Here's the rest of that post...... Thomas P. Humphreys wrote:
>Douglas A. McNeill wrote: > > Guys, > > > > I'm very pleased that so many of us happily use our PowerComputing > > puters. I stopped when I had problems and got a used iMac 450 with dvd, > > which I love especially for it's quiet operation. What have all of you > > done with the loud fan on the PowerComputers? I still have my PTP 180 > > and it works great with 8.1, and I have upgraded nothing. Just more > > ram. But it's so loud I rarely use it. > > > > Are all of you on the PowerWatch site, too? > > > > Have a great day! > > > > Doug McNeill > > > > > >Here are some replies to the loud fan problem that I've copied from the >list over time. Sorry to the original posters that I didn't copy the >complete names. > >Robert Baucom > >FAN REPLACEMENT PCP 240 > >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 >of course 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 > > > >FAN ORDER TO Quieten my two PTP >systems by replacing the three original "case" fans (in each system). > >Jack had gotten his "Silencer 80mm" fans from http://www.power-on.com. >But the >ones they sell come with the wrong connectors for this particular system >so all >the leads had to be cut and then joined to the new fan leads. While I >*can* use >a soldering iron, I didn't really remember where I last had seen mine. I >saw on >Power-On's site that the fans are manufactured by PC Power and Cooling so I >went looking for their web-presence and found the matching fan at >http://www.pcpowerandcooling.com/products/alarmandaccesories/silencerfan/index.htm >They are cheaper than Power-On and have price breaks based on quantity. >But the >most endearing thing is that they sell the fan with one of two connectors: >4-pin or 3-pin. The 3-pin is *exactly* the same as those on the original PTP >fans (*). This means no soldering or cutting! I ordered them and found >during >order checkout that ground shipping was free. This was getting better by the >minute. > >They arrived from the west coast to the east coast on Friday (ordered on the >previous Saturday and shipped on Monday). It took about 1.5 hours to replace >the first three because of the care I took and the case cleaning I did >while it >was open. By far the hardest one was in the power supply. That's where >the "*" >from above comes into play too: the connector for the fan in the power >supply >is only 2 pins *and* in both my systems was stuck in place with "goop" >pretty >hard. I figured out how to break the old connector free and then slid >the new >3-pin connector over the 2 leads, with the unused position of the connector, >well, unused. It sounds weird but if you get in there you'll see what I mean >(see below). This same fan ends up with a longer lead than necessary so >I just >turned the fan a partial rotation to sorta "spool" the lead on the >outside of >the fan to take up the slack. The original lead has an additional plastic >sleeve around it but I believe that is most likely for heat since the >original >lead rests right on a towering heatsink. I just routed my new leads far away >from that. > > +===+ > |*|*| connector to old fan > +---+ > > The "===" is actually plastic fixed to the circuit board, I had >to pry > the "===" portion away from the connector with a small >screwdriver to > break the "goop" and release the old connector > > > +--===+ > | |*|*| connector to new fan > +-----+ > * * pins for connector > >The sound difference is amazing! Each system is so quiet now that I can >actually hear the disk drive seeking sometimes. And since there are two of >these now quieter systems in the same room the reduction is quite >dramatic. The >fan's output is noticeably less volume and warmer (particularly from the >power >supply) but doesn't seem too high. My systems don't have all the PCI >slots or >drive bays filled so that could be a factor for others. > >All in all, I spent $51.30 and a little over two hours of my time on my two >systems. I wish I'd done this a long time ago. Thanks Jack for your >encouragement and my wife thanks you too! > > Marty > > > > > > > > -- Power Computing is sponsored by <http://lowendmac.com/> and... 123Inkjets.com <http://lowendmac.com/ad/123inkjets.html> Support Low End Mac <http://lowendmac.com/lists/support.html> Power Computing list info: <http://lowendmac.com/power/list.html> --> AOL users, remove "mailto:"; Send list messages to: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To unsubscribe, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> For digest mode, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subscription questions: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> List archive: <http://www.mail-archive.com/powercomputing%40mail.maclaunch.com/> Using a Mac? Free email & more at Applelinks! http://www.applelinks.com
