan blows very hot air from it, and from my large harddrives. I think with these hot computer parts running at the same time, my computer is becoming unstable due to the heat created. (and the elevated temperature inside the case). Unfortunately, my case does not have anymore fan options, that I have not used. so I guess it is time for a new case. Money,... Money,.... And more money,... Being put into this money hungry computer. )-:

As James said, more fans are not necessarily better. More effective airflow is better. This is true not only of the internal airflow, however, but of your external airflow. All your cooling solutions do is try to create a low enough equilibrium with the ambient air temperature. If you keep recycling the same heated air, you won't be able to lower your temmperature at all no matter how effective your cooling. Make sure you have adequate airflow surrounding your computer and also the room that it is in.

True.

Over pressure or under pressure is not good for efficient cooling. The important thing is getting an equal amount of air going out that is coming in.

also your room temperature is a major factor
keeping computers in a cool place is a smart thing to do
but not a place with high moisture in the air or places where condensation would form

such as fridge

what kinda of case do you have..also your cable management might havea factor in dealing with adequte air cooling

Thanks for all the replies.....
 

So I have read all of your responses, and some of them are quite techincal, but easily understood. I have just bought a Thermaltake case with 7 fans and a termperature gauge with fan control. My case now sits at around 23.3celcius when the computer is idle (downloading), and when i am gaming, it is at 28.7celcius. So I hope those are respectable (ideal) temerature read-outs. My computer is very stable and i have left it on for more than 36 hours.
The fans are totally customizable since i can have them blowing in or out, buy physically flipping them in their cages. Otherwise, the fans are also very silent. The only other issue i suppose is that my out-blowing fans blow out hot air... is there anyway that i could cool this air down? before my room gets warmer?

theres no real way to do this, the air blowing out hot is a good thing as this means that its expelling heat from your case. in most uses this shouldnt be enough heat to make any differance in the temp of your room.

:wavey: it does for me!!! when its cold.. it's nice in my room.. when its summer and hot out.. :cry: :cry: :cry: !!! i have to force myself to go on a bike ride or something cuz it sso darn hot in here.. but that cuz of monitor too..

XASER III poor cooling - need help
 

:mad:
I have been trying to make my motherboard temp (ASUS P4T) to come down from 34C when idle for a week now.

I had the same stuff inside a Xaser II and the temp was 24C idle or not.

I looks that the new position of the hdds is not good. I have 3 SCSIs and 1 ide, you can imagine the bunch of connection cables living in there. The room temperature must be around 20C.

What is more curious is that even with the side panel open, the temperature does not go down substantially.

BTW Thermaltake were nuts to lead the hdds so close to the side panel; it is very difficult to slide the panel close due to the cables and more due to the power cables hitting the panel.

Any ideas?

:cry:

nice case, but output air is pretty warm.
 

So all your comments range from "fans are not the answer" to varying the case pressure. This is interesting, however, I think my next possible solution for this problem is to get the ThermalTake Aquarius 2 cooling system. Several weeks ago, like i posted, i got a Thermaltake Xaser 3 case with 7 quiet fans. (my other computer only needs one of these coloured fans, and is super quiet, but with seven running at the same time, with the cpu fan, and the PS fan, it is negligible that the sound is overly quiet). Whatever..., So my new case has an option for the Aquarius 2 system, and I might go and get it to see if it will cool my output air.
***ps- with the 7 fans, my case temperature (according to the thermaltake display), is around 24-28 degrees celcius, or approx: 82.04F or 75.2F.
***(Plus- i have always used rounded computer cables, instead of the 'ribbon type' grey cables.)
***Also the case is pretty damn heavy!

There are fans you can attach into a pci slot it blows out the air

really nifty

all the fans bring in air
but some needs to get out
just put it right next to your cpu and your set!
http://www.compusa.com/products/prod...617&pfp=BROWSE