I recently replaced the noisy/vibrating fans in my PCP240 and wanted to
share for anyone annoyed by their PowerComputing Box.
There are two fans in this box, one 60mm fan over the processor daughter
card and one 80mm fan on the back of the box. By unplugging each fan and
running the machine I found that the processor fan contributed the most
noise. I attribute that to the plastic bracket that holds the processor fan
which is in turn mounted to a cross bar thingy (tech term). The fan just
vibrates the whole works. I had tried foam pads, tightening screws and
ofcourse duct tape all with minor success. The back fan is securely mounted
directly to the box which removes all that vibration noise.
So after five years with this box I finally decided to do something serious
about it. After pulling the fans (Nidec brand) and getting what specs I
could off the tags and doing a bit of net research I went with new Panaflo
L1A fans which were said to be some of the quietest fans with low power
usage and good CFM flow. Panaflo has a higher CFM fan series (H1A) if needed
more cooling power, but a higher noise rating as well. (BTW I found that
outside the Mac World we/I live in, fans and cases and such are a big part
of the PeeCee world while I have hardly heard any Mac discussion of fans
outside of side comments on the noise. Never about replacing, adding or
upgrading)
The 60mm Panaflo fans compared to the Nidec was
L1A Nidec
Airflow 14.1 CFM 0.5 m3/min (roughly equivalent)
Noise 25 dB-A 35 dB-A (log 10 scale, so 10x as loud!?)
Power 1.32 watts 2.14 watts (38% less power used)
Putting them in was pretty easy with the just the normal precautions and
pray not to drop a screw on the motherboard. The only hack was the
connectors to the the motherboard. One fan came with just bare wires, so I
snipped off the connector from the old fan and twisted and taped it on to
the new fan. The other fan came with a slightly different connector that I
was able to scrape off a small part that didn't fit to get it to go on to
the MB connector.
Result is a much quieter system which really makes a difference. I didn't
realize how nagging and nerve racking it was until it was gone and don't
have to hit the box to try to get it to be quiet. Anyway, hope this helps
someone out and would like to hear if anyone else has been messing with fan
noise. -Jay
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