Air flow and the pro

I have heard a few voice concerns of the air flow in the pro case and have 2 questions.

1)  It is listed as having "Front Intake Blizzard Cooling".  This might be a potentially stupid question but....I dont see any openings on the front.  I do see a fan in the hard drive bays, does it just take the air from the bottom of the case?

2)  Someone mentioned that mesh drive bay covers might be a good plan for this case.  Would you agree?   Would you guys sell them?

O'yeah it looks just like this:

My modded Pro case that DSO did for me back in December.


Edited by sundowner - 23 Feb 2008 at 5:07am

It will take 3 drive bays to accommodate a 120mm fan. Each bay is about 1.6" high by 5.25" wide . 12cm is about 4.5", so 3 bays for sure. You might be able to get them to install an 80mm fan in two bays if you had your heart set on 2 DVD drives.

Maybe my question about coming in blue didn't make sense.  Is that red glow from leds on the fan, or just an ultra bright case shining through. 

p.s. check you inbox, I wanna buy one.

I just got this in today and cant quite figure out how to install it.  I found a 3pin connection for the fan, and cut up some string off of my binds to tie it to the drive cage but...how do you install the mesh covers.

I called customer service and they said they would email me directions, but since they didn't come, and the offices will be closed for a few days...I was hoping the community could help me out.

I'm interested in these "concerns about airflow" too.  Of course, airflow concerns = heat concerns, so....

• Are there any temp measurements that can be used to document heat issues?
• At what level of hardware componentry does airflow (or lack thereof) become an issue?
• Assuming that one wants to utilize the many 5.25" bays with, well, 5.25" devices, is there any other way to realistically improve airflow?
• I don't mean to sound cynical, but if airflow really is a problem with this case, why is it still being used?

As you've probably guessed, I've already ordered a system with a 750 case.  I like the styling, the size and the price, not to mention that it was the case recommended with the Category 2 package.  I don't plan on overclocking (famous last words) the already normally cool E8400, although I did go with stage 2 cooling.  The other items contributing to the overall heat level would be the 550w PSU, the 9800GT GPU, 2GB of 1066MHz Dominator RAM, a couple 7200rpm HDs and a couple optical drives.  For now.  I guess I may just be getting all excited and paranoid as I anxiously await this killer rig. 

Originally posted by Mifunego I'm interested in these "concerns about airflow" too.  Of course, airflow concerns = heat concerns, so.... Are there any temp measurements that can be used to document heat issues? At what level of hardware componentry does airflow (or lack thereof) become an issue? Assuming that one wants to utilize the many 5.25" bays with, well, 5.25" devices, is there any other way to realistically improve airflow? I don't mean to sound cynical, but if airflow really is a problem with this case, why is it still being used? Feel free to dispel my paranoia.

1. Yes. Coretemp, Speedfan, and Rivatuner come to mind.

2. Overclocked quads and SLI cards that do not exhaust their hot air outside of the case.

3. Yes, you can upgrade the intake and exhaust fan and realize about a 10*C drop in your temperatures.

4. Airflow is a *potential* problem, depending on configuration. Now that stage 3 cooling is available, the potential for issues is much less. A case, like anything else, needs to be selected with the whole system in mind.

Originally posted by Tyler Lowe 3. Yes, you can upgrade the intake and exhaust fan and realize about a 10*C drop in your temperatures.

Intake fan?  Part of the reason I got the mod was that all I saw was the exhaust on the back.  Is there another opening that I just dont see?

Originally posted by Mifunego Thanks for the response, Tyler. Originally posted by Tyler Lowe 1. Yes. Coretemp, Speedfan, and Rivatuner come to mind.   Actually I meant are there any documented measurements of heat issues with regards to airflow with this case. 2. Overclocked quads and SLI cards that do not exhaust their hot air outside of the case.   So then my setup does not apply. 3. Yes, you can upgrade the intake and exhaust fan and realize about a 10*C drop in your temperatures.   I was wondering more about "custom" cooling additions to this case (if necessary) if the 5.25 bays are otherwise utilized.  But it sounds like I can just buy better fans to replace the stockers. 4. Airflow is a *potential* problem, depending on configuration. Now that stage 3 cooling is available, the potential for issues is much less. A case, like anything else, needs to be selected with the whole system in mind.   Paranoia is a hard habit to break.

I may have been one of the first to note on the forums that the then "Pro case" now the 750, had some airflow issues. I posted my temperatures at the time, along with the improvements I achieved through case modification and fan replacement. Since I had opted for 2 DVD ROM drives, I could not use a 120mm fan for intake in that space and instead installed an 80mm fan.



Prior to making this change, my idle temps were at between 38*C and 40*C on the CPU, with my hottest core around 52*C. This was with an overclock of 2.7 GHz. After the mods, I was able to increase my overclock to 2.92GHz while lowering temperatures to an average idle of 36*C on the CPU, and 48*C on my hottest core. I then replaced the thermal interface on my motherboard and the CPU heatsink and now idle at about 34*C on the CPU, Hottest Core at around 42*C at an overclock of 3.1GHz.

The largest gain came from replacing the exhaust fan. If you wanted an easy to do improvement, that would be it. The second largest gain came from the intake. Even if all you did was to replace a single empty bay cover with a mesh cover, you would see an improvement in temps. I saw a 4*C drop even without the fan.

Your setup, however, should be fine.