cdbrown Posted October 2, 2008 Posted October 2, 2008 (edited) We have a nice new lowline cabinet in order to hide all the components, problem with this is the wife likes to keep the doors closed and of course the htpc (on one side of the cab) and the avr and iq2 (on the other side) heat up their respective spaces rather quickly. When the doors are open it all seems to run fairly cool. This morning I went to insert a disc into the htpc and it was very hot to touch and took about 30mins for the case to cool down. So I'm going to have to install some fans on the back. Found coolermaster 120mm long life which boasts 70CFM at 19dBA. 2 fans for each of the cabinets (1 intake, 1 exhaust). How are you all mounting these fans to ensure the fans don't add to much sound through transferring vibration to the rear panel of the cabinet? Each cabinet has the larger bit of equipment on the bottom, shelf and then something on top. Was thinking of positioning the fans so that a portion of the fans are above the shelf, but most below therefore getting air circulation at top and bottom. Does this sound ok? Cheers -cdbrown Edited October 2, 2008 by cdbrown
Guest obee Posted October 2, 2008 Posted October 2, 2008 Only reason I mounted a fan is because of the design of the cabinet and the way the doors can't be left open. Sounds like you need to have a serious discussion with the better half.
myrantz Posted October 2, 2008 Posted October 2, 2008 Never really a fan of fans... Most HT stuffs are designed to dissipate heat via normal convection. Adding a fan upsets that, and the situation can get worse if an incorrectly placed fan (or more) create some dead air zones. Possible to suspend the fan in mid air for ur cabinet?
markc3012 Posted October 2, 2008 Posted October 2, 2008 Only one brand of fans to get Noctua, they are sensational & the quietest fans you can get. Do some googling for reviews etc.. and you will be very happy with them
cdbrown Posted October 2, 2008 Author Posted October 2, 2008 No space at all in the cabinet. The HTPC is constantly exhausting heat from both the PSU and CPU as well as various other components, blowing directly at the back of the cabinet. With the door open, this creates enough circulation with the cooler air outside so no probs. Haven't really noticed any real heat issues with the passively cooled AVR or IQ2, but blowing air around in the cab (not directly into the vents of the equipment) must be better than having it in an effectively closed box.
Johnmw1 Posted October 2, 2008 Posted October 2, 2008 There is some good reading info from http://www.coolcomponents.com/ and they have some very nice stuff to go with it also, only down side is it's US based and has a hefty price tag for some of it. I would also have to recommend Noctua as the choice of fans if that is the way you decide to go, they are so good. John
Shonky* Posted October 2, 2008 Posted October 2, 2008 No space at all in the cabinet. The HTPC is constantly exhausting heat from both the PSU and CPU as well as various other components, blowing directly at the back of the cabinet. With the door open, this creates enough circulation with the cooler air outside so no probs. Haven't really noticed any real heat issues with the passively cooled AVR or IQ2, but blowing air around in the cab (not directly into the vents of the equipment) must be better than having it in an effectively closed box. Maybe just better venting at the back allowing the HTPC to vent straight out? It will naturally draw air through the gaps around the front doors and elsewhere.
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