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Today I randomly decided to read some newer reviews of the Asus Essentio CG5290 I bought a few years ago. A lot of people mentioned that the power supply wattage is too low (500 W when Asus apparently recommends at least 600 W) and that the single 120mm fan isn't enough.

I have no problem swapping out the power supply, but I am uncertain about the fan... or cooling options in general. The desktop is used for software development and I don't mess with overclocking or gaming, so I'm not sure if I really need to be concerned about the temp. Usually, the only time the CPU usage is ever extremely high is when I've done a Project Euler problem wrong. Every time I have checked the CPUs they have all been within normal temperature ranges. However, I would still like to look into it and was wondering what options are available.

Here is a picture of what's inside:

enter image description here

To add a second fan would I need to cut out a hole in the case somewhere or is it possible (useful?) to stack two fans? As another option, could adding a better fan be sufficient? Or, do I even need to be concerned about cooling if I haven't noticed any problems (although, I'd rather prevent any issues from arising).

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As long as your temperatures check out, then do not modify your cooling system. If you wish to run it cooler, then seek other options. What do you get as full load temperatures? – Breakthrough Jul 9 '11 at 0:50
@Breakthrough According to Core Temp the CPUs reached 75C with Tjunction max 100C but Asus's AI Probe showed them at 60C with a threshold set to 65C (not sure what the Tjunction really is, that's just a configurable threshold). I'm not sure which utility is accurate. I guess the good news is that the temps drop down significantly shortly after stopping the tests. – ravun Jul 9 '11 at 1:33
Go with Core Temp's reading. While I'm not going to say that your temperatures warrant any action (this is an artificial "absolutely maximum load test"), I personally try to go no higher then the mid 60's in my machines. Full load temperatures are more important then idle. I doubt adding another fan will drastically drop that temperature (maybe a new HS/F will), but unless you're hitting 75C half the time, I wouldn't bother. – Breakthrough Jul 10 '11 at 14:09
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I would not do it since it is running perfectly well right now. The chances are greater that you will disrupt the proper airflow that engineers designed and tested.

Just make sure the fan you currently have is in good shape, and if you want to do anything, just have a spare for when it eventually dies.

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up vote 2 down vote

It can be hard to properly gauge the airflow in your case. On cases with a clear window, you can just buy a few incenses and watch the trails of smoke. Mainly you are looking for where air and thus heat just collects. But yeah. You never mentioned what components are in your computer exactly, so it can be hard to give any exact advice.

But from CoreTemp, it looks like there is nothing to worry.

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