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PC Case Made Completely of Fans

Posted by CowboyNeal on from the keeping-cool-while-looking-it dept.

drgroove writes "I work in a computer store building PCs all day. With every new case there are one or two 8cm case fans included. Most of the systems we build do not need any more cooling than is supplied by the CPU fan as most of our customers generally don't go in for all this 'overclocking malarky.' Looking around the stock room I discovered two large boxes of unused 8cm case fans. Surfing through case mod sites, the most popular mod you see (besides Lexan windows) is some form of whizzy cooling device, be it fan or waterblock. People go to great lengths to keep their PCs cool. Now... putting these two things together..."

80 of 404 comments (clear)

  1. Cool! by Punchinello · · Score: 4, Funny

    Now that's cool.

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    1. Re:Cool! by suso · · Score: 5, Funny

      And installing it was a breeze.

    2. Re:Cool! by Porkbreath · · Score: 5, Funny

      Eh. Just another PC fanboy.

    3. Re:Cool! by Gadgetfreak · · Score: 5, Funny

      I don't know why there are so many fans of bad puns on Slashdot.

      --
      "No fair, you changed the outcome by measuring it!" - Professor Hubert J. Farnsworth
    4. Re:Cool! by vought · · Score: 4, Funny

      I wonder what will happen when overclockers get wind of this.

    5. Re:Cool! by Spetiam · · Score: 2, Informative

      Unless he neglected to make some of them exhaust fans. :)

      I mean, he does say that his setup doesn't really cool things down...

    6. Re:Cool! by MarkRose · · Score: 5, Funny

      And I don't know why so many moderators blow their points on them.

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      Be relentless!
    7. Re:Cool! by secolactico · · Score: 3, Informative

      Unless he neglected to make some of them exhaust fans. :)

      I mean, he does say that his setup doesn't really cool things down...

      He also said that air enters in one side and exits the other. Same for top and bottom.

      Now, I won't tell you to RTFA because: a. You obviously did and b. I also skimmed it. It was pure luck that I read that particular part of the text.

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    8. Re:Cool! by Infinityis · · Score: 5, Funny

      Cause it's the cool thing to do, that's why.

      Anyone else who thinks otherwise should be pun-ished. Case closed.

    9. Re:Cool! by suwain_2 · · Score: 2, Funny

      I know. Most of the jokes here blow.

      Doesn't anyone have a sense of humor that doesn't suck?

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    10. Re:Cool! by snorklewacker · · Score: 4, Funny

      I think most of the jokes just whoosh right over you.

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    11. Re:Cool! by HardCase · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Nah, the posts just blow.

    12. Re:Cool! by jerde · · Score: 3, Funny

      What we need are some new moderators. Now THAT would be a breath of fresh air!

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    13. Re:Cool! by Junior+J.+Junior+III · · Score: 2, Funny

      I was totally blown away by how cool the thing looks!

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    14. Re:Cool! by syynnapse · · Score: 3, Funny

      you all need to chill out.

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    15. Re:Cool! by shutdown+-p+now · · Score: 2, Funny

      What we need is to mod parents down.

    16. Re:Cool! by R2.0 · · Score: 2, Funny

      In Comic Slashdot, punsters mod YOU down!

      --
      "As God is my witness, I thought turkeys could fly." A. Carlson
    17. Re:Cool! by qewl · · Score: 2, Funny

      And sometimes a breath of fresh air is better than tubes of non-boiling/non-freezing metal alloy.

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    18. Re:Cool! by unitron · · Score: 5, Funny

      He should have made it all intake except for the bottom and the bottom all exhaust. Custom case and hovercraft in one.

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    19. Re:Cool! by chronicc · · Score: 2, Funny

      slashdot used to have interesting articles, but now its nothing but junk which lame contributors stumble upon. that fan case-mod is OLD anyway, its already been linked to from just about all other casemod sites, even tho it sucks anyway =) whos gonna want a giant noisey dust blower as their computer? this article is just as bad as that 'worlds dumbest hacker' who attacked 127.0.0.1. who cares? most people have done that to some unknowing kid in their times on the net anyway. IS THERE EVER ANYTHING NEW HERE?? next someone will have joined 200 USB cables, so slashdot can announce 'worlds longest USB cable. ghey.

    20. Re:Cool! by asliarun · · Score: 3, Funny

      True, with this barrage of puns, the old moderators should be exhausted by now.

      Considering that this is a case-mod, they're also appropriately named mod-raters.

    21. Re:Cool! by donscarletti · · Score: 2, Funny

      I'm not a fan of being mellow.

