Is a fan really needed?

[Ryan]

Just want to know if I don't get an additional fan for the cabinet is it going to ruin the PC.  There is a back door on the cabinet but the tower will be open.  I just want to make sure the fan already on the PC will be enough.  

I guess it leads into other questions, if another fan is added how? and will it be too noisy?

[SirPoonga]

Do you have a newer computer?  does it have a temperature sensor?  If so look for software called motherboard monitor 5.

If you system is getting to hot then you may want more ventilation.

[D10]

What type of hardware are you going to be using in your cab? I would say yes if you are using a ADM 1 Ghz or higher, just becuase ADM's run so hot. That's  just my opinion, but I also have 8 fans in my normal PC case.  

[Ryan]

8 fans geez, I guess I better add then.  Do you they just clip to the power source?

[Bursar]

Yup, there's two types of fan connector. 3 pin that plug onto your motherboard, or standard 4 pin molex.

Get the molex ones, and try to make sure they have pass-through connectors on them, otherwise you may run out

I know it sounds daft, but the fans also have arrows printed on them so you can tell which way the blades spin, and which way the air blows.

[Sasquatch!]

Just want to know if I don't get an additional fan for the cabinet is it going to ruin the PC.  There is a back door on the cabinet but the tower will be open.  I just want to make sure the fan already on the PC will be enough.  

I guess it leads into other questions, if another fan is added how? and will it be too noisy?

You're talking about a fan for the cabinet itself, right?  If the cabinet is fully enclosed like you said, a vent should take care of ambient heat in the cabinet, as long as the PC itself has suffecient cooling.

[Mike]

I found a fan was needed on the back of my cabinet even with the vents. I had 6 fans in my case but being enclosed in an arcade cabinet with a 19" monitor was causing severe heat problems so I had to stick a couple of exhaust fans on the back. And this was with a PIII 550 slot one which should be a really cool chip.

[Keith O]

Stripping my computer down to the bare frame really helped out with my heat problem. It doesn't look pretty but who sees it anyway.

[BombProofPlane]

when you put fans on your cab make sure they are the largest fans you can find

the bigger the fan the more air it pushes and less noise s it doesn't have to spin as fast i believe 120 mm is the top size and you can find fans that speed up and slow down according to the temperature inside

if your loaded with cash get the silent water cooling solution 390 for the full kit with radiator pump and contacts for cpu chipset and video card.

[SirPoonga]

Hehe, but then you have to make sure the radiator is outside the cabinet, it will get hot...

[Smack]

I've got my computer out of its case, mounted on the inside of a cocktail cab. (P3 on an Abit VH6) I ran it for about 10 minutes then the board seized up. I put an extra fan pointed at the motherboard - still had problems.

I ended up getting a big ass 12v fan from radio shack ($20!) drilled some holes in the side of the cab in a grill pattern now everything runs mint. Cool as can be.

Smack

[D10]

Most of the newer MoBo's are designed to be in a case. The case helps control the flow of air. Your MoBo could run fine but you also risk shorting the life span.

Just something to think about.

[BombProofPlane]

wtf are you talking about?

designed to be in a case???

most all motherboards follow the atx standard they are all the same

just make sure air is getting out of the case if its running at the appropriate temperature

[SirPoonga]

There are two lines of logic.  I know because I have researched for my dual celeron oc'd system.  There is the positive air pressure idea and negative pressure idea.  both of which require a complete case in tact.

[D10]

wtf are you talking about?

designed to be in a case???

most all motherboards follow the atx standard they are all the same

just make sure air is getting out of the case if its running at the appropriate temperature

Believe it or not the MoBos are designed to be ran in a case. The case controls the flow of air over the CPU and Mother Board itself. Like SirPoonga stated the air flow is controlled by pressure. If you do not have a movment of air flow, the heat will radiate of the mother board which takes longer than having the heat removed by air. By letting the heat radiate off it can start to shorten the life of the mother board due to the extra heat.

Like I stated in the other post it can and will work outside of a case, but it does take its toll on the hardware.

[Elkor]

OK, first off.  the reason there are mounting holes in the motherboard is because it is designed to be put in a case.

That's because most sane people do this, mostly because they don't want exposed PCBs lying around.  This has nothing to do with cooling however.  There are several components that should be cooled regardless if it is in a case or not. (cpu, video, etc.)  If these components are cooled (water, heatsink fan combo) it matters not if they are in a case.  There should be active cooling and enough ventilation to keep the ambient temperature to a reasonable level.  (which may, incidentally, be achived by taking the computer out of the case under certain circumstances)

That being said, the only component on the motherboard that I know of that has an even remote chance of thermal failure is the northbridge of certain chipsets.  It should be noted that most of these only have a passive heatsink on them to begin with and are not a signifigant problem unless you are overclocking  (and if you are, the first thing (well second, after adding a pound of copper to the top of your CPU) is to add an active cooler to the chip ~$20 including self-adhesive pad.

So, cases (aside from the form factor) have no effect on motherboard design.  The reason  that major PC manufacturers  constantly shout "case must be closed" is because they use plastic baffles to direct airflow and reduce the number/quality of fans in their cases.  

*whew*

-C