ok so I built my current system at the end of last summer before another year at the university where I go to school. I dropped a zalman 9500 cpu cooler on my e6600 and was getting temps roughly 40C idle and up to 45C under load with my processor running at 3.2ghz (400x8). Unfortunately my particular processor stepping takes quite a good bit of voltage even to run at those speeds, therefore getting quite hot. As far as case fans go, I had two 120mm Panaflo fans (one intake and one exhaust).

Temps continued to be low throughout the winter season and things were going well until I decided to change cases. My old case was badly beaten from the trips to lan parties and I acquired a Gigabyte Poseidon case in a trade with a friend. I transferred my Panaflo exhaust fan to the new case, but because of the way the drive bays are set up I was unable to use the intake one. Temps were higher, but still relatively low.

Fast forward to now. So its Spring time...and I live in the deep south (insert snickers here, but by some miracle I am capable of both reading and writing!) Anyways, with outdoor temperatures reaching nearly 80F (and soon to be much higher), my dorm has been incredibly hot. My roommate's digital thermometer actually read 88F this afternoon, even with both windows open. The dorm's air conditioning system is a real joke.

So I pop open speedfan...and to my great surprise I am suddenly idling at 55C. At this point I began to try and figure out ways to lower the temp. I realized that the POS intake fan include with the case wasn't pulling enough fresh air in, so I decided I needed another intake fan. Instead of buying a drive bay cooler, I decided to make my own...the typical "hazardous" method. I used the other 120mm Panaflo I had sitting around to remedy the problem. See pic.



So now I have successfully dropped from 55C idle to 50C idle...still not good enough.Sorry if that was long winded, but any brilliant suggestions? Dont say water cooling because last time I tried that I tossed it in my truck to go home for spring break and leaked antifreeze everywhere!

It's there any dust in the system fans? and is the HS/F on tight? They may help the temps alittle.

Quote: Originally Posted by killert It's there any dust in the system fans? and is the HS/F on tight? They may help the temps alittle.

Yeah I've cleaned out all of the dust and the heatsink is on tight. I was considering getting a new CPU heatsink but I dont see many alternatives that are a significant improvement over the zalman one.

Have you consider maybe mounting a fan on top of the case or even the side panel that should help on cooling it alot more.
Ps i mean if you have the room to do so..

There are a bunch of alternative heatsinks that outperform a Zalman.
Ton's of them. But they are all large. The best Ive tested so far is the
CoolerMaster GeminII http://forums.pcapex.com/heatsinks_f...tml#post627043
But there are other heatsinks as in the Tunig Tower or the Scythe Mine
that also excel. In another month you'll probably be overwhelmed with
other choices. Patience is a verture :-)

I'm going to attempt to mount a 92mm fan on the window, problem is a need a holesaw large enough to make the cut. As far as the cpu cooler goes, I'm waiting until I get a new mobo later this year to replace it. I currently have an Asus p5b vanilla, which I purchased pre-c2d launch. It's got series issues, but at the time I purchased it newegg only had about 3 c2d boards in stock. I'm looking forward to the P35's coming out in Q3 of this year!

Quote: Originally Posted by hazardous I'm going to attempt to mount a 92mm fan on the window, problem is a need a holesaw large enough to make the cut. As far as the cpu cooler goes, I'm waiting until I get a new mobo later this year to replace it. I currently have an Asus p5b vanilla, which I purchased pre-c2d launch. It's got series issues, but at the time I purchased it newegg only had about 3 c2d boards in stock. I'm looking forward to the P35's coming out in Q3 of this year!

Here is a template to cut your hole for your fan if you need one, GltterKill had also posted a template for it here. Or you can check out the guide on how to mount and cut the blowhole that Joony English made here.

Attached Thumbnails