S10 642327A | internal upgrades (part 2): cooling - a tropical perspective

Question

My S10 came configured with only a rear case fan. When the AC isn't running it gets darned hot in my studio - 33-35C at times (91-95F) and the hotter it is in here the hotter my machine runs. Bear in mind I am long out of warranty here...
Now, I know the chasis is designed for 24/7 type operation (and it often does) but I have to say this bugger is a bit noisy and more so since I added a front case fan I scavenged (don't ask unless you want to talk WD ShareSpace !@#!@#!@$%^$): there's enough noise in my life that I'd like to quiet down my quiet space, which is where I work. Fan noise is the only beef I've ever had with my S10 ;-).
The CPU spikes at times into the high 50s and I want to cool the whole box down so, if possible, I don't run more than ambient air temperature (I know, I'm asking alot and maybe howling at the moon here).
What I have planned is to:
1] replace the scavenged front case fan with an Arctic PWM
2] replace the rear case fan with an Arctic PWM
3] install an Arctic Freezer 7 PRO Rev. 2 CPU cooler (which will fit my current E6850 and pending upgrade to QX9650): I run some huge files in Excel, Access and ArcGIS  and as we all know Adobe anything is resource hungry. I often peg the E6850 and when I do the temps shoot up
4] lace all the fans together with an Arctic PMW 1-4 4-pin splitter (so I can set temp targets with SpeedFan), and
5] possibly add a 120mm Arctic MODEL to the access panel to increase airflow since I am adding the Icy Box Duo in the 5.25" bay and concerned about heat piling up in the top front of the case (my middle HDD runs from 7-10C higher than the lowest drive and from 4-7C above the upper drive: the new drive bay will of course be above them) - but this may be over the top and a tad insane to add the 120mm?
I consult half time and Dad half time (our son is 8.5 months + raucous) and we're in no position to make any mammoth upgrades (like a D30 someone mentioned recently...Erik ;-) in the near to mid-term. My machine is rock solid but I didn't go for the max configuration when I bought (we couldn't afford it then either) figuring I could always upgrade the chasis. Mostly it's about taking care of what I have and with the CPU going up to something I've coveted for years and would make my work life just a bit smoother and faster I figure: if I can squeeze another 4-5 years out of this baby then it will have equalled my best Mac (oh for the good old dayz).
Opinions?
S10 - 642327A
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Answer 1

as i'm sure you're aware, 33-35C ambient temps are the underlying issue.
keeping in mind that my college thermodynamics course is a bit fuzzy, heat or noise will need to be sacrificed given the limitations.   adding fans and/or increasing airflow will convect heat better but the air itself will still be the same temperature.   even a chassis with nothing but 120mm fans would have to run fast to move enough air to cool things down, again introducing the noise factor.
starting off with hot air means everything is hotter.   there's no getting around that.
i can't say with any certainty that swapping your fans will work.   you might get the system to run cooler but it will likely be noisier.   without actually trying it first-hand, it's impossible to say.   the BIOS expects certain fans and is built around specific fan values (ie: voltage, RPM, and resulting airflow).   changing the fans from those insalled as original equipment introduces unpredictable variables.   the noise you're getting from the WD sharespace fan is but one example.   not all fans have the same acoustics or spin at the same RPM at a given voltage.   that fan might be noisy due to being spun too fast at idle voltage or it's noisy because your room is hot and the BIOS is driving it faster on purpose.   again, variables.
on a maxed-out S10 there should be an 80mm fan attached to the back of the hard drive array, 92mm fans at the front and rear of the case, one on the CPU (120mm, if i recall), and one on your video card.   that's five total.   these should be more than enough to cool a system given reasonable ambient temps.
about all i can personally recommend is installing the proper factory fans and turning on your AC or dealing with the noise.   perhaps someone else will come along with other ideas.
(edit: typo)
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