So many fans, so little power....

[FuzzBall]

Just completed an experiment tonight. I have 12 cooling fans of various sizes in my computer, need them all cos I live in a tropical climate that has 3 seasons ; monsoon season, summer & hotter-than-summer. I'm using a crappy no-brand power supply that claims to put out a max of 350W. I won't be surprised if the thing only cranks out 280W or so TOPS.

Previously, I had 9 of the fans wired to a BayBus. For those not in the know, a BayBus is something that can be found HERE (http://www.fanbus.com) . When I switch all of them on & run a processor intensive program, the system will reboot itself. Being the superstitious idiot that I am, I thought at first that I had a serious poltergeist problem in my house. :p

I later found out that it was due to my mainboard getting insufficient juice cos of all the power-hungry fans. With only 4 of the fans switched on, the "poltergeist" went out for lunch & everything was fine. Since I have absolutely no money for a new, decent 400W power supply, I decided to try & see if I could get the fans to be powered by an EXTERNAL source instead of the PSU.

What I did was, I got a couple of AC-DC adaptors that can be purchased easily from the hardware store & cut off the ends that would normally plugged into an appliance(the cross shaped thingy). I then wired a 4-pin Molex connector to each of the cut-off ends, connecting the red wire to the yellow wire of the Molex & the black wires together. Then I threaded the wiring from the back of my computer to the inside, taking out a blank from one of the PCI slots to do so.

I connected 6 fans to each of the adaptors & set the adaptors' voltage(12volts DC) & polarity, & turned on the juice. I stood a few feet away from the mains switch & computer when I did so with a broom stick, kinda expecting a fireworks display. :eek:

Hey hey hey! For a newbie with hardly any experience & knowledge of electricals, I did it! No blowouts, no weird happenings, NOTHING! Just an added peace of mind that from now on, my system will be getting the cooling it needs, while working like it's supposed to!

I don't know if any of you guys are going to try this, but in my opinion, if this works & I can save a load of money from not buying a new branded(read : Antec) PSU, it's totally cool! :D

Don't think this will work on CD-ROM drives & such though... Any ideas?

[G Ray88]

Check here at http://nexushardware.com/reviews/index.php?reviewnumber=38 Good Luck:t

[paul0660]

Do any of your fans blow straight up out of the top of the case, better known as a blowhole? I find that my 2 92mm blowholes, and nothing else, keep my system temp within 2 degrees C of room temp. If I were to add another it would be to blow in from the side at the chipset/cpu area to eliminate the chance of dead air pockets on the board, but I don't have any problems even when the room temp in the summer reaches 80F. I am sure your room gets hotter than that but I guess what I am saying is maybe you don't need so many fans, just better placed fans.

[mcool61]

Originally posted by paul0660
maybe you don't need so many fans, just better placed fans.

yes it sounds like you have the makings of a hover craft. can i ride? .:D

Another option would be to get a power supply out of an obsolete computer & run your fans with it. I believe i have seen posts where others have done that. I think they mounted it on the outside of the case because of heat.

[FuzzBall]

Originally posted by paul0660
Do any of your fans blow straight up out of the top of the case, better known as a blowhole? I find that my 2 92mm blowholes, and nothing else, keep my system temp within 2 degrees C of room temp. If I were to add another it would be to blow in from the side at the chipset/cpu area to eliminate the chance of dead air pockets on the board, but I don't have any problems even when the room temp in the summer reaches 80F. I am sure your room gets hotter than that but I guess what I am saying is maybe you don't need so many fans, just better placed fans.

Blowholes? Try 4 of them... I've got 3 on the side taking in fresh air & 1 on the top to exhaust the hot air. I live in an apartment where the walls are prebuilt using solid steel & concrete, & in my climate, that equates to an oven... :eek:

I've got 2 80mm fans cooling the HDDs, 1 slot fan for the graphics card, 1 40mm fan for the chipset, 1 80mm for the RAM. Next up, ducting cool air from the refrigerator... :D

I guess if I could get my system to run cool with only 3 fans or so, I'd like that, but as it is, this "hovercraft" needs as much air as it can get. :p

[bushmaster]

Sounds like the beggining of an overcoolers anonymous club here.
Since you run all those fans a better power supply would be greatly welcomed by your system. If you can find one with adjustable fan speed then all you need do is crank it up and you won't need a blowhole on top. Other than that blowholes are a great wat to get rid of heat.

