'Die you mofo, die, die, die!' the words will flow like air out a fan grill. Ron Prouse is not quite as colourful as this mod, but at least he blows. Air.
This mod is a new twist on an old theme. The Tube of Death was one of the first case-mods I ever saw, and the functionality of the concept is every bit as valid today as it was back then: cool air saving hot silicon!
The original idea was to have a tube running from the outside of the case so that the airflow over the CPU heatsink fan was 'room-ambient' air, rather than the warmer air from inside the case. You can't argue with the logic, especially when you consider the woeful ventilation that some older PC cases suffered from. As modders began to add more case-fans, and ambient case-temperatures dropped, so the Tube of Death became less relevant -- after all, if you have 400cfm (cubic feet per minute) of fresh air rushing through, then the air temperature will be nearly the same inside as outside. But the wind-tunnel effect comes at a price: noise and power consumption -- and if you have a plethora of fans then you will understand both of those drawbacks.
The desire for good ventilation at a reasonable noise level has created a resurgence of the humble ToD. After all, why cool the whole case when there are really only three main 'hotspots': the CPU, GPU and HDDs. The trick is to deliver cool air to where it is needed the most, and that will then reduce the overall temperatures by attrition.
The old ToD was always a passive solution: air was sucked through by the HS fan; but what if there was a fan attached to the tube to make it 'active'? The advantages are that the volume of air will be greater, air can be directed straight to the spot it's needed and, because the fan is inside the case, the noise level is much less than a conventional 'blowhole' inlet.The question is: how do you fit a round peg (the tube) into a square hole (the fan)?
ABOVE: An LED fan adds significant 'Wow!' factor to any casemod.
The answer is an adaptor plate made from a 90 x 90 x 10mm thick piece of plastic, a 62mm ID subwoofer port from Jaycar (cat. # CX2690 RRP $4.95), an 80mm fan and grill, and four 3 X 12 mm screws / nuts. You will also need a jigsaw or similar, a drill and bits, a 1/2-round file, sandpaper and five-minute epoxy glue.
Fabricating the adaptor plate is fairly straight forward, but it needs to be accurate, as the tube has to be a tight fit inside the plate. The first thing to do is cut the tube to the length that you need, less 25mm for the fan when it is assembled, and taper the outside edge slightly. Then use the inside of the tube to draw a circle onto the centre of the plastic, and cut out the hole 1mm larger with a jigsaw or similar. Using a half-round file and sandpaper, enlarge the hole evenly until the tube will slide in, while still a really tight fit.
Keep the shape circular and the edges of the hole as square as possible. This is known as an 'interference fit', and there needs to be maximum surface contact.
With the hole finished it is time to attach the fan. Place it in the centre of the plastic, lining it up with the hole. Mark and drill 3mm holes in each corner for the screws, and thin the adaptor plate down to 4mm on the corners. Attach the fan and then file down the adaptor 'body' so it is the same size as the fan body. For maximum w00t effect, use a clear LED fan and sandwich a laser-cut grill between it and the adaptor. The grill will also stop the tube sliding in too far, hitting the fan-blades.
ABOVE: A 'round peg in a square hole?' - it's all about interface adaptors!.
The port has eight flutes around the outside, with an outside lip 20mm wide, allowing plenty of room for gluing it in or for covering any slips made while cutting the case!
The concept is to cut out a 75mm hole, with a sunburst of eight 2mm-wide slots for the flutes to fit into, securing the port and stopping it from turning.
Use epoxy glue, or silicon, to attach the tube to the case to minimise vibration, then attach the adaptor and fan and power it up!
As you may have already realised, this is a great method for adding a blowhole anywhere on a case, especially the top, as there are no visible fan-screws and the ports look really pro-finish!
Issue: 137 | June, 2012