Alright, I got a Dell Dimension 4550 Computer case.... lol bare with me. The thing is a beast it dosnt have much insulation for my Video Card, i find it getting super hot and boggin down. I want to find a way to cool the sucker. Or even just make it look some what awsome. Some Details on it. Its got Super thick Shelling, made out of plastic. The inner part of it is Surrounded with metal plating. And the case folds open and on one side, it has drive bays. The other is the usual mobo and all, so suggestions with the beast would be helpful. I will post some pics of it in a little bit. Thanks

Okay well trying to help is going to be a might bit tough but anyways. First off I know you're going ot hate the twenty fricking questions but How many case fans are in the case. Looking at the pictures on dell's site doesn't tell you shait. Are there any intake fans at all. The best suggestion besides getting another case to slap all your components into that has adequate cooling would be to find the area on the door that is directly across from your video card. Don't know what kind of vid card you have, so don't know how long it is. But right there cut out either a hole for a 120mm fan or an 80mm (I have an obsession with 120s.....don't ask why). Depending on the length of the card or if you're case is as starved for air as it looks like you could put two 80s one on top of the other or side by side. You're going to need some place to serve as the exhaust and if you have air blowing across at the back of the case you're going to want a blowhole up top. Find out what you have space for. Commonly 120mm fans are used for blowholes but if you only have room for something smaller do that.

Hey, Sorry i fogot to mension those MAJOR Details. :S The case has one Fan in the back, not sure how big it is. I would say prob a 120 that has a shoot to the cpu. It is an exaust, there is no intake so that would be very helpful. There isnt much room for a blow hole on the top. The video card is a Ati Radeon 9700 Pro 128mb, it generates ALOT of heat. Here are those pictures i promised, sorry they arnt the best quality.

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LAST ONE PROMISE

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Cant quite tell, (no offense, but thats a crappy case design ) but is there room on the side or front of the case for an intake fan? And is the motherboard/hd/cdrom's standard size? If soe, buy a new case

Haha... Ya i am deffinetly getting a new case. But right now saving for 175 gig, I need that more at the moment. I totaly agree the case is a crappy design but, I figure see what I can do with it dont mind beating the hell out of it intell then.

Id say cut a hole in the side for video card cooling. that would be the first thing. gotta keep that card cool. as for a blow hole. well it would be hard to put it on the top so id say get a 120mm and mount it on the side close to the top for an exhaust. maybe even 2 120's spaced a few inches apart if they will fit.

Thanks Maverick will look into it.

np man. thats about the only way i could see to put blow holes in that case. and when you get a new case you can always move the fans over.

Ya well im off to the store right now see what i can pick up.

I simply removed the slot cover on the PCI slot below the video card.
I used to have the PCTV Pro card in that slot, I moved it down because the GPU heatsink is getting too hot to touch when I play Descent 2 or watch Fear Factor(both are GPU-intensive).

I have a Dell 4300 which shares the same case as the 4550.
You have a number of options if you want extra cooling for the video card:

1. Add a slot blower and plug it right next to your video card.
2. Hack the CPU cooling duct and use it to draw hot air from the GPU.
3. Add a blowhole on the side of the case - but it's going to be messy because of the case construction.
4. Watercooling .
5. Put a serious fan on the GPU.
6. Ramsinks.
7. Open the case..

Hey PurpleDiamond thanks for the suggestions. lol dont wanna go watercooling on this POS. I am definatly getting it for my next case though. I have got the case open right now, and working on a blow hole. I will take a few pics when im done see if it works or not. but for now.... Bustin out the POWER TOOLS

Quote: Originally posted by Blader83 Hey PurpleDiamond thanks for the suggestions. lol dont wanna go watercooling on this POS. I am definatly getting it for my next case though. I have got the case open right now, and working on a blow hole. I will take a few pics when im done see if it works or not. but for now.... Bustin out the POWER TOOLS

make sure you take the hardware out of the case before working on it !!!

LOL metal shavings and electronics do NOT mix!!

Quote: Originally posted by scapegoat make sure you take the hardware out of the case before working on it !!! LOL metal shavings and electronics do NOT mix!!

Well he did want to make his computer run cooler, after the initial shocks, sparks, and popping sounds it would be as cool as could be.

I dont think he wants it that cool lateronmly

Ah man, we have those cases at our school. That case design is the worst one i have ever seen! BTW why do you have a dell?!

haha Silent Penguin Good question. The only thing basicly dell is the mobo and case. Which will be replaced shortly in tell then take a laugh at my stupidity, and check out my cooling LAZY AND CHEAP STYLE~

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