[mcool61]

Originally posted by FuzzBall


I live in an apartment where the walls are prebuilt using solid steel & concrete, & in my climate, that equates to an oven... :eek:



Hope you have some cooling for you too.:t

[trouble]

I tend to agree with too many fans theory,instead of getting a good thru airflow you can end up just creating turbulence.

Whats operating temps are we talking about here?If cooling was such an issue with mine the first thing I would try would be to rip the side of the case off and use a desk fan to blow air directly into the case.

cheers

[G Ray88]

Would it not be hard to cool the computer, if the air is already HOT to start with, I think there should be a better way to cool the computer?:confused:

[lptech]

FuzzBall-

That's a creative way to solve your problem! But as trouble pointed out, it might have been easier to keep the case open and run a desk fan straight into it! Was too much work to go through just to keep more fans running! You should rethink strategically how to improve internal airflow. We're talking aerodynamics and physics!

Maybe using rounded IDE cables and moving them around so that airflow is not obstructed internally and strategic placement of fans where they count the most in helping keep the temps down! These things should help in reorganizing the internals of your system to more effectively conquer your heat-related problem! Good luck.:)

[paul0660]

Blowholes? Try 4 of them... I've got 3 on the side taking in fresh air & 1 on the top to exhaust the hot air. I live in an apartment where the walls are prebuilt using solid steel & concrete, & in my climate, that equates to an oven...


Only ONE at the top to exhaust the hot air.....well one isn't doing it is it? It does not matter how many fans you have swirling air about or blowing in if the hot air can't get out. Some people talk about "positive pressure" in the case being vital, and that makes no sense. Suck as much air as you can out the top and it will be replaced by room temp air. Every crack will be letting room air in. Leave the slot cover below the agp card off and a nice breeze will blow by the vid hs.

[trouble]

Its rediculous having that many fans to cool a pc.You havent said if this machine is overclocked or not.If the room is as hot as you say you could use a freakin jet engine to blow air into the case and you wont achieve much because you are removing hotter air and replacing it with hot air.

Do yaself and ya pc a fav and go out and buy an airconditioner if things are as hot as you say.

cheers

[FuzzBall]

Boy are you guys supportive... Just gonna say, the main point in this post is that I managed to use something that can possibly be lying around the house to use as a reasonable substitute for a power supply & save some cash. I can't afford new stuff like some of you people can at whim.

Maybe you guys can find other things that can be powered in this manner within your own system. I'm no aeronautic engineer, nor am I in any way a professional system builder/overclocker. If some of you read my first post properly, I am a NEWBIE. I do understand that by venting warm air into a hot environment will do little, but that's the best I can do. Opening up the case is easy, but not when you have toddlers running around the house & putting their heads into places where you didn't even think you could stick your fingers into.

No, I do not overclock, not too confident to tackle that at the moment, but running temps are like 40 deg C at idle & 54 deg C at load on a XP1800+ T-Bred. I have 4 fans on intake, 4 on exhaust. The other 3 simply direct the air within the case onto the components like the chipset, the RAM & the graphics card. The last is of course the HSF.

All that has been done on the system was homemade. I know nuts about air pressure & all. 1 blowhole at the top not enough? How about it's because I don't have any more space for another? I don't have the money for a nice roomy Chieftech case or some other fancy ones. What I do have is a crappy case that costs under US$20 COMPLETE with the crappy PSU, & a frustration that cannot be expressed enough, knowing that I have to make do with what I can afford & make the best of it. For pete's sake, most of my fans are given to me by friends who have no use for them or taken out from old broken PSUs.

