I opened up my computer for the first time to clear out some dust. (I suspect it’s been overheating.)
Now I’m trying to close the thing and… I can’t.
The case has this, for lack of a better term, pipe attached to it which I guess is designed to lead warm air from the processor to the outside. (The pipe covers over one of the areas on the case that’s full of holes for circulation, and leads down toward the processor.) But over the processor there’s a very large heatsink/fan contraption. And when I’m trying to slide the case closed, the pipe bumps up against one of the screws on the heatsink (or something–I’m actually not sure what these things jutting out of it are), blocking further progress.
I could force it, but I’m pretty sure I’d run the risk of cracking the motherboard.
I have no idea how I managed to open the thing, now that I’ve seen how these pieces relate to each other once its closed.
Are you talking about a little plastic tube that is attached to the case side (over the vent holes) and the free end is supposed to sit over the heat sink/fan on the CPU? That’s pretty common on a lot of cases (I have one on mine) and it can be adjusted - see if it telescopes a bit; I would assume they’d have to because there’s a wide variety of heat sinks available for CPUs, one size would not fit all. It might slide freely or even screw in and out.
No, it definitely slides. It’s got tabs on the case wall that can do nothing other but slide into these slots on the case itself.
The pipe/tube thing I mentioned can indeed be removed, so I think I’m just going to remove it. It’s strange–though it appears to me to be designed to channel air from the processor to the outside by means of a fan, it doesn’t in fact lead to the processor. It leads to an area near the processer, but not the processer itself. And the fan attached to the heatsink over the processor points somewhere else completely, nowhere near the tube. So I think the tube is not fulfilling its function anyway. Out it goes.
I’d sure like to know how they asssembled the case in the first place, though.
It’s approx 80mm, right? This sounds like an air intake duct and should be left. It ensures that the air the CPU fan uses to cool the CPU is cool air from outside the PC.
Right. The way to close the case should be a combination of hinge and slide. Put the panel such that it engages at the front, then hinge it closed. The tabs should only just clear their slots. Then firmly slide the thing closed.
Unless the intake vent has a fan actively drawing air into the case, then it serves almost no purpose to have a tube sticking in the case.
In some cases (pun intended), the presence of the tube might even inhibit airflow inside of the case, leading to a higher ambient temperature.
Because your case probably has two exhaust fans (one at the back of the computer, and another at the power supply, yes?) the change in air pressure inside the case will cause cooler air from outside the case to naturally flow inside.
Usually when I see pipes like that they’re either attached to the CPU and not the case side, or they’re intended for the video card area. They’re usually implemented poorly and don’t help unless they’re actively containing a fan, you can remove the ducting.
Aren’t you forgetting when the duct fully covers the fan on the CPU as seems to be the case here. Remember that the fan blows down onto the CPU, so it would be drawing air down the duct.
Not so sure here.
And remember, his PC was working perfectly beforehand, so he shouldn’t break it. Whoever assembled the PC got the thing on, so he should be able to do so too.
I think my OP accidentally implied this, but in fact, the duct doesn’t cover the CPU or its fan.
There’s the CPU, over which is a heatsink. There’s a fan attached to the side of the heatsink, which I guess would blow towards the heatsink (right?). On the other side of the heatsink from the fan is the area under the duct.
Does this mean the duct is, in fact, useless? It definitely doesn’t seem to serve as an air intake duct for the case, since the fan (assuming I’m right that it would blow towards the heatsink) blows toward the duct, not away.
Of course, on the other side of the duct, away from the heatsink, is another fan on the back of the case. (Do these fans blow in or out?) Could the duct be for that fan?
Anyway, as I said, the duct “wants” to be partially where the heatsink is. That’s what’s causing the problem. The heatsink is in the way of the duct.
It’s some screws (or something) sticking out of the top of the heatsink which are causing the problem. I can get part of the circumference of the duct in between two of these screws, and then the case wall is where it should be–but with the tabs over their slots in a way that keeps them from sliding in. Alternatively, I can try to slide the case wall into place, but then one of the screws (or whatever these things sticking out of the heatsink are) gets in the way, preventing me from sliding it in.
Sorry, that’s about the best I can describe the situation.
Yes, this is what’s driving me a bit nuts. They got it together somehow when they assembled my computer.
Right now, to keep it from being open to the cats and kids in the house, I’ve just put the case wall on the case without sliding it into place, and forced the back part of it into place so I can screw it on. I might just keep it that way, since it effectively closes the case, even though it does slightly bend the case wall. (Since its tabs are just pressed against the case instead of having been slid properly into position.) I don’t know how bad that is, but it doesn’t seem horrible.
There should be an arrow on the fan. Or you can just turn the thing on and feel which way the air flows.
This depends upon which way the heatsink fan blows and the physical orientation of the PC. If it’s vertical, it’s not a lot of help; if it lies flat and the fan blows towards the hole then it will help quite a bit.
If it’s at the back of the PC, they usually blow out; if at the front, in.
Probably a very silly question, but are you trying to put it back the wrong way around?