clueless about case cooling

[adrift]

assuming i dont know a thing about cooling (and really i dont) where would i start? As far as i can tell, besides the fan on my graphics card, the case fan, and the fan on the mother board all i have are those 3. The case fan and the fan on the mother board are connected to the motherboard on what i can see are the only two fan slots on it. I do see another perforated fan area on the front of my case, but dont know how good that'll do seeing as air cant go in or out without cutting a huge hole in the front of my computer. Guess my question is... even if i did buy smaller fans, how would i go about giving them power if i only have two slots on the motherboard? by the way i have an asus 266-c. If anyone can direct me to a website or something for case cooling that would be appreciated too.
thanks
drift

[Wiggo]

The best setups pull cold air in thru the lower font of the case and expel the hot air at the rear and top and have an intake over the AGP0/PCI cards (take a look at the "Thunder" link in my sig as an example of good, well over the top atm w/ 3 SMART FAN II's anyway). ;)
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[adrift]

Ok Wiggo, took your advice and bought a fan and placed it near the front of the bottom portion of the case. It looks like im gonna have to eventually upgrade this case though cause there's nothing but a tiny vent on the front bottom portion for air to come in through and there's really only room for one fan at the rear. I've placed the fan in the front at an angle facing diagonally up in order to take advantage of what little air that can come in through the slot on the bottom. The intake and outtake fans seem kinda puny though. Ill be looking into that Volcano 7+ there pretty soon. Thankfully i found an extra slot on my motherboard for the front fan, but now i know i've run out of fan slots... so um... does that mean i'd need a new mb for extra fans or is there another option? Id still like to place an intake directly above the agp card per your suggestion, but the lack of fan slots is preventing me from accomplishing that... lets see um... oh yeah, I've been reading about folks attaching cardboard and what not to the sides of the fans to allow air to more directly get in and out. Does this really work? I've also heard of folks cutting holes in the sides of thier case to allow side fans to blow air over the pc cards and mb, but doesnt that make taking off the side a bit complex (what with fans attached to the side of the case). I have an Asus A7v266-c mb and was told that i could download a utility called asus pc probe to improove fan speeds, but I can't seem to locate that file on any of Asus' websites nor do links that i've found on Google seem to work. So instead i've opted for Speedfan, but i'm not sure how well this utility is working with my mb. Seems that i can adjust the tempature through this utility but when i try to configure the fans, speed and voltages there are no readings available to configure. Maybe im doing something wrong on my side though. With the addition of the new fan i've seen some difference in temps, but right now after running this computer for 2 days straight (as i usually leave this thing on continuously) i'm seeing temps of 29 C for the board and 61 C for the cpu (which ive been told is certainly not good). Im getting these temps even though the side is cracked open a bit. By the way im not over clocking at all right now and im afraid to do so because of these kinds of temperatures. One other thing i have a question about. My Ti4200 video card is directly above my audigy sound card with very very little space between the Ti's fan and the sound card. Common sence tells me that if i move the sound card i can free up space for the video card's fan, but again im a bit restricted to space. Just wondering if trying to move things around will have any benifits.

Sorry for the long reply. and thanks again
Blessings
Drift

[Wiggo]

We all learn the hard way, believe me (well 95% of us do). ;)

Never power fans off the motherboard!

If they don't burn the mobo out they can cause instability problems and poor overclockin'/benchtest results. :devil win

Ya may find that the software is no longer available as the hardware that Asus uses is so unpredictable. :(

Movin' the soundcard will help but make sure to uninstall it first and remove it's software before ya shut it down to move it. Also watch ya IRQ's as ya do this so check the mobo manual for an unshared PCI slot to move it to. ;)

if I missed somethin' there let me know

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[adrift]

ah... so i should buy adapters to the 3 pin connectors on the fans i own right now and then plug them into the the sockets that are coming out of the power supply (that way i avoid plugging into the mb)??? Told you i was CLUELESS lol. You need to spell these things out for me. Crazy thing is im reading mag's like crazy, trying to keep up with these forums and guides and still, im finding that some things just dont come natural like. Ohwell, maybe im just dense. Thank you very much for you're help Wiggo. you've been there for me from the beginning, and i cant express how much that means to me. Folks down under must be a different type. All in all im thinking it'd be easier to just buy a new case. Just one more question. How hard would it be to install a new heatsink like the Volcano 7+ I mean wont the old heatsink be glued down???
ok well right now i got this thing to 25/55 figure that aint too bad.
Blessings
Drift

[CheeZmonZter]

Adrift one thing that you need to worry about is the computer case sitting directly on carpet. This can cause the front fan to suck up a lot more dust and also can close off the air intake, reducing air flow. Try building a computer stand or something to lift the case off of the floor. This will keep the inside of the case a lot cleaner and help get the air in and out of the case!:thumb:

[adrift]

ok thanks for the advice Cheez, right now i have it sitting up on a table next to my monitor, so i should be ok for now.
Blessings
Drift

[urslow]

Wiggo,
Above you made a statement that has me confused a bit, so i thought I'd ask for clarification.

You said to never (or not to) power a fan from the mobo. So then how do you power the case fan?

Al

[Wiggo]

I use a 3 to 4 pin adaptor to power them directly from the power supply and just drop the monitor wire out and fit it into a new 3 pin socket to still let the mobo monitor the speed. ;)
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[urslow]

Thanks. I appreciate the clarication.

Al