Questions about computer cooling

ok so i figured out that my gpu runs really hot even with fan running at 100%. where is the best place i can find like a fan where i can maybe like punch a hole in the side of my computer to help with overheating? any sites?

 

I have this one. I was looking into cold cathode lights for moonlight a while back and had the site in favorites.
Xoxide.com - Custom ATX Computer Cases, PC Mods, Computer Case mods, and Modded PC Cases

 

newegg.com

 

I use newegg.com for all my stuff. If your CPU is extremely hot then you could run liquid cooling, but make sure you know what you are doing. I like the thermaltake and colermaster cpu fans. If your CPU is what is hot you need a better heatsink fan and not another fan in the case.

 

If it is running really hot, get a good thermal paste and reapply and clean your fan. Then get an extra fan from newegg.

 

ok, so you know...i know very little about computers hardware. I only replaced a harddrive and ram. Thats all i ever done. Can someone point me to a fan that i could plug in or how would it operate inside the computer? i would have no problem cutting a hole on the sidepiece to installe the fan. i have no idea how to fun liquid cooling or where to begin. when i play games speedfan tells me that my gpu runs close to 70 without me manually putting my fan to 100 percent and even then it idels around 50c

 

ok well i figured out that my graphics card is really over heating bad...what other ways can i cool it besides turning the fan up to 100

 

I'd first make sure it's not dusty, as in dust out the heat sinks, PSU, etc with a can of compressed air. I'd also make sure it's in a well-ventilated area. A cabinet, as some people keep computers in, doesn't really cut it when you have anything but the lowest-wattage computers.

You may want to consider moving any fan so it just blows on top of the video card in the area where the processor is, almost always the underside when it's installed. Many cases don't have proper flow to the gpu because they're not designed properly. This would give you a good indicator of what steps you should take next.

For an extra fan, they have ones that will fit into the slots where PCI cards go, these tend to be a better option than cutting an extra hole in the case. You'd typically put these on the bottommost slot, but since you're looking to cool a GPU, you might want to put it right next to your video card, either above or below it. I'd say above, since the fan for the gpu intake is usually on the bottom, if your heatsink wraps around the entire card. There's all sort of variables in the optimal positioning of these though.

If you really want to go all out, you can outright replace your case fans, likely low-flow ones, with higher-flow ones.

Then, if none of the above works, reapply the heatsink. Just make sure you do ALOT of research into how to apply the paste and how the clip for the heatsink works, it's an art form on its own and even the smallest bit too much or an air bubble in the paste will cause the GPU to get extremely hot. If you get paste between two metal parts, your GPU could be toast too. Silver is kinda conductive, after all.

You can add a fan to a case by cutting a hole, but I'd actually advise against that. It's really a risky proposition, considering you need to balance incoming and outgoing air to have a slightly higher flow (and thus pressure) going out of the case than in for optimal cooling, which is the way cases are usually designed anyway. You also need to get airflow moving in the right directions in the right places, so it's a matter of doing heavy visualization on the actual flow patterns in the case to get it right.

 

ok thats all sounds really good, but im really a noob when it comes to cooling...i have no idea really wants going on in there lol. can u recommend a decent fan that would be compatiable with a xps-420 with a intel core 2 quad cpu q9450 @ 2.66ghz...with a nvidia 8800 gt card...im gonna look at my computer tomorrow morning to see how everything works in there

 

Grab both of these. Toss this one into the slot under your graphics card.

Newegg.com - AOC FC-2000 PCI Slot Case Cooler - Case Fans

Set this one on an angle so it's blowing in the general direction of the graphics card. You'll never have overheating issues with the gpu again if the ambient case temp doesn't get too high.



| |
|______ <Graphics/ |
|------ <Slot Fan/ |
|______________/_______|
........................^ case fan

Like that. Prop up the case fan with something you have laying around.

Newegg.com - Link Depot FAN-8025-S 80mm Case Fan - Case Fans