Upgrading a Gateway SX2800-07

[jmdale1984]

Graphics Card... installed
RAM... installed
SSD... installed
Power Supply... delayed by UPS until Monday

Now it's time to tackle heat. I think I need at least one more fan. The only fans it came with was the power supply fan and the CPU fan (which blows straight down on the processor heat sink, bringing air in from the side of the case).

There is an unused 4 pin connector on the motherboard labelled "SYSFAN1". I'm thinking that this is where I should attach a case fan. From What I understand, the 4 pin connector is power, ground... and the other 2 pins measure fan RPM and allow the pc to control fan speed. Problem is, I cannot find a 4 pin fan to plug into it.

I salvaged a 3" 2 pin fan from an old Mac G5 that I had at my disposal. I also salvaged a 4 pin connector for my motherboard. I had opened it hoping to find a 4 pin fan, but no luck.

Any help on cooling this case?

 

[krone6]

May i know why you're making this harder on yourself than need be? You're going through hoops and ladders on a simple problem. To get better case cooling, get a better case.......... The reason your case is so hot in the first place is because it's small. Adding even more things in there will worsen the problem.

 

[jmdale1984]

I've already said many times in this thread that I do not want to switch cases. I like my case. I will find a work around.

 

[krone6]

I've already said many times in this thread that I do not want to switch cases. I like my case. I will find a work around.

Alright, then if you're happy with the case's looks that's fine. I just wanted to make sure it wasn't some weird reason that could of been prevented. Once your get it running i would like to see the pic of everything inside. I just can't picture that small case housing so many items at once.

 

[jmdale1984]

I'll post pics once I get the power supply and fans in. Decided to cut a hole in the front bottom of the case to add a 92mm PWM fan, and I'm going to use a pci slot fan in the rear.

Right now, I'm still running the 220w power supply until tomorrow. Installed speed fan to get a gauge on the heat.

Temp1(?): 40 - 50 degrees
Temp2(?): 50 - 65 degrees
Temp3(?): 17 - 28 degrees
Kingston SSD: 30 - 45 degrees
WD 2TB: 35 - 48 degrees
Core 0,1,2,3: All these run in the range of 38 - 53 degrees

I think the temps are looking ok, but then again, I haven't done anything more intensive than playing HD movies, and volume leveling my media library (had to redo the whole library after moving everything around). I have no idea what temp1,2,&3 are. Temp 2 is definitely the hottest sensor, but I have no idea what it goes to. From what I understand, speed fan cannot read ATI graphics cards. The CPU fan seems to run steady at 1175-1225 RPMs. Maybe I haven't gotten it hot enough to speed up?

I know Windows Experience scores aren't the most accurate way of measuring performance... but here's what I've got so far.

Component OLD/NEW
Processor 7.2/7.2
RAM 7.2/7.2
Graphics 4.3/5.5
Gaming Graphics 3.5/6.6
Primary HD 5.9/7.1

I'm not sure if installing the power supply will make any difference with those, though.

 

[krone6]

Hey, if you did buy that 5570 did you still use the sidecase afterwards? I'm assuming that's the video card you got though...

 

[jmdale1984]

You mean... can I still attach the side panel to the case? Yes. Not even an issue.

The card fits just fine with zero modification. It was a very tight installation (the lip on the top of the case was in the way of the card's heat sink), but I just pulled up on the top of the case until it would slide past it. Case is perfectly intact, just had to flex it outta the way a little.

I imagine that an HD 5570 that was fan cooled and didn't have the huge heatsink would fit with ease. I used the HIS HD 5570 Silence 2GB DDR3. I used it on the recommendation of another Gateway SX2800 series owner.

 

[krone6]

Wow, and that's not even a slimline version? If it's not i'm amazed it fit as it did. Pictures are defiantly needed soon when you're done.

 

[jmdale1984]

Here's a link to the card I bought.

Amazon.com: HIS Radeon HD 5570 Silence 2 GB (128bit) DDR3 HDMI DL-DVI (HDCP) PCI Express 2.1 X16 Video Card Retail (RoHS) H557HO2G: Electronics

 

[krone6]

Here's a link to the card I bought.

Amazon.com: HIS Radeon HD 5570 Silence 2 GB (128bit) DDR3 HDMI DL-DVI (HDCP) PCI Express 2.1 X16 Video Card Retail (RoHS) H557HO2G: Electronics

Ahh, no wonder. It was a slimline version. But DAMN at that 2GB vram! My 9800gt only has 512, but costs almost as much used as that thing is new.