      --
      When Argumentum ad Hominem falls short, try Argumentum ad Matrem
    22. Re:Cool! by Shaper_pmp · · Score: 2, Funny

      Now, now, I think it's important that everyone's able to air their views. No sense in letting it wind (think about it ;-) you up...

      --
      Everything in moderation, including moderation itself
    23. Re:Cool! by smittyoneeach · · Score: 2, Funny
      The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto the north; it whirleth about continually, and the wind returneth again according to his circuits.
      Eccl1:6
      I just can't figure out if Solomon was talking about slashdot moderators, or duplicate articles...
      --
      Get thee glass eyes, and, like a scurvy politician, seem to see things thou dost not.--King Lear
    24. Re:Cool! by TheRaven64 · · Score: 2, Insightful
      He also said that air enters in one side and exits the other. Same for top and bottom.

      Which is probably his problem. Unlike light, streams of air can not cross each other. If he has two air streams at 90 degrees intersecting he will get all sorts of turbulence swirling around inside his case. If he turned off the fans at top and bottom, and front and back, then he would get air flowing right through the case, which would probably be more efficient (discounting eddies from irregular shaped components.

      Oh, he should also probably replace his CPU fan with a relatively large passive cooler.

      --
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    25. Re:Cool! by DocB · · Score: 4, Funny

      Unless you get the polarity wrong on those puppies -- then it would really suck.

    26. Re:Cool! by Renegrade · · Score: 2, Informative

      Actually, the motherboard runs at room temperature in that setup, he said (22-24c). Also, the CPU is running a stock heat sink/fan combo, which would be the limiting factor for getting heat out of the processor core.

      I have to say that I find that leaving the side off a case will usually bring the temperature down to a level that's equivalent to the fan-case anyhow. My current ambient temperature is 27C and the motherboard is running 30C (just 3C higher). Processor is running 47C, which isn't bad for AMD with stock cooling kit. (Used to run about 36C and 68C with the case side on)

  2. First Thought by presidentbeef · · Score: 4, Funny

    "They are making a case out of computer enthusiasts? Whoa! Hardcore!"

    --
    Everything I need to know about copyrights I learned from Slashdot.
    1. Re:First Thought by Jarlsberg · · Score: 2, Insightful
      Come on, this is pretty nerdy. And I for one enjoyed seeing the pics. For me, this is more interesting than that story about the Quark boss leaving, or that story about the FCC.

      If you don't like the story, don't read it. I avoid Slashdot like the plague on 1. april, but I don't complain about it. Well, not much anyway.

  3. Ho hum. by kryogen1x · · Score: 5, Informative

    Been there, done that.

    1. Re:Ho hum. by akeyes · · Score: 2, Insightful

      But yours wasn't on slashdot.

    2. Re:Ho hum. by mnbjhguyt · · Score: 4, Informative

      This one is another approach.

  4. He's gonna need all those fans... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    To keep his server from melting during the slashdotting.

    As an aside, that thing has to be LOUD AS HELL!

    1. Re:He's gonna need all those fans... by networkBoy · · Score: 3, Funny

      Didn't help.
      fans must have fanned the flames very well though.
      -nB

      --
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    2. Re:He's gonna need all those fans... by mrjb · · Score: 5, Interesting

      On the contrary. Want a quieter case? Use a fan with bigger blades. Like that, more air can be moved with lower rotational speed and noise will be reduced. With a case built entirely of fans, I imagine each fan only needs to rotate very slowly for good ventilation. This thing has the potential to be extremely quiet!

      --
      Visit http://ringbreak.dnd.utwente.nl/~mrjb/growingbettersoftware to download your free copy of the book
  5. First thought... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    "Watch your fingers."

    Anyways, it's a New Zealand mod. Which doesn't use Number 8 wire.

    For shame.

  6. Re:Full Article Text (due to near /.ing at 0 comme by Refrozen · · Score: 3, Informative

    Err, wow.

    AND the cached link: the cached link

  7. Obligatory misreading by ilyag · · Score: 4, Funny

    Imagine: a Mac with a case made entirely of Apple fans, all in an Apple t-shirt and beaming smiles.

    1. Re:Obligatory misreading by DashEvil · · Score: 4, Funny

      Now THAT is thinking different!

      --
      -If God wanted people to be better than me, he would have made them that way.
  8. Next! by DoorFrame · · Score: 4, Funny

    Next thing we need is a fan made entirely of old computer cases!

    --

    --
    RumorsDaily
    1. Re:Next! by RoadkillBunny · · Score: 5, Funny

      Next thing we need is a fan made entirely of old computer cases!
      You gotta move to soviet russia for that.

      --
      Cheers,
      RoadkillBunny
    2. Re:Next! by MarkRose · · Score: 2, Funny
      Next thing we need is a fan made entirely of old computer cases!
      You gotta move to soviet russia for that.

