EVE General Discussion

Getting a liquid cooling rig for your CPU ($80) will also substantially lower your internal case temps, especially once your ambient hits real summer temps. This will substantially keep your GPU temp down. It often gets up to 110-115F (45C) where I live in the summer and with the liquid cooler I can still leave the case cover on.

You should close your case. You can still achieve proper cooling without leaving it open to the elements and still keep the majority of dust out of it. All you need to do is establish good airflow within the case. Two 120mm fans, one pulling air in, one pulling air out should do it. You can make a filter for the fan pulling air in. I filter my incoming fan and it does a fair job doing it. What I do is buy the cheapest AC filter out there, cut it so shape of the fan and mount it on a box that I've cut and folded to size that fits around the fan. Wa-la, a easily removable filter that I can take outside that I can clean easily with compressed air. It won't keep all the dust out. But I find that it does take much longer for dust to build up and what does make it in is very small particulates not dust bunnies. To keep all the dust out you'd need better filter material which would drastically impede airflow.

BTW, volcanic dust is conductive. Don't know if this is really a problem for you.

The two fans are positioned so: Fan A is the incoming air fan. It's on the left panel and directly over the CPU and partially over the GPU. That way those two components get the coolest air first. Fan B is outgoing air and is mounted on the front where you'd generally mount CD's. It takes up 3 5.25 slots. You can create your own mounts for it using slot covers or you can buy such mounts online. Then I use manual fan speed controls to keep them quiet. They're always on the lowest speeds.

If your case doesn't have such a panel opening for 120mm(or larger if you want bigger fans), a jig saw works well to cut a circle opening for the fan. Sand down the rough edges and you're golden.

Your temps are perfectly fine

IF you are worried switch to liquid. It's actually better giving that you live in a tropical environment. I would be more concerned with moisture from the humidity though instead of the heat. Get some desiccant packs to throw in the bottom of the case.

Having the case wide open might seem like a good idea however, its probably the absolute worst thing you could do. Air flow actually becomes stagnate and it opens up tons of other problems such as static, higher amounts of dust, increased moisture, and the possibility of little creatures getting hungry/curious.

TigerDirect is Compusa. You can be sure, whatever they're selling you on a good deal is crap. If it's not on sale, you should be fine.

This. Taking the sides of the case of is bad. I too used to think it would improve my temperatures, but it's bad in the long run, messes up a balanced airflow.

This is a very troublesome problem indeed. Perhaps you would like to switch with me in New Jersey, and I'll take on your burdens in frightful Maui.

Seriously, 80C isn't too much to worry about for a GPU. There are a couple options that aren't too expensive. One is to replace the thermal compound on your current card with a better aftermarket product like Arctic Cooling MX-4, Tuniq TX-4, or Noctua NT-H1. Arctic Silver is also an option however it is slightly electrically conductive so you have to be careful. You can see anywhere between a 1-8 C drop using different compound. Another option is looking into an aftermarket air cooler, which is a much cheaper alternative (and easier to install) than watercooling solutions.

In the future, you should consider looking into some of the newer AMD models that are coming out, they are very energy efficient and only hit around 60-70C under load. If the leaked Nvidia specs are any indication, the next gen isn't going to be quite as energy efficient (more power draw generally = more heat).

Now that you have that problem solved, why are you indoors playing EVE while living in Maui? Is it raining?

Nope. I'm allergic to tourists.