I appreciate the advice on the placing of the fans/blowholes. But I do not appreciate the take on me being a real idiot. It's ridiculous having so many fans to cool a PC? Believe me, if I actually had THAT much of a choice, do you really think I would have to do this? Having hot air try to cool hot air doesn't work well, but at least it's working. Without them dang fans, my running temps would be 47 C idle, 60 C load!

Please, DO think twice about other people who have to make do with what they have & be more supportive. I may be a loser in financial/experience terms, but I am proud that I acheived whatever little I have by myself without help. To me, pulling this off gives me great personal satisfaction, although it seems like peanuts to some of you.

Anyway, looks like I've overstayed my welcome. Once again, thank you to all who provided me with very constructive comments & advice. I see no need to return to a place where I'm viewed as a fruitcake by some. I've had enough in this lifetime to know that walking away with whatever dignity & pride I have left is better than sticking around & lose it all completely. God Bless...

:t

[mcool61]

i like fruitcake:)

[G Ray88]

Fuzzball, most all of my computer stuff is handmedowns or given to me, and I have a lot of stuff, nothing I have is water-cooled and the fastest computer is only a Pentium II-350mhz.
Maybe you might be able to find a small car heater core and build your own cooling system just an Idea. Good Luck
:t
Check here, http://users.rcn.com/chinmonster/links/
there may be something there you could use or get some idea's
look under overclocking/cooling.

[paul0660]

Fuzz, you are oversensitive. Even trouble, who got the most over the top, did not say YOU were ridiculous, an important distinction, seriously.

You wanted to relate your success with running a lot of fans for cheap. We wanted to tell you how to run without all the **** fans. We pointed out what we know about heat in computers and what to do with it. I still want to know what your room temps are, and I wonder if humidity matters to equipment as it does to our comfort.

If there is not room for another blowhole, which means you have a really small case, then there are the psu fan(s) to be upgraded. Most are not good, and can be replaced with $2 sunons to double their flow. You can also consider venting and fanning the front of the case if you have a couple 5.25 bays free.

Lastly, few people here (I think) like paying too much or throwing away money. We get satisfaction, just as you do, by doing a lot with a little. Let us know if you make progress.

:t

[trouble]

No one was attacking you on a personel level.I was merely pointing out the futility in installing so many fans.I can guarantee you that if you unplugged half of those fans you would not see a significant increase in temps and you will get the added benefit of being able to hear yourself think.
Having that many fans is overkill to the max and a complete waste of time.It has nothing to do with not having this or that or money, just a fact.

I also live in an area that gets its fair share of stinkin hot days when the ambient temp gets unbearable,I also run nothing else cept athlons and have never considered the use of so many fans nor needed them.

If things are hotting up so much inside that crappy case(your words not mine) then perhaps you should be looking at other things that may be causing these high temps.Things such as hardware layout inside the case or replacing the CPU goo with a good quality brand.That is if you havent done so already.

cheers

[strat1]

Many of us are in the same boat, and we all have to start somewhere- so don’t sweat it.

Now, what’s wrong with temps of 54 degrees-- That is fine! I would really be concerned if it was at 65 not 54! I think you may have reached your cooling threshold regardless how many fans you have in the computer. You might consider upgrading your Heat sink if you want to drop your CPU temps. Are you having issues with the computer that might be heat related?

Also where are you reading your temps? I would DownloadSpeed fan to monitor your temps. (http://www.almico.com/speedfan.php)

Good Luck and keep us posted!

[mcool61]

Originally posted by paul0660
[B]


Some people talk about "positive pressure" in the case being vital, and that makes no sense.B]


It only makes sense if you are filtering the air coming in providing the positive pressure. That way filtered air leaks out instead of potentially dirty air leaking in. This is the same principle use for a cleanroom environment for pharmacuticals etc.

[paul0660]

mcool61, true. I have not found a filter that does not cut flow dramatically, so I vacuum instead of filter.

[strat1]

Originally posted by FuzzBall
Just completed an experiment tonight. I have 12 cooling fans of various sizes in my computer, need them all cos

How is the cooling project coming along?