I have to run case open all the time as I'm running a Lenovo Thin case... my video card didn't fit with case closed... and it heated so badly here's what I did. With case open I bought one of those hurricane fans, only like $20, I plugged it in and put it right next to my comp, now when X-Plane starts stuttering or slowing down I'll turn the fan down and it definitely works at cooling the computer down, and it adds some realism, like the wind you hear in a cockpit ;D