Cabinet fan?

[mcnallyj]

Hello all, I have my computer sitting in a enclosed cabinet. It's basically a traditional computer desk with a cabinet that you keep your computer inside. Generally I run it with the cabinet door opened; but even then it gets very hot inside. There's not much room behind the computer and the back of the cabinet, so it does not exhaust very well. Is there a fan I can buy, preferably one that I can plug in, like one for an audio/video cabinet? I was thinking I would use a circular saw drill bit thing that will cut a circle in the back of the cabinet (very thick wood) and then attach the fan to so it pushes the air out. The problem is I can't seem to find a reasonably priced fan, most are designed for server racks.

Alternatively I was thinking about simply hooking up some dryer vent tubing to the fan on the back of the PC case, and then connecting it straight back to the hole I would cut. The only problem with that is since the cabinet is enclosed on three sides, it would be nearly impossible to connect the vent tubing to the back of the PC case...

Thanks in advance for the ideas!

[SIRCOOKS]

this is excellent
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproductdesc.asp?description=35-888-003&DEPA=0

[Faustus]

this is excellent
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproductdesc.asp?description=35-888-003&DEPA=0

Actually it doesn't want a fan for inside his computer "case" it sounds like he wants a fan for the cabinet his case is inside so he can move the hot air out of it.

Actually its a neat idea that I would do myself if not for the fact that it would make my cabling impossible to handle.

However I dont have one off hand, it would seem likely that a trip to home depot might be in order for you...

[DVD_Ripper]

Mcnallyj,

What I would do is go out to your local Wallsmart and other big box vendor and look around in the desktop fan isle.

I found one that is 3"x3" that is high velocity. I did just what you did... 3" hole saw in cabinet and then 'hung' the fan via some wire/clips (a true cluge install)

I have about 2 to 2 1/2 inch clearance in the back of my cabinet....

Works great... a small thermometer I keep in there denotes that cabinet temps stays around ambient air temp plus a few degrees.

[DVD_Ripper]

Oh, btw... Since the Fan was A/C powered I kept it far away from magnetic media, monitors, cables, etc to minimize interference

[Jayhawk]

You might try something like this. I would image Lowe's, Home Depot, etc. would carry them.

http://www.broan.com/product-detail.asp?ProductID=679

[mcnallyj]

I didn't even think about the interference the A/C may cause. What does that "other" plug on the power supply, you know, the male version of the power cord connector, kick out? Is that simply an A/C passthrough? I know I have seen cords that allow you to plug into there, and then that would have the fan shut off when the computer shuts down-very nice! I'm still a little leary of the A/C interference, have you noticed any problems DVD Ripper?

Cool idea, and as all of you said, a trip down to the local supply company may do the trick! Of course I could always relocate the PC outside of the cabinet, but what fun would that be??

Also, has anyone tried out one of these:

http://www.cyberguys.com/templates/searchdetail.asp?T1=148+0678

This is kind of what I was thinking as plan B, but outside the case. This concept is great, except you better have more than one fan in that case bringing in outside air-the picture shown has all the air being used up by the cpu...

[adam]

mcnallyj I have one of those ducts installed. On a typical setup (AKA properly ventilated case with good airflow) it does almost nothing. But, you can safely install a much smaller and/or quieter fan on the heatsink without increasing temps. So its great for making your system quieter, or for dealing with a case with poor air circulation. Stick the case next to an air conditioning vent and you will really decrease your CPU temps, but not too close of course to prevent condensation.

Overall, I'd really recommend one of these things if you've got room in your case.

[offline]

Adam is right I believe. Venting your cabinet with a large fan is
just going to push air around like an army oven. Better to both upgrade the cpu fan
and maybe install a sinkhole fan either on top of the case or on an
exposed side at the highest point.

[mcnallyj]

Ok, so right now I have the stock fan from Intel that came with my retail pentium 4, but I take it there is a better cooling, and quieter, fan/heatsink, that exists? Now, another !

I think the biggets thing creating noise right now is the case fan, but it changes speeds automatically depending on temp, which kind of gets me back to my problem of the case itself sitting in an army box of sorts-the cabinet. Even at just regular processing the fan is spinning pretty fast-I think the is attributed to how warm the environment it (the case itself) is sitting in...