Kitchen Stuff PC Lift Kit and Cable Organizer
It's Getting Hot in HereSo my gaming rig was nice and toasty all winter. During gaming sessions, the GPU would heat up to 80 Celsius or 176 Fahrenheit. With summer around the corner, I was worried that things would be a problem. I installed a couple of exhaust fans and was able to drop the temperature to 70 degrees Celsius or 158 Fahrenheit. However, I knew that the source of the problem was that the bottom intake was not pulling enough air. So my research began.
Other SolutionsThe feet on my desktop was just a mere 10 mm or about 0.4 inches. With fan filters installed, I figured that limited air was being pulled in. Since the 25mm thickness of the bottom intake fans blocked the PCI intake, the problem seemed to be not getting enough cool air from the bottom. Warm air from the top exhaust or top intake were probably being recycled.
This lead me to the FrozenCPU's website. Unfortunately, they aren't taking orders now due to some internal problems, but I found some interesting products. One was this $40.00 USD
Computer Crate. I was skeptical about it as it didn't seem to solve the problem of the bottom intake. However, it did give me some ideas. They also sold
40 mm casters that would probably do the trick at $25.00 USD. These all seemed like overpriced solutions. As well, they weren't stylish looking to me.
The other solution was to build a PC Lift Kit, but between family and work, I didn't have the time to commit to another project. I just wanted some quality gaming time for when the kids are in bed with a nice cool computer. The other solution was to get a noisier, but higher static pressure fans to force more air into the case. However, the noise would probably be unbearable for me and my family. So this lead me on an adventure to my local PC Mod Shop.
A Savior is BornSo I hopped over to my local PC Mod shop - Kitchen Stuff Plus - looking to see what PC cooling solutions they had. Then I came across, the Kitchen Stuff "Space Logic: Expandable Shelf". I don't know why they have all these images of plates and bowls on it, but it was clearly made to be a PC Lift Kit.
With my hard earned $12.00 CAD or $10.00 USD, I purchased this Lift Off Stand. Not only did it look stylish, well built, and cheap, but it could expand to support up to an ATX case. Unfortunately, the packaging is horrible as it doesn't clearly explain the dimensions of Computer Cases that can be supported. It currently does support my ITX case quite well. The support rungs are well spaced and even allow for cable ties, zip ties, and velco ties to be installed for all your cable organization needs. From the packaging, it does clearly show that it does support a few plates and cups.
The main question was how did it improve on cooling? Well, I was blown away that through my benchmark, the GPU temperature never made it above 60 Celsius or 140 Fahrenheit. This was a dramatic improvement and one that has silenced most of my fans as well. Case temperatures are also down. The rear exhaust fans doesn't even turn on anymore as the temperature never exceeds 35 Celsius or 95 Fahrenheit. I can't recommend this solid product enough. If you're in the market for a Lift Kit, this is probably one of the best solutions out there.
If you've found other cheap and amazing cooling products, please comment below! All suggestions and ideas are always welcomed and should be shared.
ConclusionPros:
+ Cheap
+ Well Built
+ Stylish
+ Improves Cooling
+ Provides easy cable management
+ Dual function as an ITX Case holder and plate holder for chips
Cons:
- Supports only up to ATX cases
- Bad packaging
- Paint job is a bit sloppy
- Doesn't support wide cases
- No USB ports or LED Lighting
Gallery Here
