DIY CD/DVD 5.25" Bay PC computer cooler

If your computer is getting too hot or if you need a better way to cool your hard drive you can peek into my project and use if for your case!

This is an 8cm fan fit into 2 of your case's original CD drive masking pannels. You can install hard drives behind the fan using 5.25" to 3.5" adapters.

Together with the freeware "speedfan" this is a great way to cool your computer on-demand (and still keep it fairly silent)

Step 1: What you need

you'll need:

• 2 of your case's original CD bay protectors (the ones made out of plastic)
• one 8 cm fan or possibly two smaller ones. the bigger the fan the better the air flow and the less noise it will make for the same cooling results
• fan screws & drill or glue
• hard-disk power (4pin) to fan power (3-4 pin) connector (if you're not planning to drive it from the motherboard)
• dremel tool with cutting disc
• SAFETY GLASSES!!! high speed cutting tools can damage your eyes
• screwdriver
• marker
• camera to take pictures and show off

first put the 2 CD bay protectors together and mark the fan's position on their back. this will guide your cutting.

Comments

[abadfart]

thanks i have been having an over heating problem with the computer that is distend to be my server

[Ex Marine]

Do you "NEED" the soft ware or can you leave it as it is

[ReCreate]

leave it as is you don't NEED it it just would be more convenient

[ReCreate]

speed fan doesn't work for me its probably because i have no fans the only fan in my computer in the cpu fan but it doesn't appear in the program

[strmrnnr]

How do you find it as a heat source. The extra heat from your PC is used to heat your room. Right now the temp is -20C outside. It helps a lot here. Thanks.

[DIYSlacker]

obviously lots of the energy used by a PC is transformed into heat. this fan (in use for over a year now) helps that heat get into your room where it's useful during winter instead of overheating your drives or cards. helps with your heating bills and data safety ;)

[lucek]

I have a thermaltake with a filtered mesh fount panel and I was thinking about doing something like this with the 3 extra cd ports. i already modded the passive vent for the gpu with a fan and it has one for cpu cooling. so I'm thinking that it may be overkill with 2 90 mil fans 2 120 mil fans and another 120 mil on the psu

[xrobevansx]

1. That thing looks like it is going to take off 2. I don't care what speed controller you are using there is no way that can be "very silent" Still...I bet it cools like all get out!

[Derin]

SPEEDFAN SHOWS MY CPU TEMP AS A FLAME!!!!EVEN WITH NO SIDE COVER!

[firestormcomputers]

being without a side cover isnt really that good of an idea especially if foreign matter gets in there just pop some fans in your case on stress points and turn the fan accordingly to how the airflow should be directed hope this helps

[DIYSlacker]

it is TERRIBLY LOUD without speed controller - runs at 2800 rpm - feels like its going to take off! but once i set it to 1500rpm it sounds pretty much like a PSU fan when you listen closely. i was very pleased with the result of speedfan! of course its not completely silent until you get to about 35% but that defeats the cooling purpose...

[Derin]

My 3k rpm fan is pretty silent.

[tetleyex]

I think if you use a grill like gmjhowe suggested instead of making the fingerguard yourself you will notice a large noise decrease. Unfortunately you won't get to show off your handywork with a dremel quite as much, but it should be a little closer to silent.

http://www.cpemma.co.uk/ this guy seems to know what he's talking about "Keep the flow effective with a clean path through the case – a good case design, open wire grilles...".

But yeh, nice instructable =].

[DIYSlacker]

obviously there's a whole science in cooling your PC especially if you're overclocking :) but my main concern - since i'm not overclocking - was to keep my 4 drives cool and the PC relatively silent. the 92mm fan in the front of the case wasnt able to do that (after i bought my last 2 drives) and the store bought "startech" hard drive fan (which you see on top of my fan in the picture) was too noisy so i took it back. now i've mounted only 2 drives in the drive bays behind the 92mm and the other 2 behind this baby and they're cooled really well with the 80mm fan speeds of 800-1200rpm. my data is more important than the other computer parts - although thanks to this the whole PC is now a few degrees cooler.

[Yerboogieman]

thats an idea, i bought a new fan and my dad said it was kool, but i cant see it

[uncle frogy]

As it happens I have just finished some cooling/noise moding. I got a computer from a friend that was very fully packed and had 9 fans in it sounded like a dust buster battery vac. the main source of the noise was the CPU fan had a aluminum grill over it that was flat the fan blades were next to it and they made noise when I removed the "grill" Db's dropped in half I have since changed to a cheaper and quieter (21dba) CPU cooler now I can stand to be in the same room. I would suggest replacing the "grill work" with a piece of window screen held in place by the fan and screws as a way to reduce the noise level. something to keep it from sucking bugs in. keep it up I will use this idea for sure.

[DIYSlacker]

yes i thought of cutting it completely and i am aware that anything in front of a fan increases the noise (exponentially?) but it looks cool with the blue light and i'm too lazy to do it now :) for anyone building a budget HTPC that needs to be as silent as possible - this is good advice though.

[gmjhowe]

i like it, good instructable, and a great idea, only thing is, i would of been tempted to drill a circular hole, using one of the tools thingys, and then attaching a nice grill. because like u, im too great with a dremal

[DIYSlacker]

i thought of a circular hole initially but then i realized it would be much more fun to make a pattern. plus i saved 2 bucks for the finger guard ;)

[gmjhowe]

hey, who needs finger guards???? it less fun that way

[DIYSlacker]

yes... pain can be fun :)

[n0ukf]

Or as I've seen on bottles of Habanero sauce, "pain is good".

[aks]

this is really nice I did a similar mod with a 120mm fan it does take up 3 slots instead of 2 but thats if u are willing to only have 1 5.25 bay

[DIYSlacker]

i'm sure there are many versions that can be adapted... it's all great if it fits your purpose! i did mine with an 80mm fan because i got some at bestbuy for $1.99. and they're still on clearance as far as i know.

[!Andrew_Modder!]

looks good

[DIYSlacker]

thanks :) does a great job too!

[tech-king]

its a good idea to add fans to a computer. here are some ideas to improve this project: 1) to quiet the fan without software, try running it at seven volts. simply replace the ground wire with a plus 5 volt wire. this trick only works for DC. however the LEDs will be dimmer 2) although adding fans is a good idea, its important to balance the system by either adding an exhaust fan or making sure there is an exhaust port or grill in the back of the case.

[DIYSlacker]

yep i know the tricks of modding your power cables to get 7volt but i was just too lazy to do that. plus the software took less to install and set up than modding/testing a power cable :) as for fans, i have a 92mm + this 80mm in the front and the same in the back of the case (including the PSU's 80mm) with the air moving from front to back. mine is indeed balanced but yes it should be a good comment/information for first-time case fan users.