      In Soviet Korea, old cases fan you!

      You know, I've used a few case fans for that, actually.

      --
      Be relentless!
  9. Nice Case by Senjutsu · · Score: 5, Funny

    - What?

    I SAID, "NICE CASE!"

    - WHAT??

    Oh forget it.

    - WHAT?!

    Worst. Idea. Ever.

  10. Re:Its time to let go... by compm375 · · Score: 2, Funny

    Let's see you make a case out of water...

  11. I present Teh ICEboX! by Nomihn0 · · Score: 3, Funny

    I pity the fool who builds his/her case out of ice.

  12. Comment removed by account_deleted · · Score: 2, Informative

    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  13. Jokes are funnier... by heatdeath · · Score: 5, Funny

    if you repeat them!

    WHAT?

    Jokes are funnier if you repeat them!

    What?

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  14. Wow. by Robotech_Master · · Score: 4, Funny

    I wanna join this guy's fan club.

    --
    Editor Emeritus and Senior Writer, TeleRead.org
    1. Re:Wow. by Mulletproof · · Score: 3, Funny

      Why is that? You can tell by the webpage that this guy is a blowhard.

      Uhg, somebody shoot us all and get it over with :p

      --
      You need a FREE iPod Nano
  15. Finally ... by kitzilla · · Score: 5, Funny

    ... a computer case my kids won't touch. All except Stumpy. He'll mess with anything.

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  16. This was IBM's Quad 3 GHz G5 Case Design by Nova+Express · · Score: 4, Funny
    Strangely enough, shortly after they showed this to Steve Hobs, Apple decided to switch to Intel...

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  17. I wonder by BCW2 · · Score: 4, Funny

    If he laid it on it's right side, would it hover?

    --
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    1. Re:I wonder by MarkRose · · Score: 4, Funny

      And if he were to attach a bag to it, would it Hoover?

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      Be relentless!
    2. Re:I wonder by Elminst · · Score: 2, Funny

      Only if it got distracted right before it hit the desk...

      (/is finishing tHHGttG...)

      --
      No unauthorized use. Trespassers will be shot. Survivors will be shot again.
    3. Re:I wonder by TheGratefulNet · · Score: 2, Funny

      And if he were to attach a bag to it, would it Hoover?

      "I didn't know it was physically possible, but this both sucks and blows"

      -b. simpson

      --

      --
      "It is now safe to switch off your computer."
    4. Re:I wonder by indytx · · Score: 2, Funny
      And if he were to attach a bag to it, would it Hoover?

      Wasn't that an A-Team episode?

      --
      Make love, not reality television.
  18. That's the.... by Dunbal · · Score: 5, Funny

    That's the last time the cat is sleeping on the CPU case...meeeeeeeoooosplsplsplsplsplspl ewwwwwww

    --
    Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
    1. Re:That's the.... by Fallon · · Score: 4, Funny
      That's the last time the cat is sleeping on the CPU case...meeeeeeeoooosplsplsplsplsplspl ewwwwwww


      That does't stop our cat... at least once a week we hear this Bzzzzzt sound as she stuffs her paw into the power supply fan. Apparently she thinks it's entertaining.
    2. Re:That's the.... by danheretic · · Score: 2, Funny

      She's just sharpening her claws. Watch out.

  19. Ah yes by messiah_b · · Score: 5, Funny

    The Computer Case of toe and finger removal +5

  20. Fragile by MavenW · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Gotta be careful with those plastic fins on the fans. They're not very durable. Last week we had a guy with four or five pieces of paper in his hand, rolled up into a cylinder. He accidentally touched the processor fan with them and three of the fins busted right out. That made the rest of the fan imbalanced and it made a terrible racket until he yanked the power cord.

    If a small cylinder of paper can break them, think what a pencil or a shoe could do.

  21. It also blows. by NixieBunny · · Score: 2

    Hopefully it sucks exactly as much as it blows.

    --
    The determined Real Programmer can write Fortran programs in any language.
  22. Personally... by loteck · · Score: 4, Funny

    I think it blows.

  23. Cool, but stupid by Gollum2001 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    While I and probably every other PC user on earth are trying to reduce power usage and noise, this guy go the exact opposite. Weird. But, it's probably the perfect case for a dual intel p4. ;-)

    --
    "Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former" - Albert Einstein.
  24. Strange. by blackicye · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Oddly enough, the motherboard temperature of this case (25C) is identical to the temperature inside my current casing (Lian Li PC-60: 3x 80mm intake fan, 1x 120mm exhaust, and 2 fan power supply)

    I guess airflow through most well designed casings is pretty good these days.

