Re: [TCLUG:17312] Cooling? (Was Sig11)

[<Nick.T.Reinking@supervalu.com>]

As someone who has overclocked every processor
that they've ever owned, (except the K6-3 400 which
doesn't OC well, but it's fast enough anyways), I'd like
to throw in my two cents on cooling.

First of all, your case temperature of 38C.  This is a bit
high, actually.  You want to try to keep it around 30C or so.
There are a few ways to accomplish this:

1) Get a better case.  Face it, all cases are not made equal,
be it in design, or cooling potential.  IMHO, SuperMicro makes,
by far, the best case out there.  The 750/760As are *incredible*
for cooling.  InWin cases are great for design, like the slidable
tray for motherboards, but they suck for cooling.   The 750A has
room for 12 (12!) fans in it.  It's simply good.

2) Make sure that your power supply blows the air *outward*, and
not *inward*.  When it blows outward, it's bad for the power supply,
but when it blows inward, it's bad for your computer.  Which is more
valuable?  ;)

3) Cut some holes in your case, if you can't afford a decent one.
Sure, its ugly, but it's probably better than not being able to 
do anything because of Sig11s.

4) Buy an aluminum case.  There are a few manufacturers that
make these.  They are expensive, but they're ultra-light, *and*
they cool about 25% better than the steel mammoths.

Now, as far as cooling your system components goes:

1) Add more fans.  This is pretty simple stuff.  More fans == more
cooling.  Make sure your case has proper ventilation, or you'll
just end up starving them.  Have I recommended the 750A at all?

2) Rig up a fan to blow over (horizontally) your components/CPU/RAM.
This can be a bit difficult, of course.  I recommend the 750A, as it
has a nice mount for that kind of thing.

3) Add a fan over your chipset, and video card chip.  These
cause a lot of heat, it's good to cool them off to improve stability.
A lasanga cooler is good for this.

As far as your CPU goes:

1) Get a nice cooling fan for it.  Alpha fans are nice, and so are
the Golden Orb thingies.  3dfxcool makes the Alphas.

2) Alternative cooling.  Things like water cooling, Peltier units,
and liquid helium :P are best left to the professionals  Unless
you have a lot of "cooling experience", I wouldn't use them, as
you can easily damage your computer.

Nick Reinking