Cooling an HTPC in the stereo cabinet

tvmaster2 · #1 07-27-2005, 10:43 AM

Hey all....
So, my amazing new HTPC is ready to roll, software done, hardware done,
everything is great; it's even family friendly....except...

when I placed the unit in the stereo cabinet the heat levels went up pretty much 7 degress C across the board, which makes the fans run too loud.
Would it help to cut small exhaust holes in the back of the cabinet, besides the smallish one that exists already?
The HTPC case is a Coolermaster 620

If anyone has tried this and it was either succesful or not succesful can you let me know before I butcher a "mostly harmless" cabinet.

thanks

Crashless · #2 07-27-2005, 10:47 AM

I'm going to be installing a 120mm fan in my cabinet very soon, but not for my HTPC, but for my 2 STBs, 2 external HDDs, and an xbox. I'll let you know how it goes.

tvmaster2 · #3 07-27-2005, 10:56 AM

cool, literally. How would you power it?

Crashless · #4 07-27-2005, 11:11 AM

Off the HTPC for now. I'm going to make a 'quick release' power cable that runs from the inside of the case to the fan with a fan controller in between. Since I run my HTPC 24/7, it isn't a big deal to run one more fan off the PSU, but eventually, I'm going to have to find another way to power it.

I thought for a while about a normal desk fan, but they all were way too loud, and truly overkill, with no way of slowing them down. I'm planning one 120mm hole for the fan to blow into, then a passive hole for exhaust. This will allow me to add an exhaust fan in the future if I need to, but hopefully one fan will do it.

mdmint · #5 07-27-2005, 01:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tvmaster2

Hey all....
So, my amazing new HTPC is ready to roll, software done, hardware done,
everything is great; it's even family friendly....except...

when I placed the unit in the stereo cabinet the heat levels went up pretty much 7 degress C across the board, which makes the fans run too loud.
Would it help to cut small exhaust holes in the back of the cabinet, besides the smallish one that exists already?
The HTPC case is a Coolermaster 620

If anyone has tried this and it was either succesful or not succesful can you let me know before I butcher a "mostly harmless" cabinet.

thanks

Don't cut small, cut large! (back of my oak tower hacked to death, who cares can't see the back) You want cooling airflow.

mdmint · #6 07-27-2005, 01:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tvmaster2

cool, literally. How would you power it?

You can also get AC "computer" size fans. I'm using a 120mm AC mounted in side of desk to draw off heat from my Server located under my workstation desk. (with variable speed control via $6 ceiling fan controller.) In your AV tower you could have it plugged into one of your amp "switched" outlets so it's only on when amp on...

insomniac · #7 07-27-2005, 02:19 PM

If you must put it in a cabinet, you should definitely try to use an exhaust fan of some sorts. If its not an open face, you may want to look into some front"ish" intake hole (maybe on the bottom). Sometimes it doesnt do much good to exhaust the heat, if it doesnt have any good cool air to replace it with.

My true recommendation is that if you dont absulutely need to use the DVD rom of this box, just hide it behind the entertainment center. The only thing you need in front is the ir dongle anyway.

Your mileage may vary....
I.

ben_gb · #8 07-27-2005, 02:30 PM

Yup...I've had this same heat issue on a couple of systems I've setup. I usually prefer to hide all the equipment in a cabinet with doors on the front (frosted glass so the IR gets through). As well as the PC, there is also the amp and sat or cable boxes to take into account, all of which give out heat.

I've usually ended up cutting out most of the back of the cabinet, just leaving a couple of inches around the edges for strength. One thing you need to be aware of is that you can get some noise coming out of the back of the cabinet, so you may still need to look at quiet PC components.

Regards,
Ben

InsertHere · #9 07-27-2005, 03:39 PM

I dremmeled a hole in the upper-rear of my cabinet (wife no likey) and attached a fan for exhaust. It helped a lot.

Also have fans outside the htpc case (one 120mm and one 80mm) blowing toward the back of the cabinet at that exhaust fan. That helps too.

I am still fighting the heat though. Trying to be silent AND cool. The cabinet is completely enclosed except for the exhaust and mini-hole for the cables. I know cutting an intake hole would probably help a ton (right?).

Crashless · #10 07-27-2005, 03:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by InsertHere

I dremmeled a hole in the upper-rear of my cabinet (wife no likey) and attached a fan for exhaust. It helped a lot.

Also have fans outside the htpc case (one 120mm and one 80mm) blowing toward the back of the cabinet at that exhaust fan. That helps too.

I am still fighting the heat though. Trying to be silent AND cool. The cabinet is completely enclosed except for the exhaust and mini-hole for the cables. I know cutting an intake hole would probably help a ton (right?).

Absolutely! I've always been of the school of 'positive pressure'. Which means you should have more air going into a space then out. The reasoning is that it makes dust management much better. If you have more air going out than in, all the little cracks and crevices will eventually start collecting dust, rather than just your in/out holes.

If you have more air going in, all those little crevices stay clean. You have the right idea with the hole at the top, now just hide one in the bottom and move your fan there. It will improve immensely considering you have no way for air to move inside easily.

Grasshopper · #11 08-08-2005, 07:56 AM

The Zalman Reserator works terrific and is quiet as you please. Put the radiator behind the stereo cabinet (or on top if you like the look) and run the tubes into the cabinet.

InsertHere · #12 08-08-2005, 08:21 AM

I've looked at getting that unit, probably will somewhere down the line.

Follow up: I dremmeled another hole in the cabinet for intake. Slapped an 80mm Silencer on it. Wow, what a difference. Went from needing to open the cabinet door every 4 hours to avoid meltdown, to being able to leave it closed full time.

Temps are the same as if the door is open, and there is finally quiet!

Tej · #13 08-08-2005, 07:12 PM

A larger 120mm fan running "underclocked" at 5 volts, set up to exhaust air out the back of the cabinet probably would go a long way towards reducing your temperatures. You probably have enough leakage around the cracks of the cabinet doors not to worry about air flow. Or the "push-pull" idea of an intake and an exhaust fan would be the next step as mentioned above.

The key to a silent HTPC cabinet is a large fan and underclocking. I got the idea from cubeowner.com : USB-powered cooling fan By the way, I have the Zalman pictured and it is nearly silent when underclocked.

Does it work? Well, my four USB-powered, 80 mm Coolermasters running in a 2 by 2 array seem to be cooling my server cabinet pretty well :-)

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