adding a fan to the mpc 1000

i added a small heatsink (that came from a junk video card... you need thermally conductive adhesive. you can get it at any computer store) to my CPU and will soon add some vents, a laptop fan and a SSD to minimize current draw and heatsoak. i figure if i pressurize the interior with cool air, the hot air will find its way out. the chassis is full of stamped holes and airspace. most heat will end up escaping through the button holes. i may put some vent holes by the CPU or somehow by the power supply. havent figured that one out yet. i consider it a challenge and it can only add to the lifespan of the unit. plus its neet to think i will have retrofitted a fan into my mpc! i believe they didnt design it with the intention of it lasting very long. they didnt make any provision for cooling.





the only real space to put it is over the hard drive bay. ill need to cut a hole in the bottom center.





front intake side exit is good for tight clearance.



the only thing i need to be careful of is hot air recirculation. if i make small vents on the top it will make the air escape that way because its the path of least resistance. because im pumping cool air in the bottom and hot air is exiting out the top, they wont mix. hopefully.

Nicely done, looks professional. Though I'm not sure that it's at all necessary, it certainly can't hurt.

my mpc gets damn hot. at least now even in the summer it wont matter. im also replacing the power supply to see if its faulty.

313 studio tricks wrote:my mpc gets damn hot. at least now even in the summer it wont matter. im also replacing the power supply to see if its faulty.

fair enough. I'm only talking from my experience with the 1K, not the 4K. guess it makes sense that the bigger guy runs hotter.

not sure i follow you... thats a 1k motherboard resting on a dusty 4k

sciguy wrote:Nicely done, looks professional

Have you notice any different in temp?

i found out that you can use a 12v fan on the 5v buss (went out and bought one instead of using the fan pictured above) and it slows it down dramatically... enough so that its super quiet! cool beans!

im glad i did it. my mpc is normal temp for hours now. no interference with audio or hdd access.

313 studio tricks wrote:not sure i follow you... thats a 1k motherboard resting on a dusty 4k

ah, nvm.

finally put a vent in for the CPU

was you mpc freezing up during hot days ? what CPU temps did you register before and after ?, most of the heat probably comes from the power supply and LCD..I"m guessing akai didnt put fan in the 1k because it isnt process heavy machine to have one

The fan on the bottom looks kind of cool. The hole in the back is not that pretty IMO.
My motto is: If it ain't broke, don't try to fix it. When it comes to issues with heat I prefer passive cooling cause I really hate the noise of fans when I'm doing music. I been there for years with an Atari MegaST with a noisy fan AND noisy HD plus an Emu E64 sampler with a fan and a 5400rmp HD. I wonder how I made music back then.

But to each its own


peace

yeah the grate in the back could be cleaned up. im more concerned with operation of the mod than the look. besides nobody will be looking at my mpc. at least not back there.

before i put the vent in, the heatsink would get very warm. before i put the fan in, the whole unit would get hot. when it gets hot, the thing has a seizure or an epileptic fit so to speak. my mpc does not get hot at all anymore. we are not in the summer season yet where it will matter most. im happy with it how i did it, i used fluid dynamics theory to make it work much more efficiently. this was born of necessity, not whim.

my fan can barely be heard. i can even try out different models until i find one that is virtually silent. i dont need much flow to keep things cool. theyre only $4-10 each on ebay.

btw i didnt 'try to fix it', i modded it to alleviate a compound issue. i am also replacing the power supply and putting an SSD in. what can i say i have lots of money and time! i just bought my second 4000 and im wondering why im keeping the 1000 around but i would never be able to get what i have into it back fully and i love its size. i guess i dont mind it being a little workhorse with battle scars here and there. i wouldnt hesitate to take it into a hot sweaty club now that i improved the cooling.

Your MPC is clearly getting hotter than it should be, which suggest to me it has an electrical fault. I've heard of 1000's overheating due to dry solder joints.

I don't think it's wise to complicate the situation by potentially fanning the flames!

ok thanks for the warning. its doing fine ever since i put it in there. no seriously guys its great now, no flames or sparks even. i like my mpc and it works fine. no reason for concern.