Hello again, and Merry Christmas

This Christmas, for me, has been one of trying to make things colder. Why? Because I’m in a relatively small room that overheats even with the windows open. The source of this heat always was my computer. So, I needed to fix that.

The case PCSpecialist.co.uk supplied me was always too small for the job, and the 700W PSU came with an abundance of wires that were being unused, so were left dangling and consequently cut off vital air flow. As my PC is currently down in a relatively tight spot, It often seems to take back in the exhaust warm air, leading to it getting warmer. Throw a bit of dust into the mix, and the thing was cutting out whenever I tried anything CPU intensive.

So, enter the HAF 932 computer case. I chose this because it boasts three 230mm fans, enough to move air away. I also chose this as it takes in air from the front using one of them, so avoiding the heat recycling happening with side intake fans. Moving the computer was easy, apart from noticing I was not given a Q Connector, so had to find where the power and LED pins were from the manual. Afterward, the PC wouldn’t detect my soundcard, but I rectified that with a removal, blowing the PCI slot and reinsertion. Also below is a comparison with the old case for size. Click the images to enlarge.

The main source of heat inside the computer was the CPU, each of the four cores often hitting 57-60C when ide according to SpeedFan. To overcome this obvious problem, I bought theZalman CNPS9700 NT CPU Cooler. I was not sure whether to get this to begin with, as my current motherboard, the ASUS P5N-E SLi, has a massive fanless Northbridge heatsink, which is extremely wide and tall. Thankfully, after installation, it does clear it with a good gap between also.

The cable management on the new case is excellent. A “crawlspace” underneath the motherboard allows all cables to be routed in this way, preventing precious airflow blockage. Any unused cable can be stuffed around the back or at the bottom, where they do no harm.

All in all, these two additions have completely altered the temperature situation in here, with nothing really ever goes over 47C, as the Speedfan screenshot from after a GTAIV game shows.

Next, I wonder if I should OC the CPU…