Watercooling!

[Greebe]

Does that sound proofing black stuff on your case work?

Oh yes it works very well for attenuating frequencies above 250Hz.

I accedently disconnected the relay for my water pump. The computer booted and got all the way to the memory check before it shut itself down. Thats another benefit of having a copper WB)!

I did the same with mine and it ran fine for several hours before REBOOT!
I sat there scratching my head for the longest time wondering why... then it dawned on me to flip on the outlet strips power switch. DOH!

[Greebe]

One inexpensive way of deadening the the case panels would be to use Bondo™ brand polyester epoxy (or simular) and pour it over the interior side after taping it out. This same trick was commonly used by many an Audiophile's Turntable and or speakers a couple of decades back.

Applying only about a 1/4" (~5-6mm) thick.. adding a dampening foam makes it just that much quieter

[Tapeworm]

Are there any before and after temp numbers around?

I was really wondering about the heat trade-off with sound dampening materials. It doesn't seem like much, but I would think there's a lot of surface area on an aluminum case that would be dissapating heat until you add a blanket.

Quiet is good, but I'm curious about the cost.

[Greebe]

Cost normally averages somewhere between $25-40 (USD) per dampening kit.

As far as an Al case cooling better, well I have yet to see a single review that will confirm it. Being that Al will reflect IR greater than your typical all steel case.

All in all I think it's more of a fad and or good looks that sells them.

[mutz]

...Greebe has got it. The case does looks nice, bare metal after years of mundane gray, biege, etc. This one is longer than tall, which has the advantage that it fits under a desk and still has lots of room inside. Weight is an advantage. After the acoustic dampening it weighs about as much as a steel case, or maybe a bit less.

A steel case after dampening becomes a bit of a clunk to lunk or move around. In any case, or on any case, I stick those gray easy slide pads, as used for heavy furniture, on the feet or case bottom and I can slide the case around on the floor very conveniently.

[Technoid]

OK:
Msi 745 Ultra
Athlon XP 1800+
512 MB DDR 2100
Promise Tx2 Raid

WaterCooling

Second Try
This weekend going to be fun fun fun

[Tapeworm]

Oops! I was unclear again.

Greebe,

As far as an Al case cooling better, well I have yet to see a single review that will confirm it.

Sorry for the confusion. I was meaning the relative cooling value of a sonically insulated vs. uninsulated case, rather than the relative values of the case material.

I completely agree. I would think the relative differences between Al and sheet metal would be incidental in this situation (compared to bigger issues like cable routing), but I was wondering how much of a difference putting a dense blanket of special dampening material or Bondo would make. It might only be a degree or two in a low resistance case with good airflow, but I had never tested it myself.

Long, long ago we found that some of our ancient RCA 3 tube TV cameras actually worked better with the doors on than off, high in the bleechers in hot weather because the thick Al sides actually dissipated more heat than leaving them open, but our best solution was to install mini-muffins for cross ventilation, once we resolved the noise issues (if only we had water pumps for those!). Those TKs were worthless in warm weather, unless you performed major surgery, but then they could hold their own with anything on the market.

Who knows, maybe I'll have to hunt down some of that old foil-back reflective noise dampening material to quiet my next case so I can strike that ideal compromise between noise and heat.

[Greebe]

The reduction of the cross sectional area within the case, cooling (airflow) diminishes, but it's not that detrimental as the thickness of the normal dampening material is typically ~5mm in the kits sold for PC's.

The gains greatly out weigh the losses.

[Technoid]

Have you ever had the experience that problems solve themself when you just look at them?

I just solved two problems I had with ataching the Watercooling kit in my main computer

[Technoid]

Great!
All the stuff has arrived and I'll have time this weekend

Now I'm only waiting for a chance to get my fingers on a P

Lots of pictures comming

[Greebe]

Now I'm only waiting for a chance to get my fingers on a P

Oh stinky fingers

Lots of pictures comming

Yeah pr0n!

[Technoid]

That shoulden't be to hard.....
I'll just post all the Pron queens awatars again

[az]

Dogbert has some of these dampening mats installed in his PC. They are "Magic Fleece" from Noise Magic, and I've read very favorable reviews of them (they appear to be among the best, especially their pre-cut stuff for some popular cases). He has started a thread in the MURC about it some time ago. Search (thanks dan ) with his name and the words noise and magic, and you should find it

AZ

[Tapeworm]

Thank's Greebe and AZ!

Noise Magic had the numbers I was looking for:

"The CPU temperature rose just by 1°C, the case temperature by 3°C - which is to be considered as irrelevant."

I didn't think there'd be a big difference, but I wanted to know before a gummed up a new box. I've had a couple instances with Targa boards where 5°C case temp was the difference between go or no-go.

[thop]

cork and rippled foam makes a cheap and good noise blocker.