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Mac Pro Owners: anyone ever design a hot air exhaust for this beast?

JPamplin

JPamplin

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Folks,

My Mac Pro is COOKING the office I work in - has anyone ever tried porting this hot air out of the room like in server cabinets? It gets really hot here in the summer, and I'd like to switch the exhaust in the winter to help heat the house.

Anyone? How about a vendor?

JP
 
you may be able to get a small server cabinet and run a duct with a fan... other than that try running SMC fan control and bump the fan speed up a bit to keep the machine cool.
 
JPamplin said:
Folks,

My Mac Pro is COOKING the office I work in - has anyone ever tried porting this hot air out of the room like in server cabinets? It gets really hot here in the summer, and I'd like to switch the exhaust in the winter to help heat the house.

Anyone? How about a vendor?

JP
Click to expand...

I did that for my server room. Any construction guy can do it. It's easy. I did my own. I made it a semi-clean room while I was at it too. I just used scroll-fans. Also sometimes called vent-fans or draft-fans. I added two at each end of the room. My ducting was short because both ends of the room were exterior walls. You think one contributes to room heat... try 24 machines all rendering video 24/7 thru a hot summer day. 😀 Here's some images:

The insides looks like this (one for each):
Scroll-Fan-EM160A-.jpg




The Full units looked like this (one scroll-fan per unit):
APPA08VKSL1.jpg




And they install kinda like this:
bathroom-fan-Over.jpg

I used the "sidewall" type of port (bottom left).​


With all four going full blast I could just barely make out a whisper if there was no other noise in the room. Scroll fans this size are VERY quiet!

It took me about a day and cost a total of about $800 for the four including the ducts, wall-caps, electrical wiring, 4 antuenators (sp??) [dimmer switches], fittings, and etc.. That was a long time ago but I guess they're still the same price.



.
 
Thanks for the feedback folks - to answer 300's question, this is a south facing room that gets very hot just from the sun, even with AC, but throw in a couple of heat generators like a Mac Pro or a large PC (or both, in my case), and it gets pretty toasty in here, even with the AC set to 75 F trying to keep up.

I definitely want to run a flexible tube (like air conditioning duct) from the area where these two computers are to the side of the room and out the wall, exiting into a crawlspace area (not part of the room, but under the roof.)

The real issue is: I would have no idea how to enclose the Mac Pro and the PC, allowing fresh air in the front, but completely sealing off the exhaust in the back, all without interfering with cabling. Anyone see a box like that?

JP
 
JPamplin said:
Thanks for the feedback folks - to answer 300's question, this is a south facing room that gets very hot just from the sun, even with AC, but throw in a couple of heat generators like a Mac Pro or a large PC (or both, in my case), and it gets pretty toasty in here, even with the AC set to 75 F trying to keep up.

I definitely want to run a flexible tube (like air conditioning duct) from the area where these two computers are to the side of the room and out the wall, exiting into a crawlspace area (not part of the room, but under the roof.)

The real issue is: I would have no idea how to enclose the Mac Pro and the PC, allowing fresh air in the front, but completely sealing off the exhaust in the back, all without interfering with cabling. Anyone see a box like that?

JP
Click to expand...
You could try using a window as an exit point if you wish as well (might be easier than other methods to test the idea out first).

As per getting the hot air ducted out of the computers, try using a house hold dryer vent. Pull off the angled portions, and it should give you a tube with a flat plate to mount to the computer's exhaust vent. You can use simple velcro, double sided tape, or even try magnets (I've done that internally before to make ducting from the cooler exhaust side to the rear vents).

Attach vent hose, and you should have a duct from the exhaust port off each system, to some point where you can vent it outside. If the vent lengths are too long, you might want to use a fan like Tesselator mentioned (due to the computer's fans can't produce enough pressure).
 
product26 said:
... other than that try running SMC fan control and bump the fan speed up a bit to keep the machine cool.
Click to expand...

You do know that does not change how much head is being generated right? Yes the chips will be cooler to the touch, but the same amount of heat is going into the room. Less heat at a faster rate is still the same.
 
For mine I didn't try to seal off the exhaust from the units or eject it directly. I focused on keeping the ambient temperature down by ejecting/exchanging the entire air volume of the room. Thus 4 (quiet) exhaust fans. I also had something like this:

satomi212000-img450x600-1250926133o08qb840144.jpg

mounted in the window. It's a self contained inverter type air conditioner which I set to 16c (60 f) on hot days and just used two of the exhaust fans opposite the window. 🙂 The USA has the same things but they're bigger more cube-shaped.

Another thing to consider is wall insulation. you can keep a room or a building cooler in summer and warmer in winter if the exterior walls are insulated. The easiest, cheapest, and safest after-construction type to self-install is loose-fill cellulose. If you're in California you can get the cost of professional installation added directly to your gas bill over a 1, 3, or 5 year period. Other states may offer the same I dunno.

Also increasing your fan speeds will help. Abidubi is wrong about that. Unless your room is very small and hermetically sealed or something and even then it still makes a difference unless the barometer is exactly and constantly zero. 😛
 
For some reason, I find this really intriguing. Not sure why, though.

On a quick side note, my PS3 heats up a mid-size room with ease. There is a noticeable difference in temperature between where the PS3 is and the rest of the house, even with the A/C on.
 