    Though I bet this "case" won't have any "hotspots". It has to be as noisy as hell though, I can't believe noone else thought to do this first.

  25. A Much Better Fan Case... by Planky · · Score: 2, Interesting

    http://www.mini-itx.com/projects/coolcube/

  26. airplane by pintomp3 · · Score: 2, Funny

    with all those fans, will this computer start flying around when you play games?

  27. Airflow is backwards: by photon317 · · Score: 4, Insightful


    He claims "Looking from the front of the case, air flows in through the left side and out the right side. The front an back blow air into the case and air flows from the top of the case down and out the bottom... theoretically anyway."

    Ideally, the top/bottom flow direction should be from bottom to top, since the coldest air is on the floor of your room (heat rises). Most datacenter-class stuff goes bottom to top as well, but that's just because that's where the A/C is, underneath the servers in the raised flooring.

    And having two major airflows intersecting in the case (left->right vs top->bottom) seems inefficient as well.

    Personally, I would have set it up with the bottom, front, and back as intakes, and the top and both sides as outflows. Only issue there is the usual power-supply placement puts it outflowing on the back, but I guess in such a custom case you could move the power supply so that the "rear" of it is blowing out one of the sides or the top.

    --
    11*43+456^2
  28. Cluster by McGiraf · · Score: 5, Funny

    Imagine a beoWHOOOOoooOOOSH ............

  29. Noise by Trogre · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I didn't see in the article if he was running these fans at the standard 12V or had underclocked them.

    Since noise produced by air is generally proportional to fan speed and inversely proportional to fan size, you could consider each side of this mod as a single large fan.

    If you set each of these fans to a few hundred rpm this beast just might be quieter than a single fan pushing the same amount of air and with much better air flow.

    --
    "Nine times out of ten, starting a fire is not the best way to solve the problem." - my wife
  30. Took you a while to get onto /. by a.koepke · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Seen this before 6 months ago: Throlspuddle's Built from scratch

    Date Submitted : December 3rd, 2004

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  31. Re:Intent by cbiltcliffe · · Score: 2, Informative

    Quickly moving air is lower pressure (read: vaccuum) than slow moving air.
    That's how planes fly. The top of the wing is curved, the bottom straight, so the air going over the top of the wing moves further, at a higher speed, than the air at the bottom. Hence, uplift.

    Fast air moving by your nose/mouth would therefore suck the breath out of you. Have you ever been outside in a really strong wind, and had difficulty catching your breath? That's the effect that the GP was talking about.

    --
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  32. IT HOVERS! by cybercomm · · Score: 3, Funny

    With so many fans, im surprised it doesnt hover...now imagine if it did, and they put LED fans... RUN FOR THE HILLS!

    --
    Live for the present, learn from the past, and dream of the future!
    1. Re:IT HOVERS! by LouisvilleDebugger · · Score: 2, Funny

      That's brilliant, invading aliens would never think of looking for you in the HILLS.

      "Yes, but eatable ants. I found that out." -- Orson Wells

  33. Re:Simply Fan-tastic by Kid+Zero · · Score: 5, Informative

    Found it! It was from 2000, five years ago. Geez!

    http://www.envador.com/cases/PVCII/

    PVC and a 18" box fan. Wow.

    I was wrong above, only one fan but considering I've kept that image in my head for five years now, that's not bad.

  34. Re:Haven't seen it yet so.... by dotgain · · Score: 2, Informative

    You haven't seen a "welcome overlords" post yet because everybody is sick of them now. Everybody.

  35. Let's go to Fry's by Slur · · Score: 5, Funny

    I used to be a big fan of the case section. Now I'll have to remember to case the fan section.

    --
    -- thinkyhead software and media
  36. Oh *FANS* by An+Ominous+Cow+Erred · · Score: 2, Funny

    Am I the only one who read it initially as "PC Case Made Completely of Flan"?

    That sounds a lot tastier!

  37. needs strobe lighting.... by toomanyhandles · · Score: 2, Interesting

    He mentions he will put LEDs in, I think it would be fun to put a strobe in/around it somewhere... should look interesting, stop-motion of all those fans...

  38. Broken fin by QMO · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I was given a computer that made a funny noise.
    I looked inside and noticed that one of the fins on the CPU fan was bent.
    It was actually under warranty, as the person that gave it to me had an extended warranty, but why would I spend the postage to send the computer in just for a new CPU fan?
    I tried to straighten it and it broke off.
    I didn't want a wobbly fan on my CPU, so I broke off the opposite fin.

    It's worked fine for over a year.
    (Slot Athlon 1GHz)

    --
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