The easiest, cheapest, and safest after-construction type to self-install is loose-fill cellulose.
If you're in California you can get the cost of professional installation added directly to your gas bill over a 1, 3, or 5 year period.
Click to expand...
:

where is the info for this ? I live in a very hot place in cali and would love to see this about the 1,3,5 year period for professional installation!!

where, oh where is it!🙂
 
Tesselator said:
For mine I didn't try to seal off the exhaust from the units or eject it directly. I focused on keeping the ambient temperature down by ejecting/exchanging the entire air volume of the room. Thus 4 (quiet) exhaust fans. I also had something like this:
satomi212000-img450x600-1250926133o08qb840144.jpg
Click to expand...

Why not just place the MacPro in front of it? Allowing the cool air to blow directly into the front of the MP. At least that's what I do when I'm in hot and humid Osaka... Temps between 30~35°C!! Makes the entire case of the MP cooler, almost like a refrigerator, just be a little careful condensation sometimes forms on the outside of the case.. lol
 
UltraNEO* said:
Why not just place the MacPro in front of it? Allowing the cool air to blow directly into the front of the MP. At least that's what I do when I'm in hot and humid Osaka... Temps between 30~35°C!! Makes the entire case of the MP cooler, almost like a refrigerator, just be a little careful condensation sometimes forms on the outside of the case.. lol
Click to expand...
Sounds like you need a dehumidifier too. 😉 😛
 
UltraNEO* said:
Why not just place the MacPro in front of it? Allowing the cool air to blow directly into the front of the MP. At least that's what I do when I'm in hot and humid Osaka... Temps between 30~35°C!! Makes the entire case of the MP cooler, almost like a refrigerator, just be a little careful condensation sometimes forms on the outside of the case.. lol
Click to expand...

stop sooking, its 30°C here today and its winter!!!!

very interesting project *gets ideas*

Tess: why on earth do you have 24 machines in your house?? 😱
 
UltraNEO* said:
Why not just place the MacPro in front of it? Allowing the cool air to blow directly into the front of the MP. At least that's what I do when I'm in hot and humid Osaka... Temps between 30~35°C!! Makes the entire case of the MP cooler, almost like a refrigerator, just be a little careful condensation sometimes forms on the outside of the case.. lol
Click to expand...

Well, in my particular case there were no Mac Pros in the room. There were 24 dual processor machines in a render-farm along with some other equipment. Kinda hard to aim that at all 24 machines. 😉


DoFoT9 said:
Tess: why on earth do you have 24 machines in your house?? 😱
Click to expand...

Quake lan parties? 😀
 
Tesselator said:
Well, in my particular case there were no Mac Pros in the room. There were 24 dual processor machines in a render-farm along with some other equipment. Kinda hard to aim that at all 24 machines. 😉

Quake lan parties? 😀
Click to expand...

im jealous. imagine that power!!!!!!!

nah not quake Cod 😀😀
 
DoFoT9 said:
im jealous. imagine that power!!!!!!!

nah not quake Cod 😀😀
Click to expand...

Don't be. It's long gone now. It replaced a 48 node DEC Alpha rack and it itself, was eventually replaced by 6 DELL Precisions of the same total computing power. The whole thing started with a very large stack of Amigas. 😀 And these days I just use the Mac Pro 8-core mostly.
 
Tesselator said:
Don't be. It's long gone now. It replaced a 48 node DEC Alpha rack and it itself, was eventually replaced by 6 DELL Precisions of the same total computing power. The whole thing started with a very large stack of Amigas. 😀 And these days I just use the Mac Pro 8-core mostly.
Click to expand...

oh right lol! you didnt specify the power of them i just assumed they were around the latest up to date things.

how does the MP compare FLOP wise to those other machines?
 
DoFoT9 said:
oh right lol! you didnt specify the power of them i just assumed they were around the latest up to date things.

how does the MP compare FLOP wise to those other machines?
Click to expand...

I dunno flops off the top of my head. I know frame render times in a few different 3D engines, test scenes, etc.. But yeah, the Mac Pro is pretty close to two of the DELL Precision 650 workstations.

BTW, I like Q3a much better than Cod unless there's a way to rocket-jump or plasma-climb in Cod. 😀 https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/771959/
 
Tesselator said:
I dunno flops off the top of my head. I know frame render times in a few different 3D engines, test scenes, etc.. But yeah, the Mac Pro is pretty close to two of the DELL Precision 650 workstations.
Click to expand...
😱 come on man!!! FLOPS are Teh™ way to compare hardware! 😀

BTW, I like Q3a much better than Cod unless there's a way to rocket-jump in Cod. 😀 https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/771959/
Click to expand...

i have played a few different mods of Cod that allow that sort of thing to happen 😛 Q3a is so old though!!
 
I need some answer as well. My office is noticeably higher and we set the AC at 72, just this room gets hotter.

I think its the dual 23" and mac pro heating it up. You can sometimes feel how hot they are just sitting by them.
 
kellen said:
I think its the dual 23" and mac pro heating it up. You can sometimes feel how hot they are just sitting by them.
Click to expand...

I run dual 24" LCDs and I notice that the brightness level makes a huge difference in how much heat they produce. My current setting is Brightness 10, Contrast 60. I get a nice pure white too! With the brightness at 50 (perhaps suitable for a room FLOODED with sunlight) they draw twice the power and produce a lot more heat. Maybe something to look in to?
 
Tesselator said:
I run dual 24" LCDs and I notice that the brightness level makes a huge difference in how much heat they produce. My current setting is Brightness 10, Contrast 60. I get a nice pure white too! With the brightness at 50 (perhaps suitable for a room FLOODED with sunlight) they draw twice the power and produce a lot more heat. Maybe something to look in to?
Click to expand...
LCD's can get warm?!?! 😱 😀 😛

Hmm... If the stove ever goes out, set the brightness & contrast to max and fry some eggs. 😛
 
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